Over 50 and On The Streets

August 26, 2008 - When Rev. Sanja Stinson noticed a rise in the population of people older than 50 seeking services at Matthew House , 3722 S. Indiana Ave., she knew she had a problem. The network of services for people in that age group, she had discovered, tended to be slimmer than for those older or younger. 

"These two came to me and said, ‘Rev. Stinson, I'm over 50, what am I going to do?'" said Stinson, the program director at Matthew House.  She pointed out the two men sitting at an adjacent table. "And I said, ‘You know what? I don't know. '" 

A look at the records revealed that the two men were part of a swelling phenomenon.  In the early 1990s, Stinson said, 10 percent of the people who sought services at Matthew House were older than 50. But in 2004, half of those who sought services at Matthew House were older than 50. 

Matthew House, a daytime support service center, was founded in 1992 by Derrick D. Stinson, Rev. Sanja Stinson's husband. 

Stinson brought her observations to the Partnership to End Homelessness, of which she was a founding member.  Along with similar observations from other agencies, Stinson's finding set in motion a study, conducted by the Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness (formerly the Partnership) and Loyola University Chicago's Center for Urban Research and Learning.

The study is called Homeless Over 50: The Graying of Chicago's Homeless Population , and its conclusions confirm the trend Stinson noticed.  Researchers found a 26 percent increase in people ages 50 to 65 seeking services from "a broad range of service agencies" between 2001 and 2006. 

Stinson noted cuts in General Assistance for unemployed single men and women as a key reason for the increase. Reggie Harden, the program director at Matthew House, said the relocation of residents by the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) also resulted in more people seeking services - particularly older residents out of work who had been staying with friends or relatives, and who were consequently ineligible for help from CHA to relocate. 

"A lot of them were living in CHA, doubling up," said Harden.  "...they were not on CHA leases."

The CHA's "Plan for Transformation," which includes moving public housing residents into new mixed-income apartment buildings began about 10 years ago.

One tough hurdle faced by older people seeking work is not only ineligibility for services,but also the unwillingness of employers to hire them, according to those close to the scene.

"At a certain point employers aren't expecting someone to go through a career change, " said Betsy Carlson, program director at Lincoln Park Community Shelter."It's just a little bit of a harder sell." 

“They really don’t want to give you a job outside if you’re 50, ” added CharlesThompson, the lead case manager in social services for Matthew House. “...They're looking to get that 25 years out of you. They're looking for a long-term person in that particular spot. 

In a crumbling economy, unemployment is descending upon people who have never had to shoulder it before.  A woman staying at Lincoln Park Community Shelter described her experience, in October 2006,of losing a technical support job she'd held in a communications company. 

"I walked in this one day and they'd closed the entire department, " said the woman, who asked to remain anonymous. "Twenty-two of us lost our jobs that day."

She held on to her condominium until this past April.  No longer able to make payments,she lost the condominium and was preparing to sleep in her car when a job counselor told her about the Lincoln Park shelter. 

Residents at the Lincoln Park shelter stay an average of about 3 1/2 months, according to Carlson. They do not face a deadline by which they need to move out. 

The shelter contains 24 beds for men and 11 beds for women - and there's a waiting list for admission.  Carlson said the list's length constantly fluctuates,and she added that people who want to stay should call the shelter to find out how long the wait might be.

The woman was pleased to find the shelter, but she said help for people her age was sparse.  “I’m too old to be young and too young to be old, ” said the 57-year-old woman. Resources, she said, generally came with a condition she did not meet, such as being at least 60 years old,  having an  addiction  that  required  treatment or having  children.   For  a  single woman  in her  50s  and  suddenly  out  of work,   she found the options to be limited.  

After  two  years  of  virtual  unemployment,  punctuated  only  by  a  six-monthon,   she  now  says  she has found a good job. 

For  another  resident  at  the  Lincoln Park shelter,  a cluster of events led him to homelessness:   divorce, job  loss  and  a  broken-down car. 

"If  any  of  those  three things had not happened,  I would  not  have  ended up  homeless, "   said  the man,  54,   who  also declined to give his name. 

Many  people  dwell  in such  a  precarious  financial  zone,   according  to Nancy  Radner,   the  chief executive  officer  of  the Chicago  Alliance  to  End Homelessness. 

"It  takes  one  thing  to push  them  off  the  edge into homelessness, "  she said.

Once people in this age group do find themselves  homeless,   resources  may indeed be scarcer than they are for other age groups.  People younger than 48 can use a program called Earnfare,  sponsored by  the  Illinois  Department  of  Human Services,  (IDHS) to find employment.  But the Homeless Over 50 study notes  that because people 48 and older do not have to work  to  receive  food  stamps,   IDHS gives first preference for Earnfare jobs to those under age 48 – in other words,  to those who could  not  receive  food stamps if they were not working.

