On Feb. 8 the County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved directing the county’s Chief Administrative Officer to design a pilot rent subsidy program for older adults who are at risk of homelessness.
District 2 Supervisor Joel Anderson who primarily oversees East County and the majority of unincorporated San Diego county and District 3 Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer worked together to bring the proposal before the Board.
According to the 2020 Regional Point in Time count, an overnight count of unsheltered residents, one out of every four homeless San Diego adults is over the age of 55, Anderson said, with 43% of those individuals experiencing homelessness for the first time in their lives.
“We’re suggesting a shallow, rent-subsidy program” to prevent more older adults from becoming homeless, Anderson said, a preventative measure rather than a corrective one.
Small rent subsidies to prevent homelessness, Anderson said, cost far less than maintaining shelter for anyone already on the streets.
Funding for the program would come from American Rescue Plan Act dollars already slated for use in preventing and reducing homelessness.
“It costs between $2,500 and $3,000 each month to house someone in a shelter while it often takes just $200-$300 to keep a senior in their home,” Lawson-Remer said.
Serving Seniors Chief Operating Officer Melinda Forstey said the majority of homeless seniors the group spoke with for a survey found themselves priced out of their home after rent was increased beyond what they could afford on a fixed income, yet they also reported just a few hundred dollars each month would keep them housed.
“Another major finding is that more than half the seniors had taken drastic measures to meet their rent such as foregoing food or medication. Many of these seniors spend 60% or even as high as 80% on their rent,” Forstey said.
South County’s District 1 Supervisor Nora Vargas said she sees the program as a short-term answer and does not want to overlook the possibility that many seniors who might otherwise find themselves homeless are living with family members who cannot truly afford the expense, rendering multiple generations at risk.
“There’s a lot of economic instability with generations at risk. I want to make sure that as we’re having these conversations, we’re also developing affordable housing for seniors, long term solutions,” Vargas said.
“No one’s parents and grandparents living on fixed income should have to make the choice between paying rent and covering necessary expenses such as food, transportation, and medical costs,” Anderson said.
Jewish Family Services Chief of Staff Chris Olsen said the non-profit organization operates four safe parking areas and can attest that approximately 60% of the safe parking program users are age 65 and older.
Black American Political Association of California Chair and San Diego County Commission on Human Relations Vice-Chair Ellen Nash said organizations stand ready to partner with San Diego county to make changes with recuperating seniors who are discharged from local hospitals onto streets.
“Our goal is to ensure that no one, absolutely no one lives on a street, no one lives in a canyon, no one lives in a parking lot, no one lives unhoused or unsheltered. As Martin Luther King said ‘there is nothing new about poverty’. What is new, however, is we have the resources to get rid of it. Now, let’s make history,” Nash said.
This story was updated Feb. 11 to reflect the source of funding for the pilot program.
