Aging Adult Subculture Paper

The following research will examine the older adult subculture that comprises the increased homeless population in The United States. Aging adults are at a higher risk of experiencing homelessness than at any other time in recent history. Despite their growing numbers, homeless older adults remain largely invisible in society and there has been a pervasive lack of public focus on elder homelessness (Gonyea, Mills-Dick, & Bachman, 2010). As the population is aging, more and more of that population is aging into poverty. Approximately one half of homeless individuals in America are older than 50, which has created serious challenges for how cities, governments, and health care providers care for homeless populations (Sorrell, 2016). Recent evidence points to the

Simultaneously, housing is becoming more unaffordable and the costs of necessities like health care are rising, or are at risk of being cut altogether, exacerbating the risk of poverty and homelessness among aging adults. The objective of the research is to identify theoretical concepts that apply to the increased population of older homeless adults, identify needs and interventions, and identify bio-psychosocial domains.

Historical Overview

The United States has a lengthy history of homelessness that could be dated back to as early as the arrival of European settlers arriving to the New World with very little or nothing at all. Early attempts at identifying the causes of homelessness simply dismissed its reasons as nothing more than a moral failing on the part of the person experiencing it. Many cities and neighborhoods had zones which largely contained transients and the homeless, much like “skid row” (Schneider, 1986). The Great Depression, beginning in 1929 and lasting a decade, caused a devastating epidemic of poverty, hunger, and homelessness. There were two million homeless people migrating across the United States during this period, giving rise to the term