That means people 48 and older generally cannot take advantage of Earnfare to forge connections with employers,  the study  explains.   It's  a  problem  noted  by
several of the clients at Matthew House.  Other regulations make it hard for people in this age group to receive services, as well.  One  of  the policy proposals  of the Homeless Over  50 study  is  to  integrate senior programs and the homeless system.   But  that  is  not  always  possible, since  the Older Americans Act can only provide funding for people 60 and older. 

Paula  Basta,  the  regional  director  of the Northeast (Levy) Senior Center,  said she welcomes  the homeless population and opens   the Center to anyone who’d
like  to come  in  for a meal.  But  she  said funding  restrictions make more  extensive  resources tougher to provide to people younger than 60.

“Somewhat,   our  hands are tied for the folks under 60, ”  she said. Radner noted that advocates can work to change such  laws,  but  she said they  can  also  uncover resources  that  do  exist.Christine George,  a principle  investigator  in  the Homeless  Over  50 Study, noted  the  federal  Senior Community  Service Employment Program as a valuable  resource;   it  serves  people  55 and older.   Carlson said the Lincoln Park shelter  refers  clients  to  the  Senior Aid Program,   run  by  Jewish  Vocational Services  in  Chicago.  Advocates cite other programs,  as well.

As  several  people  older  than  50 described  their experiences,   they noted a problem that had little to do with age.  They  expressed  concern  –  sometimes regarding  media  portrayals  –  about stereotypes  surrounding  homeless  people.  A 58-year old woman in the Lincoln Park  shelter  said  she had  a  bachelor  of arts degree in sociology with a psychology  minor  and  hours  of  coursework toward  a  certification  in  alcohol  and addiction counseling.  Her odyssey  into  the shelter  included what she described as an unjust eviction, for  financial reasons, from an apartment about  two  decades  ago.   She  later  took care  of  her  mother  until  her  mother's death  and  then  lived  with  a  relative before coming  to  the Lincoln Park shelter in June - a move  she  said "terrified" her.  Now,  grateful to have a place to stay, she  said  she  is  working  to  emerge  as swiftly as she can. 

"You just have to navigate yourself and stay  out  of  anything  that  isn't  productive, " she  said.  "This  is not a  spa -  I  am here to get myself back on track and do the things I need to do."

At  Matthew  House,   people  talked about  the deep need  for  respect  that  is often not met in the community at large.  

"I'm homeless but  I don't have  to act like I'm homeless - or be treated like I'm homeless, "   said  Gregory  Griffin,  55.  "When  we  leave  here,  and  this is my experience,  we get treated just like we're homeless. " 

Several  of  the  others  agreed  with Griffin  about  the  respect  received  at Matthew House,  but often not outside of those walls.  Clients also talked about the need for more jobs and the obstacles that can  stand between  them  and obtaining work. 

Stinson  mentioned  a  number  of employment-hindering  factors  that clients  at  Matthew  House  sometimes face:   ex-offender  status, disabilities  and past unemployment. 

"They're  basically  African  American males, "  she added,  motioning toward the men sitting at the table.   "I'm going to put it on the table. " 

Health  trouble  and  injuries  have  also taken tolls on the older homeless population. Christa Stauder,  a case manager at Deborah's Place,  is working with 52-year- old  resident  Mary Ann  Burkiet  to  find employment  and  to  obtain  disability assistance in the wake of an accident.

"At  this  point  it  has  to  do with  age, " said Stauder.   "The older you get,  the harder it is to find the energy to find a job. " 

Help  has  sometimes  emerged  unexpectedly  for  people  grappling  with homelessness,   in  ways  that  range  from the heart-wrenching  to  the bizarre.  The 57-year-old woman staying at the Lincoln Park  shelter  recalled  two  spots of kindness after she lost her job. 

During  a  medical  appointment,   the doctor  left  the  room and  returned with an  envelope.  When  she  opened  it,   she discovered $250 in food certificates and $250 in gas cards. 

"I just sat in my car and cried, "  she said.  "I  just  couldn't  stop  crying  -  I was  so overwhelmed with her kindness."  Later she received $150 from a priest. 

For the 54-year old man staying at the Lincoln  Park  shelter,   a  financial  break came in a stranger way,  and from a more massive source. 

"I  was  walking  through Wrigleyville and  a pretty gal came up  to me with  a yellow handbill and handed it to me, "  he said.  He  glanced  at  the print  just  as  he was about to toss it into the garbage and discovered an  invitation  to  try out  for a part as an extra  in  the Warner Brothers' film,  The Dark Knight.  He  snagged  the part,  playing  a hospital patient  dodging falling debris. 

That adventure won him three days of work for $320. 

But such chance events do not replace a firmer network of support services for homeless people who are older than 50, yet not eligible for Social Security or senior housing.  As Radner said,    "More people are finding a lack of a safety net. " 

For  an  aging  population  to  emerge from  homelessness,  say  those  close  to the  problem,   people  need  access  to something more stable than the kindness of strangers or  the bounty of very  large film companies.

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