Until about a year ago, Mary Hall was homeless, without a job, and driving around West Palm Beach looking for a safe place to call home.
鈥淚 was sleeping in my car and it was hard,鈥� the 65鈭抷ear鈭抩ld woman told SA国际传谋.
Now, after work, she travels a short distance to housing provided by in West Palm Beach, one of the largest nonprofits serving people experiencing homelessness in Palm Beach County.
The organization helps scores of people 鈥� especially among people in the LGBTQ community and among older people who鈥檝e never thought they鈥檇 be without a place to live. It recently renovated its 25,000-square foot headquarters.
Housing advocates say they've seen a disturbing spike in homelessness among older adults that may worsen amid skyrocketing rents and a dire shortage in affordable housing.
The Lord's Place offers clients ways to find employment, meals, and places to live. But they鈥檙e also finding it increasingly difficult to find affordable housing for everyone.
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Diana Stanley, CEO of the Lord鈥檚 Place and a longtime affordable housing advocate, expects her staff to support about 3,000 people this year in Palm Beach County, up from 1,700 last year.
Among the biggest challenges: housing. for a home in the county hovers around $470,000 鈥� and the gap of whether to buy or rent has narrowed. And that has impacted temporary shelters.
鈥淭he rent is now as expensive as the mortgages. And so we are dealing with not even being able to find housing that we can rent for our clients to put them in so it is a huge issue,鈥� Stanley said.
, an annual survey of people experiencing homelessness, saw a significant spike: 1,855 people were living in the streets or in shelters, up from 1,404 last year. The numbers jumped for families as well. The survey is done in January of every year.
Through parks and alleyways and other unsheltered spaces, outreach teams browse through the county in an effort to count and interview homeless people.
Most of the individuals were concentrated in cities like West Palm Beach, Riviera Beach, the western part of the county like Belle Glade. Lake Worth Beach and Delray Beach also have a high number of people without a home.
The survey, mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, helps the county measure what approach to take for providing housing and providing resources to groups that need it the most.
Getting people back on their feet
For many years, the Lord鈥檚 Place has been a well-known safe haven, a dependable social resource that aims to get people back on their feet.
Stanley and her staff often meet with formerly homeless people in the 鈥渆ngagement center鈥� area downstairs, where many work 鈥� cooking and washing dishes in the "Cafe Joshua鈥� nearby.
鈥淲e use food as a tool for engagement. So we want people to sit and eat but while they鈥檙e sitting and eating we want to have a conversation,鈥� Stanley said. 鈥淲here are you in your life? What can you do? What can we help you with?鈥欌��
Stanley said she鈥檚 seeing an increase in unsheltered homelessness among older adults, especially men, 鈥減redominantly because there鈥檚 really no programs that are set aside for someone who is 70 years old and experiencing homelessness for the first time.鈥�
鈥淎nd that is a national phenomenon we鈥檙e starting to see but we鈥檙e really seeing it locally,鈥� she added.
People ages 50 and older make up more than half of single homeless adults, many of whom 鈥渇irst became homeless after age 50,鈥� according to a study by the American Society on Aging.
"Ending homelessness among older adults will require increasing the supply of affordable housing, targeted prevention efforts, and expanding permanent supportive housing, adapted to older adult needs,鈥� researchers said.
The lack of family and interpersonal connection is another concern among advocates for the homeless.
Stanley said she and her staff have encountered a number of older people with adult children who don鈥檛 know their parents are living on the streets, noting that older parents鈥� sense of shame and pride can often prevent adequate support from loved ones.
The compounding issues aren鈥檛 going away anytime soon but after the organization reached its $20 million fundraising goal, they鈥檙e working on several new solutions: a new facility for 55+ older men, 6 cottages serving about 15 men. And a new housing facility in Lake Worth Beach for intergenerational single women. It will cater toward women 55 and older who will have 50 percent of the beds and women 18-35 will occupy the other half. It opens in October.
Stanley said producing more shared spaces can reduce the stress around finding a single鈭抐amily home for each individual.
鈥淲e鈥檙e doing more shared housing,鈥� Stanley said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to reconnect people with family members. Family reunification is becoming more important as we move forward.鈥�
鈥淢any would have died in the streets if we didn鈥檛 have programs like this.鈥�
Hall, who was homeless until last year, said she sought to stay connected by attending church because she wanted to preserve her dignity through prayer but still felt invisible to the broader society.
鈥淚t was humbling. It was very hurtful because you feel like, 鈥榳hy am I in this place? What am I doing here?鈥� Hall said. 鈥淏ut, God 鈥� he has a reason.鈥�
