By: Nina Escueta
Life Course Scholar
An estimated 6.6 million seniors live in poverty. Before our first trip together as Life Course Scholars, that was just a number for many of us.
Our first day out in the field consisted of visiting and learning about some institutions in Downtown San Diego that address this heartbreaking statistic. We learned of the single room occupancy (SRO’s) form of housing that provides shelter for individuals with very low income. The rent may range from $450 to $700 a month, and the individual rooms may or may not have their own bathrooms. Very few amenities are available in many SRO’s, but it’s shelter and those who have it are grateful nonetheless.
The SRO that we visited was the New Palace Hotel. Located in Downtown San Diego, it offers those who live within it easy access to bus stops and the local liquor store where grocery shopping can be done. We meet as a group in front of the New Palace. There are seniors sitting on the front steps, and one crosses the street towards us as he carries a bag of groceries. He smiles as he passes.
Professor Mirle stands in the middle as she gives us the history of this valued establishment. “Preserving units like this will be critical,” she says and she explains that, since Downtown San Diego has revitalized, many SRO’s have been purchased and rehabilitated into high-end condos or were simply knocked down to create fresh lots for new real estate. This lost tens of thousands of affordable units from an already growing homeless population.
The rest of the trip was more uplifting. Highlighted were various other centers that are working hard to better the lives of not only elders but of all who experience homelessness. Among them are Father Joe’s Village and Celadon, both of which offer amenities and innovative approaches to the housing problem.
Once back on campus, we were asked to reflect on the day’s activities and to put down our thoughts into our journals. I remember writing with the heavy realization that senior homelessness is a very real and pressing problem--and it’s happening in our backyard. Just in the past year, the population of elders living in poverty has doubled.
The "houses" that we've seen today give hope that the issue is being addressed, but their work is still far from being finished. Though many of these centers offer services and charitable housing, the capacity is still lacking because there is just so many who don't have the means to afford to stay in these centers. And even if one could afford it, the waiting lists are usually backed-up months or even years.
There is hope, though. These centers are taking small but concrete steps towards a San Diego where the poverty rate--and the poverty rate of San Diegan elders--is lowered. In the meantime, the Life Course Scholars Program has helped me flesh out impersonal statistics into a reality that begs for attention. I know I’m not only speaking for myself when I say that this tour opened my eyes to the importance of a program like Life Course Scholars in raising awareness of all the factors that affect a senior’s life here in San Diego. Here’s to hoping that the poverty rate for seniors falls within our lifetimes
Life Course Scholar
An estimated 6.6 million seniors live in poverty. Before our first trip together as Life Course Scholars, that was just a number for many of us.
Our first day out in the field consisted of visiting and learning about some institutions in Downtown San Diego that address this heartbreaking statistic. We learned of the single room occupancy (SRO’s) form of housing that provides shelter for individuals with very low income. The rent may range from $450 to $700 a month, and the individual rooms may or may not have their own bathrooms. Very few amenities are available in many SRO’s, but it’s shelter and those who have it are grateful nonetheless.
The SRO that we visited was the New Palace Hotel. Located in Downtown San Diego, it offers those who live within it easy access to bus stops and the local liquor store where grocery shopping can be done. We meet as a group in front of the New Palace. There are seniors sitting on the front steps, and one crosses the street towards us as he carries a bag of groceries. He smiles as he passes.
Professor Mirle stands in the middle as she gives us the history of this valued establishment. “Preserving units like this will be critical,” she says and she explains that, since Downtown San Diego has revitalized, many SRO’s have been purchased and rehabilitated into high-end condos or were simply knocked down to create fresh lots for new real estate. This lost tens of thousands of affordable units from an already growing homeless population.
The rest of the trip was more uplifting. Highlighted were various other centers that are working hard to better the lives of not only elders but of all who experience homelessness. Among them are Father Joe’s Village and Celadon, both of which offer amenities and innovative approaches to the housing problem.
Once back on campus, we were asked to reflect on the day’s activities and to put down our thoughts into our journals. I remember writing with the heavy realization that senior homelessness is a very real and pressing problem--and it’s happening in our backyard. Just in the past year, the population of elders living in poverty has doubled.
The "houses" that we've seen today give hope that the issue is being addressed, but their work is still far from being finished. Though many of these centers offer services and charitable housing, the capacity is still lacking because there is just so many who don't have the means to afford to stay in these centers. And even if one could afford it, the waiting lists are usually backed-up months or even years.
There is hope, though. These centers are taking small but concrete steps towards a San Diego where the poverty rate--and the poverty rate of San Diegan elders--is lowered. In the meantime, the Life Course Scholars Program has helped me flesh out impersonal statistics into a reality that begs for attention. I know I’m not only speaking for myself when I say that this tour opened my eyes to the importance of a program like Life Course Scholars in raising awareness of all the factors that affect a senior’s life here in San Diego. Here’s to hoping that the poverty rate for seniors falls within our lifetimes