Pasadena's homeless population slightly increases, seniors among fastest growing group
Former homeless resident Ronald Snyder, 65, went from spending the night in his sleeping bag on a Pasadena sidewalk just a year ago to an actual home.
Inside his home, he showed off his rock collection that he had once buried under an overpass to protect it.
"I have been carrying around these rocks forever," said Snyder, who was unhoused for 10 years.
Pasadena case workers and outreach teams helped get him off the streets, his social security and some assistance covering his rent.
"It's hard, being that old and getting up off the concrete," he said.
According to Pasadena's recently released homeless count report, senior citizens are the fastest-growing group in the city's homeless population. However, unlike Snyder, many find themselves homeless, for the first time in their lives, right when they're supposed to enjoy their golden years of retirement.
"We're talking about people who worked or were homemakers their whole lives who thought they were looking forward to their golden years of retirement, and suddenly their rent tripled," said Anne Miskey, CEO of the Union Station Homeless Services. "And now at 65, 70 they're looking for a place to live and they're sleeping on the streets."
Despite permanently housing more people in 2022 than ever before, 556 people were experiencing homelessness — a 9% increase from last year. According to Pasadena, 18% of the unhoused are seniors compared to 14% last year.
"This population is really suffering and these tend to be people who are on fixed incomes," said Pasadena Housing Director Bill Huang. "
Huang added the city needs data to tell them where to direct resources. The city is already building more supportive senior housing, to give more residents like Snyder the help they so desperately need.
"I can just live and breathe — be a person again," he said. "Instead of worrying about a place to eat and use the restroom."
The homeless count report, which was recorded in January, will be presented to the Pasadena City Council on Monday. Then, the council will be asked to approve two items: one to allow safe parking for people who live in their cars and another to allocate more money for outreach programs.
