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Olympic Peninsula, Washington, to get a low income apartment, wait years. Mom, 2 teenagers, rental, burned them out. Mother has a job, cannot locate a residence.
Shock to 55+ community recently, rent increasing to $ 200. a month, some other places $ 300. a month.
Enjoyed living in boarding houses years ago, one was for females only. A solution ?
I see them, same area that sera does, when I come to “town” to run errands. They are pushing a shopping cart full of “junk”, or sleeping in a doorway. They are not young. I see very old RVs in shopping center parking lots for weeks at a time. I see random tents in the woods. The tents are not “campers on vacation”.
Probably this is something most urbanites see on the daily, but not so much here, probably b/c this area used to be “affordable”, but now is definitely not. To me, this is a barometer of how bad things really are in this country.
I don't personally know any homeless senior citizens (or homeless younger adults either), but if I go to certain parts of town, it's not difficult to find some who APPEAR to be senior citizens and perhaps homeless. Some might call them "bums" or "vagrants".
Here is what puzzles me about this. It is my understanding that in the US, if your income is below a certain level, then you qualify for all kinds of freebies from the state. For example free medical, food stamps, housing allowance, and other such things.
Perhaps you can tell me if this is true or not. If it is true, then why would ANYONE have an excuse for being homeless, hungry, and dirty? Perhaps a person wouldn't live like royalty, but if they are flat out BROKE and have no means of providing for themselves, then it's my understanding that the government (state) will provide them the basics. True or not?
This boomer's been homeless twice.
The first time I never applied for food stamps because I was working full time and without having to pay rent, I had enough to pay for food. I applied for low income housing and was told that as a single woman, my wait time would more than likely be ten years, as women with children were helped first.
The second time I was homeless, it was for just a couple months before I got into low income housing, which wasn't an apartment, but a single room with a kitchenette and a shared bathroom. It was hell. The person I shared the bathroom with had "issues" and had to be reminded to clean up after herself every time she had a blow out. Yes, that's just what it sounds like. All over the toilet, the floor, and the walls. Then she'd walk out of the bathroom and forget about it.
Then there were the bedbugs. Our building was constantly being invaded by bedbugs and roaches (helped in no small way by my neighbor).
And worst of all, while you were a resident of this building, you were NOT allowed to go to the local community college full time. It was something to do with their funding. Can you believe it?
I applied for Section 8 after it opened up after being closed for years. It was not first-come, first served. It was a freaking lottery - in other words, your name had to be pulled out of a hat and they only drew 300 names. That wasn't for shelter, that was for a voucher. If you got a voucher, you then had to find a landlord that would accept it. You had 6 months to do this and if you couldn't find a landlord who would take your voucher, you had to give it up. The local paper even ran a story on how many people had to give up their vouchers because landlords simply didn't want to comply with the twice-yearly checks on their rentals if they accepted Section 8.
I did have health care through Medicaid, thank God. Before I qualified for that, I was going into a low income clinic and after 3 refills for high blood pressure, I was told I needed blood work done before I could receive any more medication. I couldn't afford the blood work, so my blood pressure eventually ended up at 190 over 130 or something like that.
But Medicaid covered my aneurysm. I still have to wonder if the aneurysm was due to high blood pressure since it was in 2011 that my meds stopped and I had the aneurysm in 2014.
And just to let you know, food stamps don't cover things like tampons or pads, paper towels, kleenex, or hot food. So if someone is on the street, they need to buy cold food and heat it up. Why do you think homeless people have all those fires going? In my case, I just kept a 5 gallon tank of propane and a camp stove in the back of my car and used that. I used to tell people that after they complained about their taxes going for food stamps and then listen to them lecture me on how dangerous that was.
There are food banks, yes. Food banks depend on the generosity of the community they reside in. If you were a member of say, Poulsbo or Silverdale here in the Puget Sound, you wouldn't believe the food you could get. Dairy, meat, vegetables, fruits, even desserts. But I lived in Bremerton, a blue collar town. I remember only being able to get bad potatoes and canned stuff. And even though there were 3 food banks in Bremerton, you could only apply to visit one. Once a week.
