Older population out in the cold
Social workers are seeing many more people aged in their late 50s to early 80s who are finding themselves without a home, a report found.
Reported in the St George and Sutherland Shire Leader newspaper in Sydney, according to Reverend George Capsis, the older population are the new homeless in the local area.
In his role as a Baptist minister, he has witnessed first-hand a distressing new trend in homelessness.
The newspaper reported he was used to dealing with homeless youth and the fall-out from broken families; but several years ago he noticed more older people were living rough on the streets or had nowhere to go.
‘‘I was told of an elderly couple in their late 70s who had been living in their car in the car park of a shire service station for six months,’’ he was quoted as saying.
‘‘I went to investigate and found it was true. They were sleeping in their car with all their worldly possessions in a trailer.
‘‘They both had Alzheimer’s and they had lost contact with their five children.
‘‘Eventually, we were able to find housing for them and reconnect them with their children. They were able to live their final days in relative comfort.
‘‘And there is an 80-year-old lady who is estranged from her husband and had to leave the family home. We were able to provide her with accommodation.’’
He started a ministry in the shire to reach out to homeless youth. ‘‘Now we are finding a new type of homeless, aged from their late 50s to well into their 80s,’’ he said.
This article comes just as DPS Publishing reported this Monday that some elderly homeless people will be safe and off Sydney streets as the result of a $16 million Australian Government funded Mission Australia aged-care facility.
