As the baby boomer generation ages, the older adult and elderly homeless population is increasing. Unfortunately, being without a permanent home makes it difficult for them to access the services necessary to keep them healthy, thereby resulting in a mortality rate that is 3-4x that of the general population.

The Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) and Hearth, Inc worked together on a policy paper - Ending Homelessness among Older Adults and Elders through Permanent Supportive Housing- that discusses strategies for the following:

Target affordable housing for older adult and elderly populations by:

• Ensuring support is there to assist in navigation of the programs and services.
• Developing comprehensive services plans to emphasize coordination and accessibility.
• Tailoring those plans to the specialized needs of homeless older adults and elderly (chronic physical illness, mental illness).
• Creating clear communication strategies that alleviate fears of being put in a home and losing independence.

Promote the availability of permanent supportive housing to the older adult and elderly populations by:

• Creating more housing and renovate current stock since there is shortage of supportive housing for all groups and every unit of supportive housing for the elderly has 10 applicants.
• Revising federal and state policy to increase funding, make programmatic changes and foster interagency collaboration.

For the full report click here.