CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The lack of affordable housing has shelters in our area seeing a new trend.
The number of senior citizens who are homeless is continuing to increase, with many of them looking at wait lists that are two to three years long.
Abbegail Adams is one of many seniors looking for a place to call home.
"I would sleep in my car in the lot next door," Adams said. "I didn’t have anywhere to go. I struggled when the rent [went] up there too much, I couldn’t pay it."
Adams said many nights she slept in a car—one step above the pavement—and not far from being out on the streets.
Deronda Metz is the director for the Salvation Army at the Center of Hope and she says she has worked with people who are homeless for over 30 years, and she has never seen so many older people in need of a place to stay.
"You didn’t see people's grandmothers or mothers in the shelter because the families took care but now families are not in Charlotte or able to take care of their relatives," Metz said.
She says the lack of affordable housing also fuels the flames, causing more and more seniors to lose hope.
"People could afford housing on a fixed income and now people are on a fixed income ad they can't afford housing," Metz said. "It's unfortunate a lot of them felt stuck so I try to motivate people so what are some solutions."
She says many seniors are looking at waitlists of up to two or three years, and in the meantime, they're getting creative and are working to develop transitional plans.
Some of those options include grouping three or four women into one affordable home, helping some of them get back into the workforce, or even sending them to other towns, for more resources.
"We actually took a van load of seniors to another county to apply for housing there," Metz said. "That’s not a person's first choice but now we get more desperate."
Other organizations like Charlotte Family Housing and Displaced Roses in Gastonia say they’re seeing an uptick as well.
Right now they’re continuing to work to bring new beginnings to old friends like Abbegail Adams.
"There are a lot of women like me. I don’t think I could have made it if this place hadn’t been here," Adams said.
Contact Tradesha Woodard at twoodard1@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
WCNC Charlotte is part of the Charlotte Journalism Collaborative (CJC), launched by the Solutions Journalism Network with funding from the Knight Foundation. The CJC strengthens the local news ecosystem and increases opportunities for engagement. It is supported by a combination of local and national grants and sponsorships. For more information, visit charlottejournalism.org.