Unhoused seniors are experiencing homelessness for a longer period of time, according to a recent report from the Regional Task Force on Homelessness (RTFH). In 2025, people aged 55 and older remained homeless for an average of 234 days.
Households in general experienced homelessness for an average of 193 days. The report compiled data from fiscal years 2023-2025 to present a comprehensive study of trends in local homelessness.
RTFH CEO Tamera Kohler said getting seniors into housing is often more challenging than other groups.
“Different types of disabilities, many times physical, that limit their earnings income, or they're already on a fixed income and there's no way to really increase that,” she said. “With a very high housing cost and limited housing stock for units they can afford makes it hard to be able to get them into housing that they have the resources to cover.”
Overall, the report found fewer people are becoming homeless or falling back into homelessness. But seniors are finding permanent housing at a lower rate.
Father Joe’s Villages is a local homeless service provider. Chief Strategy Officer Joshua Bohannan said the organization is seeing more seniors becoming homeless for the first time in their lives.
“That's really indicative of the economic factors that's driving homelessness,” he said. “It's cost of living, cost of housing. Housing affordability is a huge issue, especially for that population group who might be on a fixed income.”
The report found that street outreach has been successful in helping unhoused people secure stable housing and receive basic necessities. Between 2023 and 2025, the number of people who exited homelessness because of street outreach more than doubled.
PATH is a service provider contracted by the city of San Diego that does outreach work with people experiencing homelessness daily.
“There's value in individuals meeting people exactly where they're at,” PATH’s Associate Director of Programs Jayna Lee said. “Whether it be in the riverbed, in a canyon, on the side of the freeway, there's value getting on someone's level, meeting them where they're at and trying to connect with them.”
The report will advise the RTFH on how to allocate their funding. For example, previous reports identified a need to strengthen services for veterans experiencing homelessness. And this year’s report reflects improvements in veterans finding housing and avoiding homelessness all together.
The number of veterans who exited homelessness into permanent housing increased from 30% to 42%.
Kohler says more resources will be directed toward helping seniors. But Lee said the findings point to a larger issue.
“There's a giant desire for shelter beds,” she said. “But what solves homelessness is affordable homes. And so, yes, we can move those seniors into shelters, but what is the long-term impact that we really want to have on this community?”
Unlike the Point-in-Time Count, which is a snapshot of people experiencing homelessness on a single day in January, this report reflects data collected over the course of three years.
Kohler said this data is meant to be accessible for everyone, allowing them to identify areas where they’ve made progress and spaces where more attention is needed.
