The Boston Globe: Prof. Byrne Discusses Solutions for the Growing Baby Boomer Homelessness Crisis
Late baby boomers between 58 and 67 are not only more susceptible to homelessness than other generations, but lack of affordable housing can make their housing needs more extreme than their housed peers. In an article by The Boston Globe, homelessness expert Prof. Thomas Byrne gave insight into the complexity of this problem.
Excerpt from “Late Baby Boomers Have Long Been Vulnerable to Homelessness. Now As They Age, Housing Providers Are Struggling to Keep Up with Their Needs” by Katie Mogg:
Studies show those born in the later half of the baby boomer generation, now ages 58 to 67, remain more susceptible to homelessness nationwide because they faced decades of economic hardship.
Now, as their health needs rise with their age, housing support organizations in Boston say they are struggling to keep up. And, they say, the best solution is more federal funding for permanent affordable housing.
‘Homelessness is bad for your health,’ said Thomas Byrne, a social welfare policy professor at Boston University School of Social Work, explaining that someone experiencing homelessness at 55 could have the health needs of a housed 80-year-old.
This age group has made up the largest bulk of the US homeless population for three decades, according to a 2019 University of Pennsylvania study, and faced competitive job markets, back-to-back economic recessions, and skyrocketing housing costs during the 1970s and ’80s. As a result, they’ve remained more susceptible to homelessness ever since.
Byrne, a contributing author on the study, said it’s an issue that must be addressed immediately to prevent premature aging and death.
‘We just need more housing for these people. No one would want to see their own parents or grandparents experiencing homelessness,’ he said.”