Towards aging in place : Report of initial results from the homeless seniors community of practice

Towards Aging in Place 4 Executive Summary The Greater Vancouver Shelter Strategy (GVSS), with funding by the United Way of the Lower Mainland, created the Homeless Seniors Community of Practice in response to the increasing number of older people who are experiencing homelessness. [...] The need to create community supported housing suited to the needs of older people facing homelessness is particularly urgent, given the regional trends in demographics and housing supply. [...] Geographic Scope While the geographic focus of the Homeless Seniors Community of Practice is Greater Vancouver, the implications and potential benefits extend to the rest of BC and to other jurisdictions. [...] When identifying future trends in seniors’ homelessness, rental housing demand and core housing need become significant: according to the British Columbia Non-Profit Housing Association’s report, “seniors will drive both the demand for rental housing and the growth in core housing need across the province and in most regional districts, which will influence the type of housing needed in the future [...] It took two months to come to a place where could bring up issues without fear that bringing them up would lead to eviction and could start working on issues that led to homelessness – needed the time to figure out where could go to deal with the fear – “who wants to change the place they are living – there is a fear attached which is kept a secret and can lead to them being on the street.” • Seni