Cape Town - Concerns have been raised that homeless shelters are not the ideal place for the elderly to stay.
Yet this is often where they find themselves as there are long waiting lists for old age facilities or they are declared too fit to be accommodated.
Hassan Khan of the Haven Night Shelter said the elderly land up in shelters because their family relationships have broken down .
“The person ends up on the street and we help them out.”
He said older people were more vulnerable and being on the street was also not the ideal place for them.
However, he said the older person might also be at risk in the shelter as sometimes the physical set-up does not suit them.
He said shelters often open their doors to people from the age of 18, which could sometimes cause issues with the older person.
Phoccia Titus, the facility manager and social worker at the OWL Haven Shelter, said of the 65 residents, 25 to 30 are older than 60 years.
The oldest person at their shelter was 77 years old.
“They are too old to stay in a shelter and too young for an old age home.”
However, she said they do not turn older people away.
She explained that they first try to reunite the person with their family and if that was not possible, they then try to help them get accommodation at an old age facility.
But the waiting lists are long and most times they are turned down as they are not frail enough and still considered fit.
She said older people need care that the shelters are not able to provide, such as nursing staff.
Another concern, she said, was that people were allowed to stay in shelters for a certain period only and then move on. She said the elderly cannot be expected to move from shelter to shelter.
She said older people often complain about the younger people in the shelter.
“There needs to be shelters for only older people,” she said.
Vernon Hendricks, chairperson of the Western Cape Older Persons Forum, said elderly people living in homeless shelters was a concern.
“The government and community have failed dismally as there’s a huge exclusion with regard to pensioners at home and government institutions. The causes of them being on the street are not effectively addressed.”
Terri Casper, of Age-in-Action, said they often assisted pensioners in applying to old age facilities.
“However old age homes often have long waiting lists and, as people are living longer, there are not enough homes to accommodate all of the older persons. It could be during this waiting period that older persons find themselves homeless.”
Social Development spokesperson Esther Lewis said a number of elderly clients do not have identity documents. “Shelters assist clients in obtaining IDs. Without an ID, the client cannot move from the shelter to an old age home.”