Citizen Brief

What your government is doing, plainly

← Feed/Beverly, MA/BevCam — Beverly Community Access · BevCam
CITYBeverly, MA · May 27, 2026

Challenges Faced by Older Women Experiencing Homelessness

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Panelists discuss the unique physical, mental, and financial challenges older women face, exacerbating housing insecurity and complicating access to services.

The Bottom Line

Older women often face homelessness due to factors like loss of a spouse, lower lifetime earnings, and health crises. These issues are compounded by mobility problems, difficulty navigating complex systems, and the stigma of mental illness, making it harder to access support and housing.

Highlights

  • About 64% of single women aged 65 and older in Massachusetts are economically insecure, the highest rate in the country.
  • Adults aged 55 and older are the fastest-growing demographic among those experiencing homelessness.
  • Older women may face mobility issues, difficulty accessing transportation, and challenges with basic needs like using restrooms in communal settings.
  • The stigma of mental illness and cognitive decline can create barriers to seeking and receiving help.
  • Financial insecurity is often compounded by health crises, making it difficult for individuals to afford housing or even basic necessities.

Key Numbers

  • 64% of single women aged 65+ in MA are economically insecure

Source Verification

Beverly, MA | city | Lifebridge Northshore Presents: Together for Women: A Lifebridge Conversation - 05-06-2026

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BevCam — Beverly Community Access · BevCam
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isY5wR-oiwI
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Quoted passages this brief is built from (4)
  • "About 64% of single women aged 65 and older in Massachusetts are economically insecure, the highest rate in the country."
    — 01:37
  • "And adults aged 55 and older are the fastest-growing demographic amongst those experiencing homelessness."
    — 02:08
  • "Um, I think um, I think the big problem that we see is I mean the first thing I would say is that um, you know, if you look at it from a public health perspective uh, illness um, worsens poverty and poverty worsens illness. Like we know that. That's a sort of bidirectional relationship um, regardless of, you know, lifestyle or other factors, but um, certainly I think um, you know, obviously the women we see, they have a lot of uh, mobility issues potentially, um, transportation issues."
    — 13:35
  • "Um, you know, they really have to um, know that um, we're not going to treat them rudely like they often get treated in in the health care system. And um, but I think for us at the shelter, I think there's there's it sometimes it's it's difficult in terms of older women to sort of sort of kind of tease out what's mental illness, um, what what is um, cognitive decline, dementia."
    — 21:55