(WSVN) - A startling number of South Florida senior citizens are experiencing homelessness. One woman was brave enough to share her story in hopes of helping others find their voice. 7’s Heather Walker investigates.
Carolyn’s clothes hang neatly in the back seat of her car…
Carolyn: “I’m a neat freak.”
…and are organized in the trunk.
Carolyn: “This is my dry cleaning, my silks, which I can’t afford right now.”
Dry cleaning is the least of the concerns for this 78-year-old. She has been living in her car for nearly two months because she can’t afford a place to live.
Carolyn: “I look at it as a journey. I’ve had many journeys in my life.”
Money is tight, because her only income is Social Security. She has sold many of her possessions over the last few years, but she still doesn’t have enough money.
We spoke with her here — in a well-lit parking lot in North Broward — where she spends time doing word puzzles…
Carolyn: “Where it has the large letters for people like me.”
… and sleeping, sitting up.
Carolyn: “Since I’ve been here, I sleep here in this seat, scrunched down. My ankles and legs are swollen from having to sit all the time. I buy jug water, it’s cheaper. And I eat one meal a day, for $2.02, and then I get a free senior drink.”
She gets free gym memberships as part of her Medicare plan.
Carolyn: “I do go shower and do my makeup and my hair.”
Cassandra Rhett, City of Pompano Beach: “Very brave, very brave.”
Cassandra Rhett, the Housing and Social Services Manager for the City of Pompano Beach, is trying to find Carolyn a place to live.
Carolyn: “She was my godsend.”
Cassandra Rhett: “It could be my aunt, it could be my mother. It just breaks my heart just how humble Carolyn is.”
Cassandra says she is seeing more and more seniors in need. Support services for them are at capacity.
Cassandra Rhett: “As you know, the rent is skyrocketed. That’s a main factor of why all these seniors are on the street, is because they cannot afford the rent.”
Ron Book, Chairman of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust, says homeless seniors are incredibly vulnerable.
Ron Book: “We know if you put vulnerable elderly on the street, they’re going to die earlier.”
Take a look at this trend. In 2019, people age 65 and older made up nearly 8% of the homeless population in Miami-Dade County.
By 2024, that number almost doubled to 14%, and it’s projected to reach 22% by 2030.
Ron Book: “The face of homelessness has changed. I want people in our community to think about their mothers, and their grandmothers, and their grandfathers being homeless for the first time.”
Carolyn: “It can happen to anyone. Don’t think it can’t, because I never thought about it.”
Carolyn has not lost her sense of humor, despite living in her 22-year-old car.
Carolyn: “That’s my baby. She’s falling apart like me.”
She hopes speaking out about something so personal might help others.
Carolyn: “Other people may need somebody to be their spokesperson. This is the only thing I ever felt ashamed of in my life. And I truly felt ashamed. But this is the right thing to do.”
Just in the last few days, Carolyn’s situation has changed. With the recent heavy rain, her car started to leak. Cassandra says the city put her up in a hotel for now — but she’s working to get Carolyn a permanent place to live.
A GoFundMe has been created to help Carolyn. Click here if you would like to donate.
Heather Walker, 7News.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Broward County homeless services
211 Broward Touchline for seniors
Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust
211 Miami
CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com
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