More senior citizens are teetering near homelessness or falling into it, in a worrisome development that advocates say could worsen as Hawaii’s population ages.
Social service providers say a number of factors could be spurring the increase, including the economy, a graying population overall, and rising costs of health care and housing.
"The reality is that we have seen more elderly on the (edge) of homelessness or homeless," said Darryl Vincent, chairman of Partners in Care, a consortium of Oahu homeless service agencies. "We’re trying to make sure we can get them help."
But helping senior citizens who are on the streets or facing homelessness can be especially challenging, he said, because seniors are often on fixed incomes, have greater barriers to employment and may need intensive medical care or additional services, including caregiving help.
While Hilarion Phillip, 65, can live independently, he says he struggled to get off the streets after becoming homeless two years ago, largely because he couldn’t find a place he could afford.
In November, he moved into a subsidized rental studio on Kuhio Avenue. It isn’t much, he said, but it’s secure — and a place where he can actually get a good night’s sleep.
"On the outside, I slept on a chair," said Phillip, originally from Punaluu and a military veteran. He was able to secure the rental thanks to a homeless service agency. "The big difference (now) is a place and a bed to sleep in."
The increase in seniors experiencing homelessness — or facing the prospect of it — comes as the state looks to develop a comprehensive plan to tackle homelessness, boosting the inventory of affordable units and improving the safety net of services to help prevent people from ending up on the streets in the first place.
Seniors are still a minority of Hawaii’s overall homeless population, even with the recent increase. But advocates say any bump in senior homelessness is a concern, since senior citizens have greater health problems and are considered a "vulnerable" population on the streets.
In fiscal year 2012, people 60 and older made up 5 percent of those in homeless shelters statewide, according to a report from the University of Hawaii Center on the Family.
Homeless shelters helped 414 people in that age group, a 33 percent increase from 2008.
Meanwhile, 538 people age 60 and older used outreach homeless services in fiscal year 2012, compared with 308 people in 2008.
Connie Mitchell, executive director of the Institute for Human Services, which runs the state’s largest emergency shelter, said she believes the increase in senior homelessness is "definitely the start of a trend."
"Slowly, it’s going to build," she said, adding, "This is no way for our kupuna to be treated and to have to live out the rest of their lives."
In fiscal year 2012, 434 people 51 and older stayed at IHS facilities. That’s a 22 percent increase from the year before, when there were 355 people 51 and older helped.
Other service providers have also seen the increase in homelessness among older adults firsthand:
» The state-funded Next Step homeless shelter in Kakaako, where people sleep in cubicles on the floor, helped 39 people 62 and older in 2012, compared with 16 in 2008.
» At the end of November, there were 83 seniors on Catholic Charities’ "urgent" waiting list for assistance from a housing counselor. To be placed on the list, a senior citizen has to be homeless or facing imminent homelessness. In previous years, the list had about 30 people on it. (Those on the list are waiting to get help from a counselor who will then place them on waiting lists for low-income housing and other programs.)
» Waiting lists for low-income senior housing have ballooned in recent years. The minimum wait to get into Pauahi Kupuna Hale in Chinatown, for example, is 84 months, up from 36 in 2008. It also takes about 84 months to get into the Philip Street Apartments in McCully-Moiliili, up from 24 in 2008.
The longest waits are for apartments with the most affordable rents.
Diane Terada, division administrator for the Community and Senior Services Division at Catholic Charities Hawaii, said many seniors find themselves homeless after being evicted or losing a job. She said some homeless are also "aging in place" on the streets.
The growing number of seniors who are homeless is disconcerting, Terada said.
"You shouldn’t be elderly and have to live on the streets," she said.
Sheila Beckham, executive director of Waikiki Health Center, said seniors on the streets are in danger of developing health problems or exacerbating existing ones. The center saw more people 65 and older overall in 2012, including more homeless seniors, seeking free or low-cost medical care. In all, 65 homeless seniors came in for services, compared with 37 in 2008.
"As you get older … all of these different chronic conditions can occur," she said. "If you’re not housed, you’re not warm, it’s not safe. It’s hard for me to imagine."
Phillip, the veteran, said he never imagined himself homeless.
He was born and raised on Oahu’s North Shore, served in the military, worked steadily and took care of his ailing parents.
But in 2010, he lost his apartment and couldn’t find a new one he could afford. Soon, he found himself sleeping at a bus stop at Ala Moana Center and taking showers at the YMCA on Atkinson Drive.
Phillip, who has arthritis in both knees, said living on the streets was incredibly taxing, especially as the days turned into weeks and months and years.
"Before I became homeless, I kind of had this picture of what homeless went through," he said, but those notions changed while living on the streets.
Homelessness, he said, was tougher than other things in his life — and Phillip is no stranger to tough times. He grew up in poverty, and dropped out of school in ninth grade to go to work and help support his family.
"That kind of experience helped me when I was homeless," he said.
