Joyce Tavon

Here in the United States, the wealthiest nation on Earth, a quiet crisis is unfolding as more and more older adults are losing their homes.

Across the country, including here in our commonwealth, people 50 and older now represent the fastest growing segment of the unhoused population.

For older adults who are already homeless, aging presents new challenges. Some battle untreated mental illness or addiction, making it nearly impossible to compete for scarce affordable housing in a market that already leaves far too many behind.

Growing older takes its toll: Years spent on the streets or in shelters accelerate aging, leaving them with the physical and mental health of someone decades older.

Record Numbers Losing Homes

A second disturbing trend is now taking hold: A record number of older adults are becoming homeless for the first time after age 50.

These individuals have typically been employed, housed, and stable for most of their lives. Yet a personal crisis, from the death of a spouse or a divorce, to the loss of a job or the challenge of surviving on a small, fixed income, keeps them teetering on a precipice.

One event – a health emergency or a spike in the rent – can push them into homelessness.

Many older adults experiencing homelessness remain out of sight. Sleeping in their cars or at campsites they live without heat, running water, electricity and other essentials. Some don’t see themselves as homeless and don’t seek assistance. When they do, the only help available may be a bed in an overcrowded shelter – if any beds are available at all.

Our member organizations regularly share what they observe in their communities. The director at a homeless shelter outside Boston recently reported seeing more older adults whose extended families are simply overstretched, their own housing at risk, to take in another relative.

Without a safe and stable living environment, the odds are good that the physical and mental health of these aging adults will deteriorate quickly.

But there are solutions that can stem the tide of older adult homelessness. We need to build, prevent and preserve.

Build, Partner and Prevent

Everyday media coverage confirms what we have long known: We need to build more affordable housing.

We have fallen short in recent decades as housing production has failed to keep pace with demand. As Gov. Maura Healey’s recent report, “A Home for Everyone,” noted, we need at least 222,000 more housing units constructed by 2035.

Reducing long-term homelessness – including for older, disabled adults – requires 10,000 supportive housing units. These couple affordable housing with supportive services including case management, access to health care and nutritious food, and behavioral health treatment.

Increased public investment is needed to finance all three legs of the supportive housing stool: capital, building operations and services.

Partnerships with the private sector are the final piece of the puzzle.

Developers can often build housing quickly using conventional financing, with many private developers completing construction of multi-unit residences in as little as 18 months.

If given the incentive of long-term master leases – with a nonprofit partner committing to cover operating costs, sublease to tenants and provide wraparound services – private developers can bring supportive housing online far more quickly than publicly financed projects.

Prevention should also be a priority.

We should help older tenants remain in place while waiting for openings in publicly funded senior housing. It’s a lot less costly to society – and less traumatic for the tenants themselves – to keep older tenants in a familiar setting rather than waiting for them to fall into homelessness before responding.

Preserve the Housing We Have

Equally important, we need to preserve existing lower-cost housing stock.

Known as “naturally occurring affordable housing,” there’s been a significant increase in the sale of these properties to investors who then evict tenants and tear down the buildings or convert them to high-end residences.

These buildings tend to feature fewer than 20 units and therefore are not attractive for conversion to affordable housing using major financing tools currently offered by government agencies, such as the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program.

To stem the loss of this housing, we must encourage the commonwealth to purchase more of this inventory in partnership with municipalities and private and nonprofit social service agencies and preserve these buildings as affordable housing.

The demographic shift is clear: Our population is aging. It is also clear that our communities are stronger when all of us have access to stable housing. By acting now, we can prevent more of our older friends and neighbors from losing their housing.

Joyce Tavon is CEO of the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance.