Some aging clients of Red Deer's Safe Harbour temporary homeless shelter have to get by on just one meal a day.
With no on-site kitchen, people with mobility issues — some who are now in their 60s and 70s — can't always make it to soup kitchens with their wheelchairs and walkers, said acting shelter services manager Colleen Markus.
Markus understands the concerns that have been outlined in a report about the aging shelter population, published in the Canadian Medical Journal.
The report's co-authors found Canadian homeless shelters are not designed to meet the physical and mental health needs of a seniors' population with nowhere else to go.
Some identified shortfalls include a greater risk of falls in and around shelters because older clients have mobility and accessibility issues; a lack of personal storage spaces for their medication; a lack of adequate help with personal care and hygiene; and cognitive impairments leading to higher risks of victimization.
More and more clients of homeless shelters across the country are getting into their senior years — and Red Deer's Safe Harbour temporary homeless shelter is no exception. Markus noticed more aging clients at the shelter than a decade ago.
Some have long-time addictions and lost their accommodations and family connections years ago. Other clients were recently evicted from seniors' lodges because of causing behavioural disturbances.
"Senior" at a shelter could mean people age 50 and up, since addictions take a physical and mental toll. Safe Harbour has many clients in their 50s and 60s and some as old as 71. Markus said several of them experience mobility issues and have a hard time leaving the shelter.
The Mustard Seed brings suppers to Safe Harbour three nights a week, she explained. Beyond that, clients who can't make it out to soup kitchens, and have no one they can send out to buy fast food for them, have to rely on just the night-time sandwiches that are served at the shelter.
This can mean they sometimes get only one meal that day. "It's very sad. We are not equipped for food prep. I would say the lack of a kitchen is our number one issue," said Markus. She anticipates a commercial kitchen will be part of the permanent homeless shelter that was approved for $7 million of provincial funding but has yet to find a location.
While the temporary shelter only has permission to remain at its present former Cannery Row location until next spring, renovations hare happening to separate sleeping from living areas. Markus said some higher cots have been ordered for older clients that have trouble getting down to floor level to sleep on mats.
As far as client hygiene goes, the temporary shelter at the former Cannery Row Bingo site just opened six new showers, bringing the total to eight. Markus said two are accessible showers.
Home care provides assistance to a few people staying at the shelter and there's also a nurse on site. But there have been periods of having no nurses because of turnover, she added.
"Unless (clients) are complaining, you don't always know they have a horrendous wound on their leg... until it starts to smell and fester. The self-care is not great" — and this becomes more of an issue with an aging population.
Markus said Red Deer needs more supportive housing — and also more types of supportive housing, including environments that can accommodate multiple people with addictions, mental health and behaviour issues.
She noticed a group of senior men at the shelter have become their own community. Many have lost connection with their own families and come to depend and trust one another, "they even let some of the others do their banking for them."
Markus knows one fellow who was offered several housing options, but turned them all down. She suspects he fears losing his friends and his community.
As more shelter clients age, she thinks Red Deer will need a lodge-type space with the supports and flexibility to accommodate a whole group of people who were formerly homeless.