Why More Baby Boomers Are Sliding Into Homelessness

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Baby boomers, who transformed society in so many ways, are now having a dramatic effect on homelessness. Higher numbers of elderly living on the street or in shelters add complications and expenses for hospitals and other crisis services. The humanitarian problem is becoming a public-policy crisis, paid for by taxpayers. Aged people across the U.S. are homeless in growing numbers in part because the supersize baby boomer generation, which since the 1980s has contributed large numbers to the homeless population, is now old. But other factors have made elderly people increasingly vulnerable to homelessness, and the vast numbers of boomers are feeding the surge.

High housing costs—a major factor in all homelessness—are especially hard for seniors living on Social Security who are no longer working. Low-cost assisted living centers, never built in adequate numbers to handle the larger baby-boom generation, have been closing amid staffing shortages and financial troubles, and society’s dispersal of families means less support for older people. The second half of the baby boomers, now mostly in their 60s, unlike the older members of their generation, came of age during back-to-back economic downturns, permanently setting them behind in wealth, according to some academic researchers. Many of them worked jobs that had stopped offering pensions. Those “trailing edge” boomers who are financially less secure are now mostly moving into retirement.

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The aging population has strained shelters ill-equipped to accommodate wheelchairs or people unable to climb onto top bunks, according to shelter staff. Culhane and other researchers estimated in one study that healthcare and shelter costs in New York City would roughly triple by 2030 compared with 2011, and in Los Angeles would go up 67%, as the older homeless population, who are generally in poorer health, visit emergency rooms, are hospitalized or stay in nursing homes.

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Those newly homeless were more likely to cite the death of a spouse or a medical emergency as the cause, and they often felt shocked—even betrayed—that they were homeless after thinking they had done everything right to earn a decent retirement, homeless advocates said.

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Among the 20 metro areas that saw the steepest rent increases between January 2020 and June 2023, 10 were in Florida, according to available Zillow data. The state has no rent control laws, and it saw an influx of out-of-state renters and home buyers in recent years who drove up demand and prices.

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