A new report released by the United Way BC found a growing number of B.C. seniors struggling to find affordable and safe housing in the province as the cost of living continues to skyrocket. (Dreamstime)

By Jordan Davidson

seniors in crisis

‘Really, really scary:’ Nanaimo seniors struggling to find affordable housing

Nov 27, 2023 | 5:27 AM

NANAIMO — As the housing crisis continues to grip our country, some of our most vulnerable citizens are being hit the hardest.

The United Way BC partnered with a coalition of provincial non-profit community-based seniors organizations and released a report ‘Aging in Uncertainty: The Growing Housing Crisis for BC Seniors’, highlighting the struggles seniors face to secure affordable housing.

Executive director of the Nanaimo Family Life Association (NFLA) Deborah Hollins said the low-income rate for B.C. seniors is now the highest of any age group, a dramatic reversal from 30 years ago.

“We recently worked with a man who was 72 years old, who was getting his cancer treatments at the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital and sleeping in his car at night,” said Hollins. “There’s an increasing number of seniors who are finding themselves on the verge of homelessness for the first time in their 60’s and 70’s. These are people who have worked hard their entire lives.”

The report found 15.2 per cent of B.C. seniors are considered low-income.

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In 2020, one in four seniors had after-tax incomes below $21,800, almost $10,000 below the minimum wage.

In the Harbour City, approximately 810 senior-led renter households are spending 30 per cent or more of their income on housing, with at least 18 per cent spending more than 50 per cent, according to Hollins.

With the average price of rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Nanaimo around $1,230, the desperate housing needs are growing faster than available resources.

“Almost one in five seniors-led renter households are spending 50 per cent or more of their income on housing. When you consider older adults’ needs like medication, medical attention, medical equipment, healthy food, those kind of things, they are left with nearly nothing for the rest of their needs.”

The report found there is also a growing number of unhoused seniors or seniors living in substandard or unsafe housing situations, such as being forced to live with abusive family members, in storage lockers, or in vehicles.

Hollins told NanaimoNewsNOW about the incredible toll these issues can have on a person, with many senior-care agencies reporting their clients openly speak about suicide due to housing vulnerability and lack of support.

Often times when it comes to senior housing, it’s about more than simply finding a place to live.

“When we build housing for older adults, we need to provide services within that housing that is going to provide them with stable programming…that helps connect them to others because isolation for older adults has an impact on their health.”

While there are services in Nanaimo to help seniors find housing, such as the NFLA’s Seniors Housing Information & Navigation Ease Program (SHINE), Hollins said there is a need for more.

She said in 2017, they had around 112 older adults on waitlists to find housing in Nanaimo. Last year it grew to 343.

The report makes several recommendations to make housing more affordable and accessible for older adults, including increasing low-income rental stock for all age groups, expanding senior’s supportive and transitional housing, and enhancing mental health support for seniors.

The full report can be found here.

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow