homelessness among older adults in a texas border town

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Homelessness Among OlderAdults in a Texas Border TownBonnie F. Hatchett PhD aa The Social Work Program at the University ofTexas/El Paso , USAPublished online: 22 Sep 2008.

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Homelessness Among Older Adultsin a Texas Border Town

Bonnie F. Hatchett, PhD

University of Texas/El Paso

ABSTRACT. This paper documents a descriptive pilot study utilizing a“point-in-time” or “point prevalence” method to determine the charac-teristics of those older adults living in homeless shelters in the city of ElPaso. Of the 227 individuals who agreed to be involved in the survey, 53(23% of the total sample) were 50 years and older. The characteristics ofthose 53 individuals ranging in age from 50-80 are presented. The pro-file is that of a poorly educated, Hispanic, Catholic male born in Mexico,who identifies Spanish as a first language, and who attributes his home-less state to joblessness or poverty. Key issues with regard to homeless-ness are employment and retraining. The article discusses the policiesrelevant to homelessness and employment retraining options as well aslocal initiatives. Implications for research, policy, and for social workintervention are also suggested in an effort to address needs of thesehomeless older adults. [Article copies available for a fee from The HaworthDocument Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: <[email protected]> Website: <http://www.HaworthPress.com> © 2004 byThe Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]

Bonnie F. Hatchett is Associate Professor and serves as Director of The SocialWork Program at the University of Texas/El Paso. She is the author of over 20 articlesappearing in scholarly journals and refereed publications and has been invited to pre-sent her work at both national and international conferences. Trained as a gerontolo-gist, her research interest and article publications have focused on the impact of ethnic-ity and gender on issues of well-being, with a primary focus on the elderly. Dr. Hatchettcan be contacted at the Liberal Arts Building, Room 116, University of Texas at ElPaso, 500 West University Avenue, El Paso, TX 79968 (E-mail: [email protected]).

Journal of Aging & Social Policy, Vol. 16(3) 2004http://www.haworthpress.com/web/JASP

2004 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.Digital Object Identifier: 10.1300/J031v16n03_03 35

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KEYWORDS. Elderly, aging, homeless, Mexican-American, unemploy-ment

INTRODUCTION

Homelessness is a systemic problem of poverty that has no easy an-swers or solutions. The homeless population is composed of diverse in-dividuals who share problems associated with lack of housing opport-unities and inadequate income. The southwest borderland region of theUnited States is characterized by high rates of poverty, significant un-employment, and high rates of homelessness among the immigrant pop-ulation. One difficulty in determining how to help those who arehomeless has been the lack of information about the homeless popula-tion. Other areas of the country are seeing an increase in homelessnessamong all segments of the population, yet no exact indication of the se-verity of the problem among the older adults has been addressed. Thereis virtually no information on homelessness among an older Hispanicpopulation. The risks of homelessness are severe for many in the groupof older people who need protective services due to impaired judge-ment. This may lead to financial mismanagement, eviction, or exploita-tion of their property by others. Low income, chronic health problems,and lack of social resources due to social marginality (Kutza & Keigher,1991; Ladner et al., 1986) place them at serious risk for homelessness.Reintegrating into society creates difficulty for those same reasons.

The homeless literature is quite sparse with regard to older homelessadults of Hispanic origin. Although there are few insights that can beobtained from looking at the relationship between race and homeless-ness from the research already done (Baker, 1996), some researchershave approached this topic. Roth et al. (1992) found that the 50 andolder age group was predominately male, more white than Black, andhad the longest length of homelessness, while Baker (1996) found thatHispanics and African Americans have longer gaps between steady jobsand were more likely than whites to slip into numerous episodes ofhomelessness.

The proportion of homeless persons aged 50 and over in the UnitedStates has declined in recent years to about one-fifth of the overallhomeless population, yet their absolute numbers have grown (Susser etal., 1993). Studies have found estimates of homeless persons aged55-60 ranging from 2.5% to 19.4% (Institute of Medicine, 1988). Esti-mates of homelessness in this population range from 15% to 28% in

36 JOURNAL OF AGING & SOCIAL POLICY

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shelter samples (Aging Health Policy Center, 1985). The vast disparityin the range is the result of many issues. The designated age categoriesused to denote elderly persons have an effect on the proportion reported(Kutza & Keigher, 1991). Some surveys show data from age 50 anddesignate this age as the dividing line, while others use age 55 or age 60as the definitive age to denote elderly. The estimated proportion ofhomelessness among the elderly varies depending on the methods used,geographic location, and whether the survey administered is from a na-tional or a local study. This present study was undertaken to increaseour awareness of the magnitude of homelessness in the older adult pop-ulation in a particular border region of the southwest using a sheltersample.

Shelter Population

In some rural areas people are less likely to live in shelters or on thestreets and more likely to live with relatives in over-crowded or substan-dard housing (U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1996). Even in urbanareas, older adults are often in shelters intermittently between stays withfamily or others. Another determining factor with regard to shelter useis related to accessibility, with the location of the shelter being a crucialissue. Many older adults are under represented in shelter populationswhen compared to the general city population, due to their fear for per-sonal safety. Because of physical or mental conditions that affect theirability to protect themselves, many older adults fear victimization andare concerned for personal well-being. It has also been suggested thatundocumented workers, those without citizenship status or permissionto reside in the United States, are under represented in shelter studies(Burt & Cohen, 1990) due to fear of deportation. This is especially sig-nificant in certain geographic areas such as El Paso, due to its closeproximity to the Texas-Mexican border. The mild climate of this geo-graphic area lends itself to sleeping outside, under bridges, and in make-shift housing. Along major traffic routes in this area, it is quite commonto see homeless men with bedrolls sleeping under viaducts. This situa-tion corresponds with findings of other researchers, Ladner et al.(1986), for example, who surmised that if Latino homeless are not usingthe shelters, they may be sleeping in the park or on the streets in thewarmer climates. Studies of street populations have been used to aug-ment undocumented immigrants using non-shelter-based living ar-rangements. Other explanations for such a small number of olderhomeless persons include ineligibility for entitlements such as Social

Bonnie F. Hatchett 37

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Security, Medicare, and senior housing, all of which can provide a cush-ion against homelessness (Wright & Weber, 1987). Another explana-tion for the limited number of older homeless is that many older adultsdo not survive into old age due to the realities of the homeless existence(Wright & Weber, 1987), thus, further reducing the number of thoseseen in centers. As the crisis of homelessness continues, it is likely thathomelessness among older adults will also increase dramatically(Cohen et al., 1997).

Bi-National Geographic Location

El Paso, a border town in the western part of Texas with a populationof 1,011,787 (Peach & Williams, 1999), is separated from CuidadJuarez, Mexico, by the Rio Grande River. These cities share a commonhistory. This area, named “Paso del Norte” (passage to the north) bySpanish explorers in the sixteenth century, was a part of the Spanish ter-ritory. Following Mexico’s independence in 1821, this particular areabecame a part of Mexico, but in 1845, due to annexation, became a partof the United States (Ryan, Tan, & Hatchett, 1999). Due to the bi-na-tional nature of this particular area, the society and culture have contin-ued to result in unique ties between the two countries. The chronicissues of poverty and political turmoil in Mexico and the continuingpromise of hope for a better life in the United States result in a steadyflow of documented and undocumented immigrants to the UnitedStates. Sadly, upon arrival many continue to suffer severe poverty dueto lack of skills, limited job opportunities, language difficulties, andbenefit restrictions. Traditionally, El Paso ranks as the fifth highest pov-erty rate per capita among cities that have populations of 500,000 ormore. El Paso is geographically isolated from the rest of the country andthe rest of the state of Texas. We will first look at the issues of social ser-vice provision and homelessness in Mexico and in the United States.

Homelessness in Mexico

The issue of homelessness in Mexico is handled in a less formal waythan in the United States. In Mexico, for those older adults who needcare, the communities, local churches, wealthy individuals, and fami-lies support the nursing homes. There are also individual homes whereseveral elderly people are taken in. Homelessness in rural areas and inthe provinces is low due to strong family networks and the informal sys-tem, which continues to provide care. In the rural areas, there is also less


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proximity to the railroads, which reduces the tendency for migrantmovement. In larger areas such as Mexico City and Guadalajara, home-lessness is more evident. Yet, even here, people are not seen sleeping onthe streets. In these areas, squatter’s settlements are established andpeople build houses made of boxes and cardboard. In many instances,sewage water runs through these settlements and tying into an electricalline provides electricity. Although the government does not have spe-cific programs and benefits for the homeless population in these areas, itdoes not interfere with the squatters’ attempts to provide for them-selves. Homelessness is associated with unemployment for a number ofreasons, including reduced need for farm labor.

During the 1960s, the Mexican government was interested in findingways of putting unemployed Mexican Nationals to work after the end ofthe Bracero Program, a work-related program established by PublicLaw # 78 that expired in 1964. The Bracero Program had allowed Mexi-can Nationals legally to enter the United States to work in farming.When this program ended, more than 200,000 Mexican farm workerswere forced to leave the United States. The unemployed workers set uptemporary residence in border cities to await the possibility to return tothe United States. When this program was not renewed, the displacedworkers could not find jobs. In some border cities and towns, the unem-ployment rate was 30% (Fatemi, 1990). Since there was an abundanceof workers in the border towns, they seemed prime locations for the es-tablishment of maquiladoras. “Maquiladoras” refer to companies thatassemble and/or transform in some way components imported to Mex-ico, that in turn are re-exported, usually to the United States. Factorieswere set up in border towns and provided employment for some unem-ployed workers.

Presently, in Mexico, all areas of social welfare are under the aus-pices of “Desarrollo Intregal de la Familia,” known as DIF. Theagency’s objectives include ensuring human rights, raising the welfarelevel and quality of life, and reducing poverty and social exclusion.Throughout Mexico, each state separately provides rules and regula-tions for DIF. In 1997, President Ernesto Zedillo, in an effort tostrengthen social welfare in Mexico, put into effect a program of educa-tion, health, and nutrition–“Progresa”–to counteract poverty. A Mexi-can version of the “War on Poverty,” the trifocal approach addressesissues related to creation of job and income opportunities by increasingproduction, employment, and income among the development of eco-nomic policies regarding employment and rural development. The DIFswork closely with other agencies in the development of economic poli-


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cies regarding employment and rural development. Some have criti-cized this approach because it is seen as a ploy of the ruling politicalparty and does not adequately address the needs of the people. These ef-forts have their origin in the recognition of the extent of unemploymentin the previous decades.

This recognition is significant in that much homelessness is associ-ated with poverty due to lack of employment. Job creation and in-come-sustainable opportunities were to be accomplished by developingproductive projects, especially in rural areas. In Juarez, a border city toEl Paso, DIF works with local maquiladoras by providing training andopportunities for the disabled to their place of employment. Althoughthis had provided employment for some, there are still massive numbersentering the United States to escape poverty and unemployment. Be-cause of their lack of marketable skills, many are no better off after en-tering this country and less able to access services due to changes inlegislation affecting immigrants.

United States Policy on Homelessness

The McKinney Act. The Stewart B. McKinney Homeless AssistanceAct (PL 100-77) was the first and remains the only major federal legis-lative response to homelessness. In the early 1980s, the initial responsesto widespread and increasing homelessness were primarily local, andhomelessness was viewed by the Reagan Administration as a problemthat did not require federal intervention. In 1983, the first federal taskforce on homelessness was created to provide information to localitieson how to obtain surplus federal property; this task force did not addresshomelessness through programmatic or policy actions.

With the goal of addressing homelessness through policy, the Home-less Persons’ Survival Act was introduced in both houses of Congress in1986. This act contained emergency relief measures, preventive mea-sures, and long-term solutions to homelessness. Only small pieces ofthis proposal, however, were enacted into law. The first, the HomelessEligibility Clarification Act of 1986, removed permanent address re-quirements and other barriers to existing programs such as Supplemen-tal Security Income, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, VeteransBenefits, Food Stamps, and Medicaid. Also in 1986, the HomelessHousing Act was adopted. This legislation created the Emergency Shel-ter Grant program and a transitional housing demonstration program;both programs were administered by the Department of Housing andUrban Development (HUD).


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In late 1986, legislation containing Title I of the Homeless Persons’Survival Act–emergency relief provisions for shelter, food, mobilehealth care, and transitional housing–was introduced as the Urgent Re-lief for the Homeless Act. After an intensive advocacy campaign, largebipartisan majorities in both houses of Congress passed the legislationin 1987. After the death of its chief Republican sponsor, RepresentativeStewart B. McKinney of Connecticut, the act was renamed the StewartB. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. A reluctant President RonaldReagan signed it into law on July 22, 1987.

The McKinney Act has been amended four times: in 1988, 1990,1992, and 1994. In 1988, Congress amended the McKinney Act withminor changes. The 1988 amendments mostly served to expand eligibleactivities and to modify the distribution of McKinney funds. In additionto expanding eligible activities for several McKinney Act programs, afew new programs were created. These included the Shelter Plus Careprogram, which provides housing assistance to homeless individualswith disabilities, mental illness, AIDS, and drug or alcohol addiction;and a demonstration program within the Health Care for the Homelessprogram to provide primary health care and outreach to at-risk andhomeless children. Also in 1990, the Community Mental Health Ser-vices program was amended and given a new name: the Projects for As-sistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) program. The 1990amendments also specified in greater detail the obligations of states andlocal educational agencies in assuring the access of homeless childrenand youth to public education. The amendments also increased the Edu-cation of Homeless Children and Youth program’s authorization and re-quired states to make grants to local educational agencies for thepurpose of implementing the law.

The 1992 amendments modified and expanded Title IV of theMcKinney Act, the shelter and housing provisions. Included in theseamendments were the creation of “safe havens,” or very low-cost shel-ter for persons unwilling or unable to participate in supportive services;the creation of a Rural Homeless Housing Assistance grant program;and the consolidation of the mental health services demonstration pro-gram and the alcohol and drug abuse treatment demonstration programinto the Access to Community Care and Effective Services and Support(ACCESS) program. The ACCESS demonstration program was de-signed to fund projects that integrate services for severely mentally illpeople. In 1994, Congress amended the Education of the HomelessChildren and Youth program and the Surplus Property Program.


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Congress authorized just over $1 billion in expenditures forMcKinney Act programs for 1987 and 1988; however, a total of $712million was appropriated for those years. In subsequent years, overallfunding levels increased from $350.2 million in FY87 to the all-timehigh of $1.49 billion in FY95. Recently, however, support for McKinneyAct programs has fluctuated. In FY94, the Interagency Council on theHomeless lost its funding and was made part of the White House’s Do-mestic Policy Council. In FY95, funding for the Job Training for theHomeless program was terminated. In FY96, funding for McKinneyprograms was cut by a total of 27%. Several McKinney programs sawtheir funding eliminated entirely. These programs included the AdultEducation for the Homeless program, the Homeless Veterans Reinte-gration Project, the Emergency Community Services Homeless GrantProgram, and the Family Support Centers. Over the past few years,funding has been partly restored to some of these programs, althoughfew have surpassed their FY95 funding levels.

The McKinney Act has created valuable programs that have savedlives and helped hundreds of thousands of Americans to regain stability.A 1995 evaluation of the HUD McKinney programs concluded that theprograms “have assisted significant numbers of homeless persons to re-gain independence and permanent housing and at reasonable costs.” Allof these evaluations noted, however, that the resources allocated to theMcKinney programs are insufficient to meet demand, and that lack ofadequate funding limits the programs’ success.

While inadequate funding clearly impedes the effectiveness of theMcKinney Act programs, the McKinney Act’s greatest weakness is itsfocus on emergency measures–it responds to the symptoms of home-lessness, not its causes. The McKinney Act was intended as a first steptoward resolving homelessness; in the absence of legislation containingfurther reaching measures, homelessness can only be expected to in-crease.

The McKinney Act was, and remains, landmark legislation. It is clearthat only by addressing the causes of homelessness–lack of jobs thatpay a living wage, inadequate benefits for those who cannot work, lackof affordable housing, and lack of access to health care–will homeless-ness be ended.

On August 22, 1996, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportu-nity Reconciliation Act became law. This legislation ended 60 years offederal protection for the needy and poor and increased restrictions onassistance based on citizenship status including ineligibility of non-citi-zens for Social Security and food stamps. After this date, new immi-


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grants and their families were denied most federal means-testedprograms for five years. After five years, those immigrants will remainineligible for those programs if the combination of their income and thatof the person who sponsored them into the country demonstrate thatthey do not meet the income eligibility requirements. As of January 1,1997 states had the option of determining whether immigrants would beeligible for the new block grant, Temporary Assistance for Needy Fam-ilies (TANF). Medicaid and Social Service Block Grants could exercisethe same option with those newly arriving citizens after they have com-pleted the five-year bar. States could also opt to provide or barstate-funded benefits for current and future immigrants and could deemthe income of the sponsor to determine eligibility. Exemptions mayhold for assylees and refugees, veterans and active duty members, orthose who can demonstrate that they had worked 40 qualifying quartersof work (a minimum of 10 years). The elderly living along the bordermay be particularly at risk due to the new welfare and immigration re-forms that may eliminate the financial security provided in the form ofgovernment benefits.

METHODOLOGY

The purpose of this descriptive study was to determine the character-istics of those older homeless adults in homeless shelters in El Paso andto determine specific needed social service intervention using the“point-in-time” or “point prevalence” method (Burt & Cohen, 1990).The subjects were considered homeless if they had no stable residenceand were living in a public shelter. The criteria for homelessness weredictated by The Stewart B. McKinney Act, 42 U.S.C. 113 01 et al.,which state that a person is homeless if he or she “lacks a fixed, regularand adequate nighttime residence.” This study is a subset of a larger sur-vey conducted jointly by The El Paso Coalition for the Homeless andthe Social Work Program at the University of Texas at El Paso.

Procedures

The research was conducted in accordance with the Institutional Re-view Policies of the University of Texas/El Paso as outlined by The Of-fice of Research and Sponsored Projects. Residents of 12 homelessshelters in the city of El Paso were surveyed. Of the 664 persons resid-ing in the shelters, 227 agreed to be involved in the survey. Of those 227


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individuals, 53 (23%) were 50 years and older. The characteristics ofthose 53 individuals are compared to the older homeless of othernon-border locations. The point-in-time or “point prevalence” methodwas chosen due to its simplicity and because it avoids double countingand is the least costly of methods available. The survey took place inFebruary, a time of year when the weather would be coldest in El Pasoand the homeless would be most likely to use the shelters, thus increas-ing the likelihood of a more accurate count.

The interviewers, 95% of whom were Hispanic, were given the op-portunity to make clarifications in the instrument, which was availablein English as well as Spanish, due to the expectation of a significant pro-portion of participants who would be Spanish-speaking only. A numberof the interviewers were bilingual. Numbers only were also assigned toinstruments to avoid duplication and to ensure anonymity. The inter-viewers obtained verbal consent from each respondent. When the inter-views were completed, previously designated personnel at each sheltercollected surveys and also interviewed those seeking shelter after thedeparture of the interview teams. All information was self-reported bythe respondents without external verification.

Measures

The instrument was used to gather information on demographic fac-tors: race, age, religion, education, and marital status. Information wasalso obtained regarding place of birth, occupational history, physicalhealth issues, residential history, pattern of homelessness, and financialand entitlement support. Due to the small number of respondents sur-veyed in this age category, data were analyzed using cross-tabulationand are presented in the form of percentages. The vast majority of thehomeless represented in this group were men. Because fewer than fivewomen (three) are represented in the group age 50 and above, the resultswill be described as a whole and will not differentiate on the basis ofgender. Findings are presented in Table 1.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Gender

The vast gender difference has age-related implications in that 37%of the homeless population of El Paso is female, yet there are only three


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TABLE 1. Sample Demographics


Race

Hispanic n = 47 89%Anglo n = 6 11%

Marital Status

Single n = 19 36%Married n = 11 21%Separated n = 6 11%Divorced n = 9 17%Widowed n = 8 15%

Religion

Catholic n = 38 72%Protestant n = 9 17%Other n = 4 8%

Principal Language

English n = 9 17%Spanish n = 35 66%Both n = 9 17%

Education

None n = 6 11%1-5 Years n = 25 47%6-7 Years n = 9 17%8-11 Years n = 5 9%More Than 12 Years n = 6 11%

Place of Birth

Mexico n = 32 60%El Paso n = 8 15%Elsewhere in US n = 12 23%

.Length of Time in US

Less Than 1 Year n = 9 17%1-3 Years n = 3 6%More Than 3 Years n = 40 75%

Reason for Homelessness

Poverty n = 5 9%Joblessness n = 27 50%Relationship Issues n = 7 13%Health Related n = 5 9%Other n = 9 17%

Length of Time Homeless

12 Months or less n = 17 32%13-36 Months n = 13 25%More Than 3 Years n = 21 40%

Job Type

Farmers n = 25 47%Laborers n = 18 34%Skilled Laborers n = 2 4%Professionals n = 4 8%

Benefits

Social Security Income n = 5 9%Veterans Admin. n = 3 6%Other n = 24 45%No Funding n = 2 4%No Response n = 19 36%

Medical Problems

Having Problems n = 24 45%Diabetes n = 4 8%No Problem n = 9 17%

Location of Medical Assistance

Private n = 7 13%Mexico n = 6 11%Thomason/Texas Tech n = 19 36%Veterans Admin. n = 4 8%Centro De Salud La Fe n = 6 11%None n = 9 17%

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females in the age 50 and above category in our study. In all major stud-ies of homelessness, whether local or national, men outnumber womenby at least 3-1 (Rossi, 1989). The percentage of women among the olderhomeless population has been estimated to be 20% nationally, rangingfrom 8%-33% in various samples (Burt, 1996; Roth et al., 1992; Doug-lass, 1988; Ladner, 1992). Although older women have been includedin smaller studies, there is no national sample specifically looking atthis population (Cohen et al., 1997). Older women seem to have the bestpotential to be domiciled if homeless due to maintenance of social ties,often to kin (Cohen et al., 1997). Family relationships and responsibili-ties based on cultural beliefs are also significantly related to this issue.

The majority of our total sample was Hispanic, and in this culture,maturity dictates that the young remain home to assist and contribute tothe support of family, whereas in the prevailing culture, separation andindependence are considered signs of maturity (de Anda, 1984). Inmany instances, especially with the older Hispanic women, the familynetwork may substitute as a provider of services, which in turn reducesthe dependence on formal service providers (Baker, 1996; Greene &Monahan, 1984).

Age/Ethnicity

Respondents ranged in ages from 50 to 80, with the median range be-ing that of 50-59. Those respondents age 50 and above represented ap-proximately 23% of the total sample that was surveyed. This is withinthe range (15% to 28% in shelter samples) according to Aging HealthPolicy Center (1985). Our 50-59 age group (13.8% of the total) corre-sponds with the findings of the Institute of Medicine (1988) that thoseage 55-60 ranged from 2.5% to 19.4% in a shelter population.

Although the categories of race included Anglo (Caucasian), His-panic, Black, Asian, and Native American, the only racial groups repre-sented in this sample of middle age and older were those of Anglo andHispanic. Because Hispanics accounted for the higher figures based onage, it indicates a correlation with the geographic location of the El Pasoarea and the large concentration of Hispanics along the Border area.These figures also may indicate that the concentration of older Hispan-ics either in the metropolitan area or the marginal area may be due to theavailability of services such as warmth, shelter, and food. Researchers(First & Roth, 1988) have found that homelessness is disproportion-ately higher for African Americans and Hispanics than for Caucasians.The 1996 survey of 29 cities completed by the U.S. Conference of May-


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ors found that the homeless population was 57% African American,30% Caucasian, 10% Hispanic, 2% Native American, and 1% Asian(Waxman & Hinderliter, 1996), yet this will vary according to the geo-graphic location. One New York City study (Ladner et al., 1986) foundthat the older homeless person was likely to be a poorly educated blackmale in his sixties with a skilled trade work history, who had previouslylived in his own home but was evicted due to lack of funds, although hemay have received SSI. This study (Ladner et al., 1986) further reportedchronic health conditions that contributed to inability to work. The com-posites of homeless in the El Paso study differ from those of the NewYork study, with the differences shown between the studies being at-tributed partly to geographic location. El Paso is a border town to Mex-ico and is 75% Mexican American, the majority of whom migrate fromMexico due to unemployment related to farming and labor. The AfricanAmerican population of El Paso is less than 5% (U.S. Bureau of theCensus, 1997). The African American males in the New York studywere often employed in the automotive plants or other skilled trades. Inthis instance, Social Security is more available due to work history andcitizenship status. Chronic health issues have more of an impact onhomelessness in that study than in our sample.

Marital Status, Religion, and Language

The largest majority was without spouses, single (36%, n = 19), sepa-rated (11%, n = 6), widowed (15%, n = 8), or divorced, (17%, n = 9) withonly 21% being married. The majority of those interviewed (72%) wasCatholic, a designation that corresponds to the finding that the majority ofHispanics is Roman Catholic (Castex, 1994). The Catholic Church andother denominations have also developed many programs to address thesocial needs of Hispanics, including housing (Castex, 1994).

Spanish was the principal language for 66% (n = 35) of those sur-veyed, which coincides with the finding that the majority (60%) wasborn in Mexico. Lack of English proficiency has been associated withless use of public assistance (Baker, 1996) and limited access to institu-tions due to limited ability to understand information needed for assis-tance (de Anda, 1984). The inability to understand information and toutilize resources limits access to employment options that also directlyimpact homelessness. Language facility as well as level of education isaffected by place of birth.


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Level of Education and Place of Birth

Slightly less than half of the sample (47%) had between 1-5 years ofeducation, while 11% had no formal education. There was an inverse re-lationship between age and level of education. A Texas study of home-lessness found that Latinos were less likely than either non-HispanicWhites or African Americans to have completed high school (Andrade,1988). Lack of education and lack of job skills among the homelessprobably hinder the efforts to get back into the mainstream (Burt & Co-hen, 1990). Anecdotally, the maquiladors need the equivalent of a 7thgrade education to work on the assembly lines in the factories due tosafety requirements and the ability to read instructions. Those with lesseducation can work as janitors and custodians, but there are fewer ofthose positions available. Approximately 58% of our sample had from0-5 years of formal years of schooling. This low educational level de-creases the marketability and employability of those workers. The levelof education may include having a correlation with the older person’splace of birth and/or where they were raised. This has an economic ef-fect and contributes to joblessness and low wages in the area. Mexicowas the birthplace of 60% of those surveyed. The place of birth of olderhomeless persons among all age groups indicates the geographicalproximity to Mexico also has implications for immigration status. Thiscorresponds with findings (Baker, 1996) that Hispanics are more likelyto be foreign-born.

Length of Time Homeless/Reason for Homelessness

The majority of older adults interviewed (75%) had resided in theUnited States for three years or more and had been homeless for morethan three years. Approximately 40% had been homeless for more thanthree years and 32% for 12 months or less. The figures indicate that theolder a person is, the longer he has been homeless.

Joblessness was the principal reason (50%) given for homelessness,with health-related causes and poverty noted by only 9%. This is inter-esting in that 45% indicated that they had health problems. There arecontrasting views on the causes of homelessness and about the diverseneeds of sub-populations of homeless people. However, most research-ers agree that despite the heterogeneity, extreme poverty is the underly-ing cause of most homelessness (Johnson & Cnaan, 1995; Rossi, 1989).Roth et al. (1992) found that for those age 50 and above, economic fac-tors accounted for 49.2%; family issues, 16.6%; and other, 32.6%.


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Andrade (1988) also found that minorities attributed their homelessnessto economic factors such as unemployment and lack of affordable hous-ing more than whites. In 1992, 26.2% of Hispanic families had incomesbelow the poverty level, compared to 10.3% of non-Hispanic families(U.S. Bureau of Census, 1993).

Job Type

Almost half of those interviewed, 47%, identified themselves asfarmers, while 34% stated that they were laborers, and an additional 4%more specifically identified themselves as skilled laborers. All threecategories may contain migrant farm workers with the designation be-ing dependent on self-perception and self-identification. The large pro-portion who identify themselves as farmers alludes to the decline of theagricultural economy of Mexico, which may be contributing to the in-crease of migration patterns among farm workers. Due to loans securedwith high interests and inability to repay loans, many farmers in Mexicolost farms and had to seek other means of employment, including themaquiladora industry. The maquiladora industry policy to provide onlythree months pay compensation if discharged from employment (Fatemi,1990) further diminishes any stable job possibilities. Due to the geo-graphical location of El Paso, migrant farm working is a small percent-age of the labor force, and such skills are not readily sought.

Benefits and Health Issues

Receiving benefits of any kind, including veteran benefits (6%) andSocial Security (9%), was infrequent. Most of the older adults were notnecessarily qualified to receive V.A. or Social Security benefits due toimmigration status, work history, or armed force involvement. Therewas a large amount of missing data (36%), with 4% stating no fundingand 45% indicating “other,” without identifying “other.” The other ben-efits may include free services. This is significant in that 45% stated thatthey have medical problems. The majority of those receiving servicessecured such services from local hospitals (36%) that offered free ser-vices or from local clinics (11%). Approximately 11% received medicalassistance from Mexico, and 17% did not identify medical assistancefrom any source. In total, only 15% could identify specific benefits toassist with financial and health care needs, which indicates a great num-ber of unmet needs, and is similar to issues experienced by others in thiscity where 37% have no health insurance, and of those who are insured,


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only 47% have insurance coverage through their employers (U.S. Bu-reau of the Census, 1997).

CONCLUSION

The findings from this study reflect the influence of this geographiclocation, with its close proximity to Mexico, on the composite picture ofthe older homeless male in this study. The older homeless person is aHispanic male born in Mexico, who identifies Spanish as his first lan-guage and Catholicism as his religion. He has resided in El Paso forthree years or more and has been homeless for three years or more. Heseeks medical assistance from a local hospital that provides health carefor the indigent and receives limited government benefits. He is poorlyeducated, having between one and five years of education, which has arelationship with his work history as either a farmer or a laborer. Hishomeless state is attributed to joblessness and/or poverty. It is difficultto separate poverty and joblessness as causative factors because theycoexist and precede each other. Joblessness may be due to lack of skillsnecessary to compete in a particular job market. With limited educationand a work history in occupations that are receding in demand (farming,unskilled labor), those without necessary skills are excluded from thejob market, and joblessness occurs. Without benefits or governmentalaid, there is no financial cushion, and poverty results. When we con-sider all of those issues, the likelihood of those older homeless men be-coming retrained to improve employability poses a challenge. Demandsfor unskilled labor and farm expertise are receding, thereby reducingthe need for those skills. The limited educational level and language re-strictions as well as immigration status further limit stable employment,which is the key to viable housing through financial and economic suc-cess. The reality of this situation is that although some may be retrainedand subsequently become employed, a large number of older homelessmen will remain in that status and will continue to need supportive ser-vices as they continue to age and as health issues become more pro-nounced.

LIMITATIONS

This study is limited in scope because of its focus on a particular geo-graphic area and age group. Due to the sample size and location of our


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study, issues of older women, other ethnic groups, and a more varied reli-gious grouping are not summarily addressed. Because the study utilizes apoint-in-time survey, there is the possibility that the demographics of theolder homeless might vary, depending on the point at which the surveywas administered. This study utilized standardized timeframes related tolength-of-time homeless. Because of the demographics of this popula-tion, additional insights may have been obtained if longer time frameswere included in survey options. Even with the limitations to the study,it serves as a starting point and provides the basis for additional studies,cross-sectional as well as longitudinal, focusing on older homelessadults.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

There are several issues that need exploration by additional research.Although limited in some respects, findings from this exploration in-crease our knowledge of homeless older adults in this geographic areaand lay the groundwork for additional studies of a longitudinal and orcomparative nature. The particular geographic area has a high concen-tration of Mexican American immigrants with various immigration sta-tuses. There is a need for a longitudinal study that would increase theopportunity to assess environmental change as well as the impact of pol-icy issues on the extent of homelessness among the older populations.There is a need for studies of homelessness of older Hispanics in larger,more densely populated areas away from the border, so that the effectsof urbanity as well as rurality could be studied. Larger studies could alsoprovide for ethnic and gender comparisons.

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

Homelessness among older foreign-born adults tends to be a com-plex issue, and various aspects of that situation must be addressed whenconsidering policy implications, as well as measures to alleviate the sever-ity of the problem. Considerations must include current policies on immi-gration that limit benefits and financial assistance based on immigrationstatus. Other considerations of note include a focus on aging stereotypesthat may serve as barriers to training and retraining of older homelessadults for viable employment. Due to the association between unemploy-ment and homelessness, the key to change lies in viable employment. The


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employment and immigration systems, as currently defined, do little toaddress the needs of persons described in our study. There is a real need toallocate funding to develop innovative strategies and programs that ad-dress specific needs and that promote employability.

Some efforts have been made to address the needs of the elderly inthis specific area. Some monies for retraining have been made availabledue to the passage of The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998from the Department of Labor Employment and Training Administra-tion. Although WIA is not specifically for the elderly, elders can be in-cluded for job retraining. One such program in El Paso is the WorkExperience Program, which places workers, including older homelesspersons, with employers who will do on-job training. The state of Texasis supplementing retraining funds with a state match (2-1) for the FoodStamp Program and for the Choice Program. The Opportunity Center,which is a major place for providing temporary shelter for the homeless,also houses older adults. A new center, which works with The Home-less Coalition, McGoffin House, was recently completed to house up to20 adults age 55 and over. The residents are primarily men who hadworked previously as farm workers. The National Association for His-panic Elderly established in 1975 also has a training program in associa-tion with The Department of Labor, Employment and Training Admini-stration. This program, Project Ayunda, provides job retraining forworkers age 55 and above who meet the low-income requirement.Those involved in the program must be legal immigrants if not citizens.Community service organizations or those who have a 501 C3 designa-tion provide training up to 20 hours per week at minimum wage. Elderworkers in this program can work up to one year with an employer, andif not hired by the employer, they go to another agency. This same train-ing is also available in Laredo, another border town under the auspicesof The National Association for Hispanic Elderly. At this time, The U.S.Mexico Border Health Commission has not broadened its mandate toinclude issues of homelessness.

The problems associated with homelessness in this age group extend be-yond the boundaries of the area described in this study. People will con-tinue to migrate to the United States and to settle in various geographicareas seeking better life circumstances. Therefore, the policy issues must beaddressed on a national level. Congressional subcommittees in the areas ofimmigration, employment, aging, and health must be formed to researchthe problem, assess the extent of the problem, and recommend the mosteffective way to address the issues. Coalitions made up of governmental,


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private, and non-profit entities on local, state, and national levels areneeded to develop effective strategies to confront this issue.

Along the Texas-Mexico border, the U.S.-Mexico Border HealthCommission is one organization that takes a bi-national, bi-lateral ap-proach to border health issues that could also correlate to issues ofhomelessness, due to the relationship to poverty, health status, and un-employment. This Commission, formally endorsed in 1994 by the Gov-ernors of states bordering Texas, California, New Mexico, and Arizonaand their respective Medical Associations, known as P.L. 103-400(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2000), envisioned acooperative effort of the United States and Mexico, working together tofoster support for a border health and environment commission to dealwith public health issues. The Commission utilizes federal, state, andlocal, public/private capabilities and resources in partnerships to im-prove the health and well-being of the border populations, using amulti-sectoral approach. The partnerships include federal and state offi-cials, as well as members who represent U.S. border communities andconstituencies. The dialog includes a focus on border health as well asthe creation of an effective venue for bi-national discussion to addresspublic health issues and problems that affect the U.S.-Mexico borderpopulations. The commission has been empowered to give recommen-dations to the U.S. Congress on observations of need in the community.The recognition of homelessness and the association with poverty as anissue may be used to highlight the concerns and draw national attentionto the issue. The Commission is currently promoting a “Health Border2010” initiative that is designed to facilitate and support commu-nity-based solutions. The Commission can work on all three fronts, lo-cally, nationally and bi-nationally, to address this issue. Although this isa relatively new commission, much progress is being made to draw at-tention to border issues. This same approach may also be appropriatefor the northern border as well as the interior geographic areas of theUnited States.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE AND TRAINING

Knowledge of the culture, belief systems, and language increases thechances of intervention due to a demonstration of interest, sensitivity,and respect for the individual and his ecosystem. Early interventionstrategies should be considered as alternatives to older adults’ home-lessness issues. Knowledge of issues associated with aging, especially


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medical concerns, are needed, as is an increase in the number of poten-tial service providers focusing on this topic area. The figures indicatethat there are not sufficient services for older adults who are homeless.

Service workers can act as advocates as well as resource brokers forthis particular population, to increase awareness of services, as well asto increase access to those services. To fulfill those roles adequately,there must be an awareness of resources available in the particular areaof service, as well as any particular constraints due to immigration sta-tus and welfare and policy restrictions. Due to the impact of the WelfareReform Bill, there is a need to consider alternate ways of meeting theneeds of this disenfranchised population and to research and to docu-ment issues that might have an effect on future social policy legislation.Historically, social workers have worked with community-based initia-tives to form collaboratives as a means to bring attention to an area ofconcern. More specifically, churches, human service agencies, non-profitorganizations, federal housing entities such as HUD, immigration per-sonnel, employment specialists as well as state and federal legislatorsmust work together to address these issues. Those entities should be in-volved, because input from each is needed to develop a holistic ap-proach to this problem. Social workers, as well as other human serviceworkers, due to training and interest, could facilitate such a process.

RECEIVED: August 2001REVISED: April 2003

ACCEPTED: May 2003

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