By Matthew Dansereau
Community Outreach and Engagement Coordinator, Dartmouth Council on Aging & Town of Dartmouth
Many people across Southeastern Massachusetts have noticed a significant increase in homelessness in recent years. Encampments can now be found in wooded areas, behind businesses, near rail lines, and even in suburban communities that historically saw very little visible homelessness. People are also living in cars, motels, overcrowded apartments, or temporarily staying with friends and family because they have nowhere else to go.
What many people may not realize is that this crisis increasingly affects older adults, individuals with significant medical needs, and even children. More seniors are facing housing instability than ever before, including people on fixed incomes, individuals living with serious health conditions, and long-time renters who are suddenly unable to afford rising housing costs.
In Bristol County, there are individuals over the age of 80 living in encampments or in vehicles. There are individuals trying to manage serious illnesses such as cancer, those who use wheelchairs, those with feeding tubes, and people on dialysis who are living on the streets.
These are some of the most medically vulnerable members of our community, and their presence underscores just how deeply the housing crisis now extends beyond traditional assumptions about homelessness.
Having worked with unhoused individuals for nearly 30 years, I can say this is the worst housing crisis I have ever seen. More and more people experiencing homelessness are “first-timers” — individuals who never imagined they would find themselves in this situation.
Why Is This Happening?
The reasons are complicated, but one issue sits at the center of the problem: for decades, communities across Southeastern Massachusetts did not build enough housing, particularly affordable and subsidized housing.
At the same time, housing costs have risen dramatically. Since COVID, rents, property taxes, insurance, utilities, and interest rates have all increased significantly, while wages and fixed incomes have not kept pace. Even people with stable incomes are struggling to find housing they can afford.
This shortage creates a chain reaction throughout the entire housing system.
One example is the growing number of low-income seniors living alone in homes they can no longer realistically maintain. Many would gladly move into smaller senior or subsidized housing if units were available. Unfortunately, waiting lists are often years long.
Because affordable senior housing is so limited, many older adults remain in homes that may be financially or physically difficult to manage. At the same time, families looking to purchase homes cannot find inventory, renters cannot transition into homeownership, and apartments never become available for others. The result is a housing market that has become increasingly gridlocked and unaffordable.
The same pressures exist throughout every level of housing. Someone in subsidized housing may be financially ready to move into a market-rate apartment but cannot find one to move into. Someone in a shelter may be unable to move into permanent housing because there are no available units. Those living unhoused cannot get into a shelter because even they have waiting lists. Over time, these pressures build until people end up living in unsafe or unstable situations.
Seniors Are Increasingly Vulnerable
Many older adults today are only one unexpected event away from housing instability. A rent increase, medical emergency, loss of a spouse, or unexpected expense can quickly become overwhelming for someone living on a fixed income.
We are also seeing longtime tenants lose housing for reasons beyond their control. Some landlords are selling properties, moving family members into units, or raising rents to current market levels. For seniors who may have rented the same apartment for decades, suddenly navigating today’s housing market can feel impossible.
Many older adults face additional barriers such as limited savings, mobility issues, poor credit, or medical conditions that make relocating even more difficult.
Homelessness is no longer an issue affecting only a small segment of the population. Increasingly, it affects seniors, working individuals, families, and people with disabilities who simply cannot find housing they can afford.
What Can Be Done?
There is no quick fix, but there are steps communities can take both now and in the future.
We need to expand housing options at every level, particularly affordable and subsidized housing for seniors and individuals with fixed incomes. The suburban communities surrounding Greater New Bedford also need to build more of this housing rather than relying primarily on the City of New Bedford to carry the burden alone.
Communities and individuals also need to consider alternative housing models that were once far less common, including accessory dwelling units (ADUs), co-housing arrangements, and housing designed for medically fragile individuals who may not require, be able to afford, or want full assisted living care.
Equally important are programs that help people remain housed before they lose housing altogether. Rental assistance, housing stabilization programs, landlord mediation, and supportive case management services can often prevent homelessness before it occurs. Preventing homelessness is almost always less expensive — and far less traumatic — than trying to solve it afterward.
Housing and homelessness are not simply urban issues or someone else’s problem. They are community issues affecting every city and town in Southeastern Massachusetts.
If we want our region to remain a place where people can age with dignity and remain connected to the communities they helped build, then housing must be treated as essential infrastructure; just as important as transportation, healthcare, and public safety.
I am the Vice Chair of the Bristol County Continuum of Care (BC3), the homelessness continuum serving Bristol County — with the exception of Fall River (a story for another time). Anyone interested in learning more or becoming part of the solution can reach out to me at mdansereau@dartmouthma.gov. If you or someone you know is currently experiencing homelessness or is at risk of losing housing, please reach out as well.
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