Canada’s Homeless Population Is Aging: How Shelters Are Adapting to Meet the Needs of Older Adults

Seventy-one-year-old Roger Oake paused on a bench outside the Union Gospel Mission shelter in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, reflecting on the struggles of aging while homeless. After breakfast, and with another day of uncertainty ahead, Oake noted that sleeping at the shelter "this time" had lasted about a month so far. Years of homelessness have taken their toll, and as he grows older, simply walking the neighborhood "beat" during daylight hours is becoming increasingly difficult.

“I really don’t know where to even begin. There’s so many things that could or should change, but I really don’t know,” Oake admitted, his voice marked by both resignation and resilience. “We’re people too, you know? We’re not just bums, we’re not just hobos looking for a handout. We are what we are and we’re at where we’re at — and that’s basically where it’s at.”

Across major cities, those who offer shelter and support to people experiencing homelessness report a noticeable rise in the number of elderly clients seeking help. This trend is driving significant changes in the way services are delivered, as organizations now find themselves balancing complex medical, psychological, and mobility needs alongside essential considerations such as accessible beds and charging stations for mobility scooters.

The elderly population within homeless shelters has spiked since the COVID-19 pandemic and shows no signs of abating. At the Union Gospel Mission alone, more than 1,000 individuals sleep at the facility each year, with the proportion of senior users steadily increasing. “The number of people in the 61-to-65 age range keeps growing at about two per cent every year,” a spokesperson shared. “If you look at it from 55-plus, around COVID, they accounted for about a quarter of our shelter population, and now we’re up to one-third.”

Many elderly people find themselves homeless after being priced out of the market or evicted due to renovations. For some, an extended hospital stay results in the loss of their accommodation, leaving them nowhere to return upon discharge. Beyond offering a bed, staff now routinely help clients navigate systems to secure pensions or old-age security payments, and assist with health issues like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

One former resident, after securing transitional housing, continued to return to the shelter’s familiar washrooms, unable to remember the way back to his new home without assistance. Staff members provide this navigation without hesitation, but such circumstances highlight needs that were scarcely anticipated just a few years ago.

The challenges are echoed across Western Canada. The Mustard Seed operates a dozen 24-hour shelters in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia, accommodating nearly 750 people nightly. Here, staff observe that chronic homelessness can accelerate physical decline—individuals in their mid-50s may suffer health issues more typically seen in people two decades older.

“Somebody who has experienced chronic or episodic homelessness and has aged within that population will need those supports earlier,” said a shelter director. Managing medications for illnesses such as diabetes, respiratory difficulties, or cancer adds to financial stress, sometimes forcing impossible choices between health needs and the cost of housing. Certain facilities permit oxygen tanks, while others do not, illustrating the patchwork nature of specialized supports available for homeless seniors.

Staff often work with clients awaiting scarce openings in supportive or seniors’ housing. Not uncommonly, they also counsel individuals facing terminal illness who are reluctant to enter hospitals, seeking instead to arrange hospice care and stave off acute crises whenever possible.

Toronto’s Islington Seniors’ Shelter, with 83 beds dedicated to men and women over 55, is consistently at capacity. With approximately 20 percent of Toronto’s unhoused population over the age of 55, demand continues to rise. The shelter’s suite-style rooms and staff trained in geriatric care address unique dietary, medical, and social needs, while also tackling profound loneliness that often accompanies aging and homelessness.

Recent policy developments, such as increased investment in seniors’ housing, represent steps forward. However, advocates argue that a much broader conversation is needed between governments, health-care providers, and community organizations to ensure adequate wraparound support, including expanded housing options and better rent protections for elderly people at risk of homelessness.

For seniors like Mo Singh Khunkhun, 68, life on the margins remains a reality despite a lifetime spent working in construction and on farms. His brightly dyed purple beard and upbeat attitude set him apart. “People like it, you know? I don’t do boring,” he joked, even as he acknowledged the growing presence of older people at shelters and the pressing need for mutual support among residents. “Some will talk about their health issues. But a lot of them, they just have the camaraderie of being here, you know?”

The faces behind the statistics tell the story clearly: Canada’s homelessness crisis is increasingly a seniors’ crisis, demanding urgent adaptation in services and policy to meet the challenges of an aging and vulnerable population.