By Rona Barrett
“I’m homeless. I pray every night I find a place to sleep.”
An older, disheveled gentleman with a cane told me this recently while I was shopping at one of our Valley markets.
“Then please, call The Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara,” I suggested. “They just built a homeless facility called the Pescadero Lofts. They’re in Isla Vista–”
“No, no, no. I don’t want to leave,” he wailed.
I said, “But if you call, you’ll at least get yourself on a list –”
He sadly walked away. I too was sad and still am. He wasn’t the first to talk to me about his personal crisis and certainly won’t be the last.
That’s because for years we senior and caregiver advocates, service providers, pundits and perceptive policy-makers have tried to call attention to the alarming increase in our low-income elderly population and the lack of support for them now and in the foreseeable future. But naysayers have refused to believe us.
When the lowball estimate of 340,000 was cited for the total statewide number of elderly unable to make ends meet, we knew from our own observations the estimate fell woefully short.
Then last month, the California Wellness Foundation and UCLA released a report stating 772,000 is actually the more accurate number for elderly seniors unable to make ends meet in California!
Here’s why: the 340,000-estimate was based on Federal Poverty Level guidelines. The team concluded that the federal criterion made a critical error by not factoring in the high cost of living in high-cost states (California is in the top six most expensive states to live in).
Measured by this new “Elder Index,” nearly one in five 65+ Californians live in “an economic no-man’s land.”
These “hidden poor” have fixed incomes above 100% of the Federal Poverty Level, are unable to afford basic needs—yet, they are often ineligible for public assistance.
It’s disgraceful.
So here’s my forecast for the perfect storm: The demand for senior services and resources will soon flood the few resources and services available like a tsunami.
Here’s why:
Our senior population grows exponentially.
Housing costs continue to climb upward while affordable living opportunities spiral downward. Most recent example: the HOME investment Partnerships Program. A recent LA Times editorial called upon Congress not to “slash one of the main funding sources that local governments have to build and preserve homes for the poor.”
Word search our most recent “State of the State” address for “seniors,” “aging,” and “funding for” and see how many results you get. The answer rhymes with “no dinero.”
However, every cloud has a silver lining. And I believe that gray skies WILL someday clear up and our senior loved ones and their caregivers WILL be putting on happy faces.
As one of our seniors recently wrote me, “never look down…always look UP!” We will find solutions to build a better future for our seniors, providing them the dignity they deserve.
Until next time…keep thinking the good thoughts.
— For more than 30 years, Rona Barrett was a pioneering entertainment reporter, commentator and producer. Since 2000, she has focused her attention and career on the growing crisis of housing and support for our aging population. She is the founder and CEO of the Rona Barrett Foundation, the catalyst behind Santa Ynez Valley’s first affordable senior housing, the Golden Inn & Village. Contact her at [email protected]. The opinions expressed are her own.
