She became homeless in her 60s. Here's why her story's becoming all-too common in Toronto
CBC
Being homeless wasn't how Lynn Spiegel pictured retirement.
About four years ago, she found herself in her mid-60s living out of her car after having worked since the age of 15.
"It was hard," Spiegel told CBC Toronto in an interview. "I would go and stay in a park all day long and then sit in front of a McDonald's."
Spiegel had recently left her long-time job as a supervisor with a trucking company. She was having trouble keeping up with payments on her condo, so she sold it. At first, Spiegel stayed with her sister, but it didn't work out.
In all, she spent seven weeks sleeping in her car. Her only income was the Old Age Security benefit and she couldn't afford to rent an apartment. She moved from her car to Toronto's shelter system; an improvement but still a struggle, she says, because of her age.
"For a first timer, for an elderly person, you know, it's very difficult to be in a shelter."
According to Homes First, an organization that helps people get off the streets and into supportive housing, Speigel's story is becoming increasingly common in Toronto as more elderly people experience homelessness. That's due to the city's aging population, rising inflation and an increasingly expensive housing market, Homes First says.
Spiegel says she did what she could to adapt while in the shelter system.
"I got along with the young people and I was kind of like a mother to them. I would talk to them, I would listen to them," she said. That time came to an end in July of 2020 when she was referred by a doctor to an organization called Homes First.
She was approved to move into subsidized and supportive housing owned and operated by the agency . Now, Spiegel not only has her own unit, but the building is for people over the age of 59 and is tailored for older residents.
"It's a blessing," she said.
According to Homes First, older individuals also tend to have smaller support networks and can wind up experiencing homelessness as they lose the friends and family who help them live independently.
Jamie Facciolo, Homes First's director of development and homelessness initiatives, says over the past three years, the organization has been serving more and more seniors. He says once seniors lose their home they are 60 per cent more likely than a younger person to experience chronic homelessness.
"The alarm needs to be sounded on this because this is our most vulnerable population and something needs to be done," he said in an interview.\
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