On Saturday, November 18, 2017, I visited several centers for low-income senior citizens in Downtown San Diego, California and the San Diego neighborhood of Hillcrest. During these visits, I was given a tour of the facilities that are available to the senior citizens by the staff, and had the pleasure of meeting an elderly man who was an active volunteer at Potiker's, one of the senior centers we visited. The first center, Potiker’s, provides shelter and meals for low-income senior citizens in San Diego County. In addition, the center has access to many other social services depending on the needs of the individual resident. The center is newer and well-maintained, with a community room, a rooftop terrace and community garden, among other amenities. Centers like Potiker’s provide services that are desperately needed by low-income residents in San Diego, especially seniors, but these centers appear in such low numbers due to competition with commercial urban development in the Downtown area.
Another site of low-income housing I visited was the Sara Francis Hometel in Downtown San Diego. This building is not exclusive to low-income senior citizens, but a certain number of rooms are rented out by Potiker’s to be used as transitional housing for their low-income senior clients. Whereas Potiker’s is clean and well-maintained, the quality of the rooms at the Sara Francis Hometel varies. We were shown a room that had been better maintained than other units, but nevertheless, housed only the bare minimum in terms of amenities, such as a mattress, a small bathroom with a shower (a luxury not afforded to all units in the building), and a microwave, which residents must pay for themselves. The hallways in the building are narrow, and people live practically on top of one another. Although the rooms rented by Potiker’s at the Sara Francis Hometel are meant to be for transitional housing for up to 90 days, the availability of affordable, low-income housing in San Diego is so scarce that residents end up staying in these small, tight spaces for upwards of six months or longer.
The final site we visited was a low-income housing development in Hillcrest, San Diego that is aimed towards, but not limited to, low-income LGBTQ senior citizens. The housing development is still under construction with a strict time schedule in place, but demand for the project is high, with hundreds of people, including some from other states, and even other countries, putting their name on a waiting list in the hopes of gaining a space in the complex once it is completed.
Visiting these sites was an extremely eye-opening experience for me. I gained a deeper sense of the scope of the homeless issue in San Diego and what daily life is like for those who live on fixed incomes. I learned that anyone, regardless of their age, racial or ethnic background, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, military service, or even nationality, can fall victim to homelessness. It is a problem that concerns all of us, and one that we all can play a role in solving. After this experience, I have greater compassion for those who are homeless or living in poverty, and I feel determined to help bring attention to improving access to affordable low-income housing and reducing homelessness and many of the issues impacting those affected by it, such as mental illness, veterans’ issues, and access to food and affordable health care.
I joined the Life Course Scholars Program because I am considering a career in occupational therapy, and I felt that working with senior citizens would be valuable experience for the field. However, I love helping people and have always been interested in social issues, so when I discovered the program’s focus on issues such as homelessness, I embraced the opportunity to step into the shoes of an often-overlooked portion of American society and attempt to understand the issues they face. It is my hope through participating in the program that I can help make a difference in the lives of senior citizens and others who are homeless or feeling the negative effects of urban sprawl and gentrification through examining how these issues impact the ways in which low-income senior citizens age. Through this experience, I hope that the LCS cohort will be better prepared to advocate for policies that help improve the conditions of those living in poverty, especially where senior citizens are concerned, as well as related social issues that frequently impact the homeless population.
Another site of low-income housing I visited was the Sara Francis Hometel in Downtown San Diego. This building is not exclusive to low-income senior citizens, but a certain number of rooms are rented out by Potiker’s to be used as transitional housing for their low-income senior clients. Whereas Potiker’s is clean and well-maintained, the quality of the rooms at the Sara Francis Hometel varies. We were shown a room that had been better maintained than other units, but nevertheless, housed only the bare minimum in terms of amenities, such as a mattress, a small bathroom with a shower (a luxury not afforded to all units in the building), and a microwave, which residents must pay for themselves. The hallways in the building are narrow, and people live practically on top of one another. Although the rooms rented by Potiker’s at the Sara Francis Hometel are meant to be for transitional housing for up to 90 days, the availability of affordable, low-income housing in San Diego is so scarce that residents end up staying in these small, tight spaces for upwards of six months or longer.
The final site we visited was a low-income housing development in Hillcrest, San Diego that is aimed towards, but not limited to, low-income LGBTQ senior citizens. The housing development is still under construction with a strict time schedule in place, but demand for the project is high, with hundreds of people, including some from other states, and even other countries, putting their name on a waiting list in the hopes of gaining a space in the complex once it is completed.
Visiting these sites was an extremely eye-opening experience for me. I gained a deeper sense of the scope of the homeless issue in San Diego and what daily life is like for those who live on fixed incomes. I learned that anyone, regardless of their age, racial or ethnic background, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, military service, or even nationality, can fall victim to homelessness. It is a problem that concerns all of us, and one that we all can play a role in solving. After this experience, I have greater compassion for those who are homeless or living in poverty, and I feel determined to help bring attention to improving access to affordable low-income housing and reducing homelessness and many of the issues impacting those affected by it, such as mental illness, veterans’ issues, and access to food and affordable health care.
I joined the Life Course Scholars Program because I am considering a career in occupational therapy, and I felt that working with senior citizens would be valuable experience for the field. However, I love helping people and have always been interested in social issues, so when I discovered the program’s focus on issues such as homelessness, I embraced the opportunity to step into the shoes of an often-overlooked portion of American society and attempt to understand the issues they face. It is my hope through participating in the program that I can help make a difference in the lives of senior citizens and others who are homeless or feeling the negative effects of urban sprawl and gentrification through examining how these issues impact the ways in which low-income senior citizens age. Through this experience, I hope that the LCS cohort will be better prepared to advocate for policies that help improve the conditions of those living in poverty, especially where senior citizens are concerned, as well as related social issues that frequently impact the homeless population.