Friday News Roundup: Elderly homelessness, the Census, and even some good news

written by naehblog

April 2, 2010

Policymakers can consider themselves warned: in 10 years, homelessness among the elderly population will have increased dramatically unless they take action. Along with our own report, The Rising Elderly Population, the AARP's Public Policy Institute and the Center for Housing Policy also released a study this week on Strategies to Meet the Housing Needs of Older Adults. It even comes with an online toolkit to help make these strategies into reality.

Although predictions about elderly homelessness are a cause for serious concern, there has been some good news in headlines about homelessness this week:

• In San Francisco, a new 56-unit development for formerly homeless individuals opened its doors this week. 149 Mason Street also offers a host of services, including an on-site medical clinic. 
• Two officials in Ventura County, CA are working to invest extra revenue in homeless assistance, including start-up money for a housing trust fund.
• The Cleveland Homeless blog reported on a study by the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless that shows despite increasing unemployment and an increasing difficult housing market, homelessness has only risen slightly due to a solid network of prevention and emergency services.  
•  The Huffington Post featured a story about a mother with two children who recently moved into permanent supportive housing after escaping domestic violence.

And it's census week! We shared some neat trivia on our blog as census workers visited emergency shelters, free meal sites, and outdoor areas like parking lots in an attempt to get an accurate count of people experiencing homelessness.

In case you missed it, check out this New York Times piece, Times Square's Homeless Holdout, Not Budging. 

His name is Heavy, and he has lived on the streets of Times Square for decades. Day after day, he has politely declined offers of housing, explaining that he is a protector of the neighborhood and cannot possibly leave, the workers who visit him every day said.

Yet they are determined to get through to Heavy, the last homeless holdout in Times Square.

He might also be the most famous homeless person in the country this week. I wonder if we'll ever read the story about Heavy moving into his own place.