Kim Hilton inside his new condo at an assisted dwelling facility in Columbia Falls, Mont. Hilton cannot afford the unit on his personal, however after a protracted search was in a position to get one of many restricted slots in a Medicaid program that helps pay for assisted dwelling.
Aaron Bolton/Montana Public Radio
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Aaron Bolton/Montana Public Radio
Two years in the past, Kim Hilton and his companion walked out of their house in Columbia Falls, Montana, for the final time. The home had offered, and the brand new landlord had raised the lease.
They could not afford it. Their Social Safety funds could not cowl the price of any flats in northwest Montana’s Flathead Valley.
Hilton’s companion was in a position to transfer into her daughter’s studio condo. There wasn’t sufficient area for Hilton, so that they reluctantly break up up.
At 68 years outdated, he moved into his truck — a forest-green Chevy Avalanche.
Hilton rapidly came upon how arduous it might be to outlive. Hilton is diabetic. That first night time, his insulin froze, rendering it ineffective.
Issues did not get any simpler that winter. On the coldest nights, temperatures dropped to about minus 20 levels Fahrenheit. Hilton stored the truck working, however finally his gas pump failed. He was on his personal within the chilly.
Hilton is often fairly optimistic, however in that second, he mentioned his spirit broke.
“I simply mentioned I would like to fall asleep and never get up and I will not have to fret about something. I will simply sit right here and be just a little popsicle within the truck,” Hilton recalled.
Kim Hilton packing containers up his belongings on July 9, 2024, shortly after his second leg was amputated. Dwelling independently within the condo turned tough, and after months of ready, he acquired the decision that an assisted dwelling facility that takes his Medicaid waiver had a room that may quickly be accessible.
Aaron Bolton/Montana Public Radio
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Aaron Bolton/Montana Public Radio
Hilton was one in every of tens of hundreds of seniors who turned homeless for the primary time in 2022. A dramatic enhance within the variety of homeless seniors nationwide is overwhelming companies for unhoused individuals.
Older Montanans are particularly struggling as a result of housing prices have skyrocketed since 2020, partly due to the rise of distant work. The state has one of many quickest rising homeless populations within the nation, based on federal knowledge.
College of Pennsylvania researcher Dennis Culhane estimated that the variety of homeless individuals age 65 and up within the U.S. would triple between 2019 and 2030. He just lately up to date that estimate utilizing federal knowledge for a forthcoming paper.
“We’re on observe to satisfy that prediction. Actually, the expansion has been barely greater than we predicted,” he mentioned.
Getting ready for the ‘grey wave’ in homelessness
In keeping with Culhane’s analysis, the variety of homeless individuals over 65 jumped by just a little over a 3rd between 2019 and 2022 alone. By 2022, there have been about 250,000 individuals over 55 that have been unhoused. About half of this inhabitants have been changing into homeless for the primary time.
What researchers and advocates name the “grey wave” of homeless seniors is overwhelming service suppliers attempting to assist.
Wendy Wilson is seeing the grey wave coming first hand. She’s a case supervisor at ASSIST, a non-profit that helps Flathead residents struggling to satisfy their medical wants. Previously, that meant serving to them get free meals or discovering a experience to the physician’s workplace.
More and more, Wilson helps older individuals like Hilton discover housing.
“They’ve medical points. It is not straightforward for them to be dwelling in a truck or on the homeless shelter when you’ve medical points happening,” she mentioned.
In early 2023, Wilson helped Hilton discover a spot in a neighborhood shelter with personal rooms. However after 5 months dwelling in his truck, Hilton’s well being had gone too far downhill, too quick.
Hilton had a number of fainting episodes on the shelter, mentioned Sona Blue, who manages that shelter.
“It scared us as a result of now we have no medical care on this facility,” she mentioned.
That is normal for shelters like this. Lastly, Hilton took a foul fall, and shelter employees despatched him to the ER.
The physician who handled Hilton found he had developed strain wounds from sitting for months in the identical place in his truck. Due to the neuropathy in his limbs from his diabetes, Hilton could not really feel the ache. These wounds by no means healed and have become contaminated, one other widespread complication of diabetes.
Hilton needed to have one leg amputated. Later, he needed to have this different leg amputated as properly. Returning to the shelter in a wheelchair wasn’t an choice: there have been no shelter employees or medical personnel accessible to assist along with his fundamental wants.
A handful of homeless service suppliers, together with shelter staffers and different medical case staff, tried to assist Hilton discover one other place to go. They put him on ready lists for the restricted provide of sponsored housing within the space.
Wilson secured one of many few slots in a Medicaid program that helps pay for assisted dwelling for Hilton. However it could actually take a 12 months or extra for items to open. So Wilson crossed her fingers that Hilton would get fortunate earlier than he was launched from the hospital after his second amputation.
Homeless options designed for seniors
Many seniors throughout the nation are caught enjoying the identical harmful ready sport, mentioned Caitlyn Synovec with the Nationwide Healthcare for the Homeless Council.
“Generally they can not be safely served in a shelter as a result of they’ve points with incontinence or cognition. Then they’re extra prone to be on the streets and their circumstances will worsen fairly a bit,” she mentioned.
Communities are in search of options.
To serve getting old individuals with complicated medical wants, homeless shelters for seniors are cropping up in some cities like Salt Lake Metropolis and Ft. Lauderdale.
Montana just lately acquired approval from federal well being officers to make use of Medicaid funding to briefly assist individuals with medical circumstances make lease.
However that is not sufficient, based on Synovec. She mentioned the true answer is constructing extra reasonably priced housing so older Individuals do not grow to be homeless within the first place.
Snow covers the bottom on Dec. 4 exterior the assisted dwelling facility the place Kim Hilton now lives in Columbia Falls, Mont. Hilton believes he would not have survived one other winter dwelling out of his truck.
Aaron Bolton/Montana Public Radio
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Aaron Bolton/Montana Public Radio
That housing will have to be accessible too. Older homeless individuals like Hilton want properties they’ll safely navigate. Due to his new wheelchair, he wanted a floor ground condo.
A brand new house, and new hopes
This fall, Hinton lastly acquired a spot in a facility that may take his Medicaid waiver. He was additionally in a position to get an electrical wheelchair that may make it simpler to get to physician’s appointments on the town.
Hinton mentioned he hasn’t pushed his new wheelchair to its prime pace but. “It goes quick for a wheelchair. I will discover out after I go all the way down to dinner. I will stretch it out, break it in,” Hilton mentioned with amusing.
Hilton is grateful to lastly have steady housing. Wilson is grateful too. She mentioned it was one of many few occasions she’s been in a position to assist a senior regain housing.
“It was a woo-hoo second,” she mentioned.
So long as the power stays open and the Medicaid waiver program is not lower, she’s assured he’ll have made it via homelessness.
This story comes from NPR’s partnership with Montana Public Radio and KFF Well being Information.