Also keep in mind that shelters aren't a whole lot better. You can get beaten up in shelters, get sick (they're good places to pick up bed bugs, lice, and TB), and have your stuff stolen. If I had a choice between staying at shelter overnight and being on the street, I'd choose the street. I think it's safer.
Currently I'm getting $23 a month for food stamps and my social security checks are so small, I also qualify for special help. That means twice a year I have to go to Social Services for an interview to requalify for each of those. It's a 50 mile round trip and an all day adventure. The last time I was dinged because I "own" a recreational vehicle. It didn't matter that said recreational vehicle leaks, has no hot water, and is my main dwelling. LOL I own a trailer, so that puts me right up there with all them rich people!
Yeah, there's services out there, but man, it can be a pain to use them sometimes.
And don't even get me started about the "services" that exist to help you find a job. Honestly, I don't know how anyone pulls themselves up out of homelessness these days. And if someone is an alcoholic or addicted, my dude, if you can get yourself clean, employed, and off the street, my hat is off to you!
Edit to add: If you want to see some homeless seniors, check out the Walmart parking lots sometime. As a matter of fact, just about any van, station wagon, or camper parked in a parking lot after hours is probably someone's home. Once you know what to look for, you'll see them.
Last edited by rodentraiser; 09-12-2023 at 04:32 PM..
Reno’s homelessness includes seniors and it’s increasing. Rents have skyrocketed. Our taxes are low and so of course are our services. You can wait years for housing. So glad I am not in that situation.
I see them, same area that sera does, when I come to “town” to run errands. They are pushing a shopping cart full of “junk”, or sleeping in a doorway. They are not young. I see very old RVs in shopping center parking lots for weeks at a time. I see random tents in the woods. The tents are not “campers on vacation”.
Probably this is something most urbanites see on the daily, but not so much here, probably b/c this area used to be “affordable”, but now is definitely not. To me, this is a barometer of how bad things really are in this country.
Do tents in the woods count as being homeless?
People put tents on sidewalks and I always think "why don't they camp in the woods?"
I don't think camping qualifies as homeless in the way "we" have come to view the term homeless.
The first time I never applied for food stamps because I was working full time and without having to pay rent, I had enough to pay for food. I applied for low income housing and was told that as a single woman, my wait time would more than likely be ten years, as women with children were helped first.
The second time I was homeless, it was for just a couple months before I got into low income housing, which wasn't an apartment, but a single room with a kitchenette and a shared bathroom. It was hell. The person I shared the bathroom with had "issues" and had to be reminded to clean up after herself every time she had a blow out. Yes, that's just what it sounds like. All over the toilet, the floor, and the walls. Then she'd walk out of the bathroom and forget about it.
Then there were the bedbugs. Our building was constantly being invaded by bedbugs and roaches (helped in no small way by my neighbor).
And worst of all, while you were a resident of this building, you were NOT allowed to go to the local community college full time. It was something to do with their funding. Can you believe it?
I applied for Section 8 after it opened up after being closed for years. It was not first-come, first served. It was a freaking lottery - in other words, your name had to be pulled out of a hat and they only drew 300 names. That wasn't for shelter, that was for a voucher. If you got a voucher, you then had to find a landlord that would accept it. You had 6 months to do this and if you couldn't find a landlord who would take your voucher, you had to give it up. The local paper even ran a story on how many people had to give up their vouchers because landlords simply didn't want to comply with the twice-yearly checks on their rentals if they accepted Section 8.
I did have health care through Medicaid, thank God. Before I qualified for that, I was going into a low income clinic and after 3 refills for high blood pressure, I was told I needed blood work done before I could receive any more medication. I couldn't afford the blood work, so my blood pressure eventually ended up at 190 over 130 or something like that.
But Medicaid covered my aneurysm. I still have to wonder if the aneurysm was due to high blood pressure since it was in 2011 that my meds stopped and I had the aneurysm in 2014.
