The vast majority of requests for assistance centered on housing and homelessness issues, which outnumbered income issues, the second most common request, by a full third.
Of the callers who were struggling with housing/homelessness, three were residing in homeless shelters. Over 50% of requests involving housing/homeless were focused on applications for BC Housing
and other housing provided by non-profit providers as well as applications for SAFER. Twenty-five percent of housing/homelessness calls involved enquiries regarding supports provided by Better at Home or local health authorities, which support seniors to age in place.
While safe, secure and affordable housing is vital for everyone, regardless of age, our numbers indicate that seniors, as a group, are facing significant struggles accessing and retaining safe, secure, affordable housing. Such struggles also highlight what many seniors tell us, which is that existing housing supports are not sufficient to meet their needs in the face of rising rent, utility and food costs. Additionally, seniors struggling to age in place face insufficient home supports, as well as service providers’ lack of resources and capacity to meet the needs of an ageing population.
