CW: Homelesness
Across the country, an increasing number of older adults are being discharged from hospitals and long-term care facilities and are left homeless. States like Utah and Ohio are part of a larger national trend related to increased housing costs, gaps in insurance coverage, and a lack of safe, affordable, and accessible housing.
The fastest growing segment of the homeless population across the country is adults 65 and over, according to Dennis Culhane, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. The trend includes both people who’ve experienced chronic homelessness for years and a growing number of older adults becoming homeless for the first time, according to researchers.
Just outside Salt Lake City Utah, an old two-story brick hotel has been transformed into a homeless shelter specifically for older adults. The Medically Vulnerable People shelter, commonly referred to as the MVP shelter, caters to people 62 or older and younger adults with chronic illnesses and disabilities.
Unlike conventional homeless shelters, it provides semiprivate rooms over communal areas. The rooms accommodate wheelchairs and other medical equipment. Each room also comes with a private bathroom — an accommodation that providers say helps maintain dignity for residents coping with incontinence and other conditions.
Unfortunately, shelters like these are still uncommon. The majority of homeless shelters are not able to care for older adults, especially those who have medical conditions or disabilities.
One man leaving a long-term care facility in Utah had no home to go back to and no family available to take him in. Staff members escorted him outside on the day he was discharged and talked about transportation. They suggested an Uber ride that would cost hundreds of dollars. He refused, insisting he’d hitchhike. He eventually went to a homeless shelter.
In Ohio, these shelters have been seeing an increase in older adults who are coming directly from nursing homes, some who are wearing hospital bracelets or already carrying discharge papers. Others come with walkers, oxygen tanks, or unaddressed medical needs. Others are recovering from strokes or surgeries and need help with mobility. Shelter staff says they are often taking care of people whose conditions would normally need medical attention.
Advocates say these cases are indicative of systemic pressures at work around the country. Housing costs have surged faster than many fixed incomes, including Social Security, forcing some older people into long-term care without stable housing.
Medicaid pays for nursing-home care for people who meet specific medical criteria for nursing-home care. Once those conditions are no longer met, coverage may end, regardless of whether or not there is housing suitable for their needs.
At the same time, affordable housing is still out of reach in most of the country. Waitlists for affordable housing can last for months or years. Therefore, discharge planners and facilities are often limited in their options.
Some people are forced into shelters. Shelters say they are not equipped to provide medical care. However, they are meeting that need more and more as older adults arrive with complex health needs.
The consequences are immediate, according to healthcare workers. People are without stable housing and support to help them with their medication, attend follow-up appointments, or recover from a health crisis or an injury. Some go back to emergency rooms or are readmitted to hospitals or long-term care facilities, a cycle that can be almost impossible to break.
Researchers and advocates say the problem is likely to grow as the population ages, and housing affordability issues persist. More and more older adults are entering long-term care without the stable housing they can to return to. People are wondering how systems will handle discharges in the years to come.
Sources:
Bolton, Aaron. “More Seniors Are Becoming Homeless. Shelters Are Trying to Adapt.” NPR, National Public Radio, 6 Jan. 2026,
https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2026/01/06/nx-s1-5623005/seniors-aging-unhoused-homeless-shelters-mobility.
“Older Adults Are Being Discharged out of Long-Term Care Facilities and into Homelessness.” Scripps News, E. W. Scripps Company, 10 Apr. 2026,
https://www.scrippsnews.com/us-news/older-adults-are-being-discharged-out-of-long-term-care-facilities-and-into-homelessness.
Zuckerman, Jake. “Ohio’s Nursing Homes Are Dumping Patients at Homeless Shelters.” AP News, The Associated Press, 13 Apr. 2026,
https://apnews.com/article/ohio-nursing-home-patients-homeless-shelters-9c000eeddc9c9411f44fd605fafc6771.