A 73-year-old woman stares out into the starry night. A small tear trickles down the side of her face when she thinks of her husband, of their 50 years of wedded bliss, of the garden they grew together and the child they raised. He passed away last year. She struggled to hang onto what little was left of him. In fact, she still has a few keepsakes with her. They’re not in a drawer in her bedside dresser. They are now in a rolling cart with the rest of her treasured belongings.
She crosses the street unsure of where she’s headed. The beginning stages of dementia are setting in already. There’s a brief moment where she thinks she forgot where she lives. She arrives at the corner of a dimly lit street and then reality sets in again. The summer swelter is nearly unbearable against her weathered skin. She reaches a grassy patch behind a hill.
She hunches over pushing pins into the soft, hot soil. By the time evening has settled, she finally finishes pitching her tent. She hunches down and crawls inside, curling up against her knees. She isn’t camping. At 73, she is homeless.
She isn’t lazy. She has worked her whole life, nursing soldiers in wars, tending to her own veteran husband, dressing the skinned knees of neighborhood children, and somehow still finding the time to plant flowers and tomatoes.
“How had it all not been enough?” she wonders.
The world around her seems to crumble. A deep depression settles in. She remembers and forgets again. She remembers that she’s been forgotten. This is not a fictional set of circumstances. This is 21st Century Canada.
In Toronto Alone, the Number of Homeless Seniors More than Doubled in Less than Two Years
In a 2016 interview, McGill University researcher Victoria Burns called the 50 and over community the “new face of homelessness” in Canada. The rate at which the senior population is increasing across the board is only part of the problem. The bigger issue is the lack of preparation and community services available for seniors.
We have a long, jaded history of mistreating our elders that dates back centuries. But subjecting them to homelessness is an all-time low indeed.
Like every new and rising subsection of the homeless community, senior citizens face unique obstacles and challenges. Before we can begin to build safeguards for senior citizens, we must first come to terms with the reality of aging in Canada and all across the globe.
Baby Booming Canada: The Fastest Growing Population in Canada Is Senior Citizens
In the year 2016, Canada’s senior citizens outnumbered Canadians under the age of 15. This has never happened before in the recent recorded history of the nation. And Canada has been keeping tabs on the elderly population since the 1600s, making for a jaw-dropping four-century-long tally. Like many other nations, Canada depends on the youth for much of its productivity, like the workforce, income tax revenue, and healthcare payments. Even general consumption tailors to the youth.
With this specific social structure in mind, it’s easy to see how senior citizens could be viewed as less valuable members of society, despite the fact that the nation and its children were built upon their very backs. Having toiled away at thankless jobs for the better part of their lives, retiring into a blanket of tranquility is every senior’s secret wish.
Yet most retire into hostility instead. When people picture Canadian homelessness, it’s unlikely they expect to see street corners housing grandmothers. But that’s the harsh reality. Nobody is safe from homelessness in Canada just yet; especially not the most vulnerable members of society.
Senior Isolation Is a Very Real and Complex Issue
Loneliness adversely affects at least 20% of Canada’s senior population. With senior citizens accounting for such a large chunk of overall Canadians, this number teeters on a crisis. In a study conducted by the Canadian government, it was concluded that senior struggles such as depression, loneliness, and isolation are more perilous than risk-taking behaviors such as smoking a pack of cigarettes each day. These emotional disabilities can advance into illnesses that elderly people are already more prone to such as:
- Dementia
- Lower cognitive ability
- Increased physical disability
- Lack of appetite
- Decreased sense of self-worth and more
Canada’s Current Social Structure Is not Equipped to Cater to the Needs of Many Seniors
From an employment standpoint, Canada’s senior citizens are facing the frying pan and the fryer simultaneously. The working elderly must deal with daily discrimination as the national view has shifted to portray most seniors as inadequate employees who are perceived as not being able to adjust to modern-day technology.
There is also technology itself, a sector again primarily focused on and designed for younger generations. Many technological advancements have come and gone while the nation’s seniors were not given proper training to better understand the new equipment. That new equipment becomes old and the cycle viciously continues.
Meanwhile, new college graduates eager for jobs in a cut-throat economy are highly trained and willing to work for significantly less money. This leads to an era where employees with seniority are stereotyped as lacking ambition or as stealing jobs from younger workers. On the other hand, unemployed senior citizens face the ever-looming threat of poverty as government assistance is often not enough to cover everyday expenses.
When they become homeless because of these unfortunate circumstances, they are told to get a job by the same people who just suggested they get a pension. This double-edged sword is sharp for our seniors. The blade is made sharper still by a lack of adequate housing.
Seniors Have More Specific Housing Needs
The Ontario Human Rights Commission issued a document entitled “Specific issues facing older persons” wherein they described housing as a “critical issue.” In addition to inadequate retirement funding, aging seniors also face a very real crisis when it comes to the type of housing they are provided and how these houses are set up to accommodate their needs.
Even housed senior citizens might live in inadequate establishments they cannot keep up with due to physical limitations related to aging. As they struggle to change their lightbulbs and safely travel to the store for groceries, they also struggle to pay their bills, to keep their electricity running, and to maintain their yards. The pressure to keep up with social trends has not been lessened for the elderly who face homelessness often as a result of:
- Death of a spouse
- Age-related job loss
- Age-related illness
- Social isolation
- Elder abuse
- Age discrimination
Will Shelters for Seniors Offer Adequate Care?
As it stands, senior citizens account for at least 8.3% of Canada’s homeless shelter population. That number does not include the hidden homeless or those sleeping rough. It should be noted the number is trending upward as we speak. In 2017, approximately 62% of Canadian seniors admitted to having difficulty keeping their bills up to date.
This dire situation has given way to a comeback trend in the form of multigenerational homes. At least 2.2 million Canadians are now part of a multi-generational living situation. While this setup can function seamlessly, it does have a downside if doubling up becomes financially burdensome or if there’s simply not enough space. Some senior citizens residing with family members are part of the “hidden homeless” community, and might even still be at risk for other types of homelessness.
Still, others are even less fortunate. For seniors forced to live in shelters, the likelihood of a longer stay is elevated. Yet many shelters are ill-equipped to deal with age-related conditions like:
- Alzheimer’s
- Dementia
- Lack of mobility
- Catheter care
- Medication distribution
- Diabetic management
- Vulnerability to slip and falls
- Senior isolation
- Grief
- The need for acceptance and understanding
Canada’s Seniors Need Your Support
Between 2007 and 2014, about $2.7 million was spent in the name of creating affordable housing for seniors via the Homeless Partnering Strategy. Even so, 2017 statistics found Canada’s senior citizens exhibiting a significantly higher risk for homelessness. The root cause lies in their vulnerability to eviction.
Here is one dilemma that could be prevented literally at the front door. As the nation gathers to raise funds that will prevent senior eviction, we too, must do our part to show our seniors that their needs are seen and heard.
Be sure to speak up for our seniors. They not only played huge parts in our national history. Equally importantly, they are a massive part of our country’s present and they deserve the hope of a brighter, more comfortable future.
