'Trump's Big Beautiful Bill Act Is a Ticking Time Bomb for Elder Homelessness'
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The United States is in the throes of an unprecedented homelessness crisis that is about to be made drastically worse by Donald Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' (OBBBA) signed into law earlier this month, housing campaigners have warned.
Older Americans, including those on low incomes reliant on social safety net programs, are especially vulnerable to becoming homeless once the billions of dollars of cuts laid out in the new legislation come into force.
Researchers were warning of a homelessness cliff edge for seniors even before the new legislation's cuts, attributable to factors such as the ongoing cost of living crisis hitting those on fixed incomes in retirement hard, as well as soaring rents and a dire lack of affordable or subsidised housing at a time when the population is ageing.
Recent data shows that rents in 2023 were unaffordable for 22.6 million households around the country while one study from Harvard calculated that a third of people over 65 were "cost burdened" due to high rent and utilities bills, putting them at greater risk of later-life homelessness.
Americans Struggling With Unprecedented Housing Crisis are 'Scared and Afraid' Trump will Make Life Even More Unaffordable
The economy is the most important issue for voters in the US Presidential Elections, with 40 million people living below the poverty line and new homelessness records being set.
Mary O'Hara
According to survey data, over the past two decades, the number of seniors spending more than half their income on housing has doubled from 5.2 million to nearly 11.7 million, putting huge pressure on household budgets.
Homelessness rates in the US hit a record level in 2024 with more than 770,000 people unhoused on a given night (up 18.1% from 2023), according to the most recent government figures.
Homelessness was once rare among older adults but people over 50 are now the fastest growing cohort among the unhoused, with many experiencing homelessness for the first time and the number expected to triple by 2030.
Against this backdrop, housing advocates contend that the passing of the OBBBA, a 900+ page mega tax and spending law that includes historically high cuts to social safety net programs essential to millions of seniors, constitutes a ticking time bomb for elder homelessness and will exacerbate destitution.
Monica Davalos, senior policy analyst at the California Budget and Policy Center, says older people already struggling to get by will find their problems compounded. "Fundamentally folks just don't have enough to meet their needs," she says of the precarity many older Americans face. The OBBBA cuts, including slashing access to government health insurance, will "create even more housing vulnerability," she concludes.
'I Will Lose My Job for Speaking Out About the Mayhem a Donald Trump Us Presidential Election Victory Will Cause - But I Have To'
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Byline Times Team
For many older people, especially those from low-income backgrounds or with a history of poverty, cuts to federally-funded assistance programs will mean they are stretched to breaking point, not only swelling the number of older people who fall into homelessness but with the knock-on effect of overwhelming already strained housing and financial support services, Davalos adds.
People were "falling through the cracks," even before the new cuts, most of which are due to take effect after the November 2026 mid-term elections.
States, including California, which has battled with addressing an entrenched homeless problem for years and according to most recent data accounts for 24% of the nation's homeless population, will no doubt try to mitigate some of the fallout triggered by the OBBBA, Davalos says, but the "unprecedented" scale of the f...
Packed with exclusive investigations, analysis, and features
SUBSCRIBE TODAY
The United States is in the throes of an unprecedented homelessness crisis that is about to be made drastically worse by Donald Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' (OBBBA) signed into law earlier this month, housing campaigners have warned.
Older Americans, including those on low incomes reliant on social safety net programs, are especially vulnerable to becoming homeless once the billions of dollars of cuts laid out in the new legislation come into force.
Researchers were warning of a homelessness cliff edge for seniors even before the new legislation's cuts, attributable to factors such as the ongoing cost of living crisis hitting those on fixed incomes in retirement hard, as well as soaring rents and a dire lack of affordable or subsidised housing at a time when the population is ageing.
Recent data shows that rents in 2023 were unaffordable for 22.6 million households around the country while one study from Harvard calculated that a third of people over 65 were "cost burdened" due to high rent and utilities bills, putting them at greater risk of later-life homelessness.
Americans Struggling With Unprecedented Housing Crisis are 'Scared and Afraid' Trump will Make Life Even More Unaffordable
The economy is the most important issue for voters in the US Presidential Elections, with 40 million people living below the poverty line and new homelessness records being set.
Mary O'Hara
According to survey data, over the past two decades, the number of seniors spending more than half their income on housing has doubled from 5.2 million to nearly 11.7 million, putting huge pressure on household budgets.
Homelessness rates in the US hit a record level in 2024 with more than 770,000 people unhoused on a given night (up 18.1% from 2023), according to the most recent government figures.
Homelessness was once rare among older adults but people over 50 are now the fastest growing cohort among the unhoused, with many experiencing homelessness for the first time and the number expected to triple by 2030.
Against this backdrop, housing advocates contend that the passing of the OBBBA, a 900+ page mega tax and spending law that includes historically high cuts to social safety net programs essential to millions of seniors, constitutes a ticking time bomb for elder homelessness and will exacerbate destitution.
Monica Davalos, senior policy analyst at the California Budget and Policy Center, says older people already struggling to get by will find their problems compounded. "Fundamentally folks just don't have enough to meet their needs," she says of the precarity many older Americans face. The OBBBA cuts, including slashing access to government health insurance, will "create even more housing vulnerability," she concludes.
'I Will Lose My Job for Speaking Out About the Mayhem a Donald Trump Us Presidential Election Victory Will Cause - But I Have To'
A senior US insider breaks rank to detail exactly what a Donald Trump victory will mean
Byline Times Team
For many older people, especially those from low-income backgrounds or with a history of poverty, cuts to federally-funded assistance programs will mean they are stretched to breaking point, not only swelling the number of older people who fall into homelessness but with the knock-on effect of overwhelming already strained housing and financial support services, Davalos adds.
People were "falling through the cracks," even before the new cuts, most of which are due to take effect after the November 2026 mid-term elections.
States, including California, which has battled with addressing an entrenched homeless problem for years and according to most recent data accounts for 24% of the nation's homeless population, will no doubt try to mitigate some of the fallout triggered by the OBBBA, Davalos says, but the "unprecedented" scale of the f...
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