One in Three People Experiencing Homelessness over 50 Years Old
Santa Barbara Statistics Reflect Findings of Statewide Report Released Last Week by UC San Francisco
Reflecting the findings of a statewide report issued last week showing that a substantial percentage of people experiencing homelessness fall on the elderly side of the demographic spectrum, statistics for Santa Barbara County indicate that between June 1, 2022, and May 30, 2023, 535 people receiving homeless services were 60 years old or older. If people 50-60 are added to the equation — 593 — that would bring the total elderly population to 1,128. That’s out of a total of 3,234 individuals receiving services.
“So over one-third are over 50,” stated Kimberlee Albers, the county’s homeless czar.
According to Albers, the county has one person older than 90 receiving such services. She said 15 clients are ages 80-89, 102 are 70-79, and 417 are 60-69.
According to the report released by UC San Francisco — in which 3,200 people experiencing homeless were extensively interviewed — more than 90 percent were living in California at the time they became homeless and 75 percent were living in the county in which they are now homeless. Slightly more than half were age 50 or older. Many were older than 50 when they became homeless.
Respondents cited the high cost of housing — not substance abuse or mental health issues — as the single biggest obstacle to securing stable housing.
For Albers, this is not necessarily new news: “The cost and lack of affordable housing continues to drive persons into homelessness and housing insecurity.”
She noted that more than 500 of the county’s homeless population are minors, mostly in families. That demographic bulge, she said, constitutes 16 percent of the county’s homeless population.
