Older people and homelessness: Prevalence and causes

This article examines the prevalence and causes of homelessness among older people. It reviews the histories of a sample of older people in Britain wh o slept on the streets and stayed in temporary hostels. Some had become hom eless for the first time in old age, having been married and worked for man y years. Others had spent most of their adult lives in hostels or on the st reets. Different events and states triggered and contributed to homelessnes s at various stages of the life course. Although homelessness generally is associated with shortages of low-cost rented housing, unemployment, and pov erty, among our informants personal and psychosocial factors had a dominant role.