Marin panel faults county on senior homelessness prevention

Marin County needs to do more to address the lack of affordable housing to prevent vulnerable seniors from becoming homeless, according to a new report.

The Marin County Civil Grand Jury released the report  — titled “Older Adults on the Brink of Homelessness: Time to Act is Now” — on Friday. The jury, a watchdog investigative panel, said there is a “lack of urgency” for the county to take a systemic approach to keep older adults from falling into homelessness.

“As the cost of living continues to rise many older adults on fixed incomes cannot keep up with the cost of utilities, groceries, and healthcare expenses,” the report says. “Property loss due to high mortgages, taxes, and home ownership maintenance is affecting more and more older long-term Marin residents.”

The jury says it has investigated four times whether the county is prepared to meet the needs of older adults — a group that is rapidly growing. Grand jury reports in 2007, 2014, 2018 and 2023 concluded that attempts by the county to address the issue were inadequate and that officials rejected many key recommendations.

This year, the panel said it conducted another investigation “due to the worsening housing crisis in Marin and its effects on vulnerable older adult women and men.”

“Based on its findings, the Grand Jury concluded that immediate action is needed,” it said.

The jury recommends that the county develop a strategic plan to keep the crisis from worsening, and that the county’s Community Development Agency take the lead to coordinate all efforts related to homelessness prevention for older adults. The jury recommends that the Board of Supervisors complete a cost-benefit analysis comparing the cost of providing services to people after they become homeless to homelessness prevention solutions.

The report states that 62% of renters 65 and older in California said their housing was “cost-burdened,” meaning they spend more than 30% of their income of rent and utilities.

Forty-eight percent of the state’s homeless population is 50 or older, and 41% became homeless for the first time over the age of 50, the jury said.

“Stabilizing housing for older adults is the best way to spare them the pain, suffering, humiliation, and indignity of becoming homeless,” the jury said. “It is also the key to preventing them from spending the rest of their lives in homelessness because once housing is lost, older adults face unique challenges that make it extremely difficult to become housed again.”

Legal Aid of Marin is seeing a disproportionate number of older adults getting evicted from their housing with nowhere to go, said Lucie Hollingsworth, an attorney with the nonprofit law firm that focuses on tenant eviction defense.

Many have lived in the same dwelling for years, paying below-market rates, she said.

“However, with rents increasing rapidly, many are getting evicted for the inability to pay and facing a very different rental market with extremely low inventory and years-long waitlists for senior housing,” Hollingsworth said.

“The increased displacement of seniors on fixed incomes, many into cars and camps, are the consequences of Marin’s failure to build enough housing for its population, but we cannot wait for the housing to be built,” Hollingsworth said. “Urgent policies are needed to address the displacement that is happening now.”

The median household income for a family of four in Marin is $148,650, one of the highest levels in California. The median local price for a single-family detached home is approximately $1.5 million, and typical monthly rents range from $2,500 to $3,400.

The jury said there is no reliable count or estimate of older adults on the brink of homelessness in Marin, which is a barrier to planning.

The California Department of Aging states that since 2017, the number of homeless people older than 65 has increased more than 166%. High rent, lack of affordable housing and accessible stable housing were top contributors, the jury reported.

A 2022 “point-in-time” count showed there were 1,121 people experiencing homelessness in Marin, the jury reported. That represented a 8.4% increase from a 2019, it said.

Absent from the jury’s report is the 2024 point-in-time count that showed there are 1,090 homeless people living in Marin, a 2.8% decrease from the 2022 count. Twenty-four percent of the homeless people counted were over the age of 55 and 7% were over 64.

Homeward Bound of Marin, a nonprofit offering shelters, supportive housing and other services, serves about 900 people annually. In the 2022-23 fiscal year, 27% of those served were 62 or older. In 2018-19, 17% were 62 or older.

“I think we should not be surprised at the increase in older adult homelessness, particularly in Marin, with the cost of housing, our aging population, and the fixed income of many seniors being critical factors,” said Mary Kay Sweeney, a leader at Homeward Bound of Marin.

Older residents in Marin have grown increasingly concerned about financial security and financial crimes over the last four years, recent reports show.

The Health and Human Services 2023 Marin Older Adult Needs Assessment showed that the concern about the ability to afford their rent or mortgage payments increased from 17% in 2019 to 36% in 2023.

A recent county survey, which involved 412 residents in November and December, found that 29% of the respondents were concerned about financial security. When Marin seniors were surveyed in 2019, only 13% of respondents cited financial security as a concern.

The second biggest change compared with the previous survey was the number of respondents who cited concerns over financial crime, financial abuse and scams. Twenty-six percent of respondents cited this category as a concern, compared to 13% in 2019.

Marin County officials said they are still reviewing the report and recommendations.

“While the report presents some interesting and useful information, there are areas where additional data could have provided a more comprehensive basis for its recommendations and conclusions,” Dr. Lisa Warhuus, director of the Department of Health and Human Services, said in an email.

Laine Hendricks, spokesperson for the county, said staffers will collaborate to present a formal response to be considered by the Board of Supervisors.

“Homelessness is a top focus area for the Board of Supervisors and is a priority area for our team,” Hendricks said.