Service providers have a unique understanding of older homeless adults’ challenges and service needs. However, research on the experiences of health care providers (HCPs) who work with this population is limited. We aimed to gain a better understanding of the experiences (roles, challenges, and rewards) of HCPs who work with older homeless adults (age 50 and over) in outreach settings. We conducted individual semi-structured interviews with 10 HCPs who worked in these roles. Four themes emerged: (a) the client–provider relationship as an essential building block to HCPs’ work; (b) progression of care that acknowledges the “whole person”; (c) collaboration as integral to providers’ work; and (d) the importance of system navigation. Providers found their work personally and professionally fulfilling but were frustrated by system-level challenges. Findings can be used to identify strategies on how to further support providers in their roles and enhance service provision for older homeless individuals.

Canada’s National Housing Strategy (NHS) commits the government to eliminating chronic homelessness and promises that realizing the right to housing is a key objective. In this article, we explore how the Canadian government could realize the right to housing in the context of eliminating chronic homelessness. We argue that it is helpful to look at how other jurisdictions have successfully reduced homelessness. In this article we examine Finland and Scotland’s approaches because they offer certain similarities in how homelessness is addressed, yet they also differ, most crucially in how they understand the right to housing. We argue that both of these jurisdictions offer important lessons for Canada to draw on as it seeks to reduce long-term homelessness.

Dans cet article, nous empruntons le vocabulaire des études cinématographiques pour visualiser le droit tel qu’il est utilisé, interprété et construit du point de vue des personnes en situation d’itinérance. Nous avançons que les modalités du droit s’expriment différemment dans les lois élaborées pour règlementer les personnes en situation d’itinérance. Les techniques cinélégales que nous proposons sont au fond des métaphores qui permettent de mieux nuancer les représentations sceptiques et instrumentalistes du droit. Ces façons d’éprouver la réglementation des personnes itinérantes peuvent également favoriser l’incarnation de la perception des interactions urbaines entre les personnes en situation d’itinérance et leurs interlocuteurs.

This article aims to evaluate and assess the health issues of Calgarians over the age of 50 who are experiencing chronic homelessness, determine their unmet service needs, and assess whether there are predictors of chronic homelessness (such as childhood trauma) that could be addressed with changes to policy or service delivery. Three hundred participants were recruited from emergency shelters, as well as a from a small group of rough sleepers in Calgary, Canada in the winter of 2016. Excel and SPSS were used for analysis beginning with descriptive statistics for the samples of respondents who are 50 and older (n = 142) and under the age of 50 (n = 158). More than half of participants had been homeless continually for more than 10 years. Older adults reported complex health issues and significant barriers to accessing health care including finances, wait lists, and asking for help but not receiving it. Older adults reported lower rates of childhood trauma than their younger counterparts, yet the average was two and half times that of the general population. Recognition of the intersecting and cumulative effects of long-term homelessness and age could inform changes to policy to reduce siloes around public systems. Given that older adults are at higher risk for an early death, they should be prioritized for housing programs. Culturally appropriate and trauma-informed interventions are necessary to address the diverse and complex needs of this vulnerable group.

Although interest on older homelessness is gaining momentum, little research has considered the experiences of first-time homelessness from the perspective of older adults themselves. This constructivist grounded-theory study addresses this gap by exploring how societal perceptions of homelessness and aging shape access to housing, services, and perceptions of self for 15 older adults residing in emergency homeless shelters in Montreal, (Quebec, Canada). Findings revealed that homelessness evoked a grief response characterized by shock, despair, anger, and in some cases, relief. Connecting and receiving support from other shelter residents and staff helped participants to acknowledge and grieve their losses. However, difficult shelter conditions, the stigma associated with aging and homelessness, and not having their grief recognized or validated served to disenfranchise grief experiences. Conceptualizing later-life homelessness as disenfranchised grief contributes to the aging and homelessness literature while providing new avenues for understanding and validating the experiences of a growing population of vulnerable older adults.