Recap: June 25 OSAH and NAEH Congressional Briefing on Aging Adults and Homelessness

The Opportunity Starts at Home (OSAH) campaign and the National Alliance to End Homelessness, an OSAH Steering Committee member, hosted a congressional briefing on June 25 to discuss the rising number of older Americans experiencing homelessness. The event featured a screening of the acclaimed documentary No Place to Grow Old, which follows the lives of older adults navigating the harsh realities of housing instability. The screening was followed by a panel discussion about the affordable housing crisis for aging adults, and how health challenges, unfortunate unforeseen circumstances, and rising housing costs converge to create this urgent issue. The briefing concluded with remarks from Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR).  

Briefing speakers included:   

• Opening Remarks, Kim Johnson, Senior Director of Policy, NLIHC
• Remarks, Michael Larson, Founder, Humans for Housing
• Moderator, Chantelle Wilkinson, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships & Campaigns, NLIHC
• Davey Schaupp, Director of No Place to Grow Old
• Yolanda Stevens, PhD, Program and Policy Analyst-Older Adults and Healthcare at the National Alliance to End Homelessness 
• Bronwyn Carver, Film Participant and Advocate
• Dr. Jennifer Molinsky, Director, Housing an Aging Society Program at Harvard University and Film Expert 
• Jennifer Kye, Senior Attorney, Justice In Aging
• Remarks, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) 

Kim Johnson opened the briefing by outlining the severity of the affordable housing crisis for older adults with extremely low incomes. Older adults, ages 55+, are among the fastest-growing group entering homelessness across the country — a trend projected to triple by 2030. These individuals are often longtime workers, caregivers, and veterans who, after a lifetime of contributions, find themselves priced out of safe and stable housing. Among the 45.6 million renter households in the U.S., 10.9 million have extremely low incomes and more than half of these households are headed by older adults or individuals with disabilities. At the same time, the national shortage of affordable, available rental housing means that many older adults are cost burdened, spending more than 30% of their income on housing costs.   

Michael Larson introduced the segment of No Place to Grow Old, a documentary that highlights the human impact of these statistics, revealing how health challenges, unfortunate unforeseen circumstances, and rising housing costs converge to create a housing crisis that can no longer be ignored. While the documentary focuses on individuals experiencing homelessness in Portland, Oregon, the film has resonated with audiences across the country who see similar housing issues in their own communities. The film was released in September 2024 and has since been shown and discussed in 91 community screenings in the United States and Canada.  

Chantelle Wilkinson provided background on the OSAH campaign, moderated the briefing, and introduced the panelists. Wilkinson emphasized that the crisis of older adults experiencing homelessness is often overlooked, and the need to include those with lived experience when elevating the issue and policy solutions.  

Bronwyn Carver discussed how misconceptions and biases about homelessness create additional barriers to people experiencing homelessness and seeking help. She highlighted the higher predatory risks for women experiencing homelessness, and how older adults are often less visible for personal safety, which contributes to the public perception that homelessness is primarily experienced by younger individuals. She emphasized that the lack of affordable housing is what drives high rates of homelessness and discussed how the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program provided her with stable, affordable housing after experiencing homelessness. This stability allowed her to attend to long-standing health issues, maintain sobriety, and mend family relationships.  

Davey Schaupp discussed the critical need to humanize the existing data on the affordable housing crisis and homelessness, and the importance of making the issue personal for audiences. He highlighted the human need for stories to make sense of the world, and that we need to change narratives to build support for significant policy change. He went on to share examples of how scenes in No Place to Grow Old helped viewers to connect with the experiences of the film’s participants.  

Yolanda Stevens, PhD, provided data on the current and projected rates of older adults experiencing homelessness. The 2024 HUD Point-in-Time (PIT) count found that 147,000 older adults experienced homelessness on a single night, with half of those adults experiencing unsheltered homelessness. Older adults make up the fastest growing segment of the homeless population, and the number is expected to triple in 2030. At the same time, the population of older adults is growing with 11,000 Americans turning 65 every day. 10% of older adults are currently living below the poverty line, which is contributing to the growing number of older adults experiencing homelessness. Affordable housing and homelessness programs can but currently do not meet the growing needs, and she highlighted how the film portrays this through the experiences of its participants.  

Dr. Jennifer Molinsky discussed the high rate of cost burdened adults in the U.S., with 1/3 of adults spending more than 30% of their income on housing costs. For older adults, their incomes tend to decline as their housing costs increase which leads to new or worsening housing cost burden. Older adults also often need accessibility modifications as their mobility changes and will often need services and support to remain in their home independently. Households headed by individuals aged 80 and older are set to double in the next 20 years, so the need for increased investments in affordable housing and supportive services is critical. She highlighted policy strategies to accomplish this, including increasing the supply of affordable housing, preserving existing affordable housing, providing emergency rental relief to households who experience an economic shock, and expanding home repair and modification programs. She concluded by emphasizing that the alternatives to increased investment in affordable housing programs are significantly more expensive.  

Jennifer Kye discussed the role of cross-sector collaboration in affordable housing advocacy, and the critical contributions of aging and disability advocates. She emphasized that housing is at the core of individual and community well-being, and other sectors recognize this. Older adults are served across all federal housing assistance programs, and 42% of households receiving HUD assistance are headed by older adults with the HCV program serving the highest number. This means that housing assistance programs are as critical as Medicaid and SSI for the stability and well-being of older adults with extremely low incomes.  

The briefing concluded with remarks from Senator Ron Wyden, who discussed how addressing the homelessness crisis is not only a moral imperative, but one that makes economic sense. He thanked the documentary team for their honest and compelling representation of the issue of older adults experiencing homelessness in his hometown of Portland, Oregon, and emphasized that this is a national issue affecting communities across the country that Congress must address.  

Policy solutions elevated throughout the panel included: sufficient funding to continue existing assistance under HUD’s Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) program, reintroduction of the Eviction Crisis Act, reintroduction of the Family Stability and Opportunity Vouchers Act, and expansion of the National Housing Trust Fund.  

Watch a recording of the briefing here. Watch the trailer for No Place to Grow Old here.  

To learn more about the connections between aging and housing, read the OSAH fact sheet here.