California’s homelessness crisis is increasingly becoming an aging crisis, as a growing number of older adults experience housing instability at a stage of life when health challenges, fixed incomes and mobility limitations can make finding stability far more difficult.
Nearly half — about 48% — of single adults experiencing homelessness in California in 2023 were at least 50 years old, according to a University of California, San Francisco report. That figure represents a dramatic increase from 1990, when older adults accounted for just 11% of the state’s unhoused single adult population.
For many seniors, preventing homelessness requires more than an affordable apartment. It requires housing connected to healthcare, transportation, case management and other supportive services that allow older adults to remain independent while navigating the realities of aging…