Welcome to Of a Certain Age, a monthly column where the goal is to not only discuss topics of importance to older adults, but also have the occasional laugh.
In the past six weeks, homelessness in Sechelt is something I’ve been writing about as part of a series on rising crime in Sechelt, which many residents say is directly connected to the unhoused living in the tent city on Hightide Avenue.
And, while homelessness does not automatically equate to criminal activity, desperate times sometimes call for desperate acts, especially if there are kids to feed. As is the case across the country, the Sechelt tent city is made up largely of men, some working and without a home, some with addictions, some living with mental health issues — some with both — so it makes sense they garner much of the attention of a community.
Which leaves a rising demographic of unhoused residents to continue falling even further through the cracks. This new face of the homeless belongs to seniors, who are getting priced out or renovicted from long-term rentals, leaving them with no place to go. Many of these seniors find themselves living in their vehicles in order to afford to pay storage fees for the lifetime of memories they have invested in their belongings.
Last March, the homeless count determined 97 people were experiencing homelessness in the Gibsons and Sechelt areas and seniors (those older than 55) made up 24 per cent — a quarter of the entire homeless population included in the count.
One of those seniors was a 77-year-old woman I had coffee with last week who, until recently, had been living in her car for months. She’s now renting a bedroom in an apartment owned by an older senior, but stays out from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day because she feels like an intruder.
Last year, after a change in ownership, the cottage she’d been renting for almost 10 years was demolished and she quickly discovered rents on the Sunshine Coast had increased exponentially during that time. Now, she’s on the hunt for a one-bedroom apartment she can afford on her pensions. A former government worker, she asked that her name not be used because she’s “embarrassed” at the situation she’s found herself in.
Fiercely proud, she told me she had been offered a tiny bachelor suite in a new low-income housing complex, but turned it down because if she accepted, she would be considered “housed” and have no option to hold out for the one-bedroom she’s been dreaming of. She says, she’s been criticized for turning the place down.
“I’m 77, I’ve worked hard all of my life, I paid my taxes and all I want is a bedroom, so my bed isn’t in my living room,” she said. “I’ve only got a couple of friends, but I’d like to have them over and I don’t think that’s too much to ask at my age.”
So, if anyone has an accessible, modestly priced, one-bedroom with a washroom to rent to a quiet senior who uses a cane for mobility, you can leave a message at the Salvation Army in Gibsons by calling 604-886-3665, Monday to Friday before 1 p.m.
If you have an idea for a future column, have a pressing issue you’d like to discuss or are organizing a seniors-focussed event, please drop me an email at [email protected].
