SANDY, Utah. Not far from Salt Lake City is an old two-story brick hotel. It has been given new life as a homeless shelter for the elderly. Shelter for medically vulnerable people – or Shelter MVPas is known – for people 62 years of age and older or for young people with chronic health problems.
Residents live in rooms designed for people with disabilities. There are also private bathrooms, which is very important for older people with incontinence.
Unlike MVP, most homeless shelters are not equipped to care for older adults, especially those 65 and older. According to Dennis Culhaneresearcher at the University of Pennsylvania. Not only are people struggling with chronic homelessness aging, but many older adults are experiencing homelessness for the first time in their lives.
Getting in and out of beds, taking medications and getting to the shared bathroom on time are some of the major challenges of living in a senior living facility. Staff at traditional shelters sometimes ask older adults to leave if they are unable to care for themselves.
MVP is unusual among hospices because it provides on-site medical care to better serve its residents as they age.
Last spring, Jamie Mangum, who is in her 50s and has lung cancer, tripped and fell in her room. All she had to do to see the emergency doctor was go downstairs. Her swollen wrist was quickly bandaged and she returned to her room. She said this would not have been possible in other shelters she has lived in.
“There I will have to wait for several hours, and not come here, they will see youMangum said.
Mangum said that at other shelters she would likely have had to make her own way to the emergency room or ride in an ambulance. Specialized case managers at MVP also helped her undergo treatment for lung cancer.
“We have clients who need memory care. They may have previously lived independently but were unable to maintain that and were evicted due to dementia or other similar reasons,” said Bailey Dellos, manager of MVP's assisted living facility. The way homelocal non-profit organization.
The shelter employs specialized medical curators. Primary care physicians and internists visit weekly. Residents can even receive physical therapy in private facilities on site.
The path to stability
MVP collaborated with Fourth Street Clinic offer medical assistance.
“The first thing most new residents need is medication,” said Matt Haroldsen of the Fourth Street Clinic, which provides medical services at the shelter.
For people living on the streets, simply taking medication regularly is a challenge. “Their medicines spoil when they are in the camps,” he said.
Homeless diabetics often instill insulin to keep it cold. Haroldsen said they might forget where they buried it, or the vials might overheat and spoil.
Helping shelter residents obtain these medications can stabilize their condition, allowing them to focus on other priorities, such as obtaining identification and other documents needed to apply for disability, Social Security, and various programs that can help them secure housing.
Nonprofits and local governments have opened similar shelters in Florida, California and Arizona to meet the needs of homeless seniors.
Access to specialized shelters can mean the difference between life and death, he said. Caitlin NephewAssistant Director of the National Council on Health Care for the Homeless.
In cold-weather states, denying a bed to older adults due to mobility and other health issues can be especially risky. In 2022, Bozeman, Montana, the elder froze to death after he was asked to leave the shelter due to incontinence.
Complex medical needs can pose a risk to other residents that most shelters are not prepared to handle.
“A typical shelter won’t allow anyone on oxygen to come in because it’s very dangerous and risky,” she said.
Sinovec said giving seniors better access to health care in shelters is the best way to help them succeed once they are housed. Health problems are a common reason older people can't afford or maintain housing, she said.
Growing model
The MVP model shows promise in Utah and elsewhere.
“More than 80% of the people who remained in our program last year moved into stable or permanent housing,” he said. Jacob ThornerVice President of Programs for the Task Force to End Homelessness in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. A non-profit organization runs a shelter called Elder Haven.
The MVP shelter near Salt Lake City is also celebrating success. As of the end of last year, 36 elderly people were able to be permanently accommodated here.
However, there are more elderly people in need of shelter than it can accommodate. Dellos, the shelter manager, said MVP's waiting list is about 200 people long. She said the shelter prioritizes people based on medical need rather than time spent on the waitlist.
For the residents who receive the room, it is life-changing.
Last spring, 62-year-old Jeff Gregg was playing with his dog Raffy just beyond MVP's lawn.
An old back injury left Gregg hunched over when he threw the ball. It also contributed to years of addiction to opioids. It was a difficult cycle to break out of, he said.
“Struggling with this, having a job, having insurance, then losing my job, having no insurance, going out on the street and being in this shit again, and I'm going to be in the same position again,” he said.
Gregg said sobriety took a backseat to more pressing needs, such as finding food and a bed at a shelter. He said MVP was the first place he could relax and focus on recovery.
“I was able to get clean. It took me a couple of months, but I just kept tweezing,” he said.
He said the experience paved the way for him to undergo further surgery. He hopes that by getting rid of his back pain, he will eventually be able to find a job that will help him afford an apartment.
This article is part of a partnership with NPR And Montana Public Radio.
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