And just to let you know, food stamps don't cover things like tampons or pads, paper towels, kleenex, or hot food. So if someone is on the street, they need to buy cold food and heat it up. Why do you think homeless people have all those fires going? In my case, I just kept a 5 gallon tank of propane and a camp stove in the back of my car and used that. I used to tell people that after they complained about their taxes going for food stamps and then listen to them lecture me on how dangerous that was.
There are food banks, yes. Food banks depend on the generosity of the community they reside in. If you were a member of say, Poulsbo or Silverdale here in the Puget Sound, you wouldn't believe the food you could get. Dairy, meat, vegetables, fruits, even desserts. But I lived in Bremerton, a blue collar town. I remember only being able to get bad potatoes and canned stuff. And even though there were 3 food banks in Bremerton, you could only apply to visit one. Once a week.
Also keep in mind that shelters aren't a whole lot better. You can get beaten up in shelters, get sick (they're good places to pick up bed bugs, lice, and TB), and have your stuff stolen. If I had a choice between staying at shelter overnight and being on the street, I'd choose the street. I think it's safer.
Currently I'm getting $23 a month for food stamps and my social security checks are so small, I also qualify for special help. That means twice a year I have to go to Social Services for an interview to requalify for each of those. It's a 50 mile round trip and an all day adventure. The last time I was dinged because I "own" a recreational vehicle. It didn't matter that said recreational vehicle leaks, has no hot water, and is my main dwelling. LOL I own a trailer, so that puts me right up there with all them rich people!
Yeah, there's services out there, but man, it can be a pain to use them sometimes.
And don't even get me started about the "services" that exist to help you find a job. Honestly, I don't know how anyone pulls themselves up out of homelessness these days. And if someone is an alcoholic or addicted, my dude, if you can get yourself clean, employed, and off the street, my hat is off to you!
Edit to add: If you want to see some homeless seniors, check out the Walmart parking lots sometime. As a matter of fact, just about any van, station wagon, or camper parked in a parking lot after hours is probably someone's home. Once you know what to look for, you'll see them.
So you're basically saying "van life" or "RV life" is homeless? I do not see it that way.
My takeaway (WSJ/Apple News)
The article divides the Boomers into two groups:
First half:
1) Demographics. The large cohort of Boomers who were homeless since the 80's are now old.
2) Low cost assisted living centers closing.
3) Dispersal of families, leaving less support for old timers.
Second half/ "Trailing edge Boomers"
1) Now moving into retirement
2) Came of age during back-to-back economic downturns
3) No pensions
Members of the new homeless include those who worked their entire lives, but lost a spouse or had a medical emergency.
Shortage of homes. Rents skyrocketing. Insufficient number of low-cost rental units (major issue in FL)
How many articles have been posted here about seniors renting out their rooms so they could stay in their homes for longer?
How many discussions have we had about people renting out rooms but rejecting it because they want to keep their privacy?
And the other problems seniors have, are too prideful to want to survive any other way but their choices. I finally left the situation down in Vancouver Washington because a lot of people wouldn't move to where I am now because it's not a popular destination. The main point for me it's not community it's survival.
I read an article asserting there has been an increase in homelessness among Boomers, fueled by the usual suspects of increasing rent, unexpected major expenses such as auto breakdowns, medical bills, dental bills, and other significant events.
A University of Pennsylvania academic researcher with expertise in the subject says the nation hasn't seen a surge in homelessness among seniors/elderly like this since The Great Depression. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development says older adults are the fastest-growing segment of homeless.
Of course, all such things tend to be local. Have you seen an increase in homelessness among seniors in your neck of the woods?
The article I read is behind a paywall. You'll need a subscription to the WSJ to read it. Its title is "Why More Baby Boomers Are Sliding Into Homelessness". The article may find its way into a non-paywalled online publication in a day or two.
So you're basically saying "van life" or "RV life" is homeless? I do not see it that way.
If you don't have a toilet or a shower in your RV or van, I would consider that homeless. Sleeping in a vehicle does not make that vehicle home. It's way better than a park bench but so is having your own tent. I would hate to be in the position of parking in a Walmart parking lot and running inside Walmart to use their restrooms every time I had to go.
If you have an RV and a physical mailing address for your mail I would not consider you homeless. Some of the RVs are actually pretty nice.
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