By Aaron Bolton
The Buffalo News
SANDY, Utah 鈥� Just outside Salt Lake City sits an old, two-story, brick hotel. It鈥檚 been given new life as a homeless shelter for seniors. The Medically Vulnerable People shelter 鈥� or MVP shelter, as it鈥檚 known 鈥� is for people 62 and older or for younger adults with chronic health issues.
Residents share rooms designed to be accessible to those with mobility issues. There are also private bathrooms, which are a big deal for seniors struggling with incontinence.
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Unlike the MVP, most homeless shelters aren鈥檛 equipped to help seniors, especially those 65 and older. But they are the fastest-growing homeless population nationwide, according to Dennis Culhane, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania.
Getting in and out of bunks, managing medications and making it to a shared bathroom in time are among the major challenges of shelter life for older adults. Staff at traditional shelters sometimes ask seniors to leave if they鈥檙e unable to care for themselves.
The MVP is unusual among shelters because it provides on-site medical care to better serve its residents as they age.
Last spring, Jamie Mangum, who is in her 50s and has lung cancer, tripped and fell in her room. To visit with an emergency medical technician, she needed only to make it downstairs. Her swollen wrist was quickly wrapped, and she returned to her room. She said that wouldn鈥檛 have been possible at other shelters she鈥檚 stayed in.
鈥淭here, I鈥檇 have to wait hours as opposed to come in here, be seen,鈥� Mangum said.
Mangum said that in other shelters she鈥檇 likely have had to find her own way to an urgent care office or get an ambulance ride. Specialized case managers at the MVP have helped her get treatment for lung cancer as well.
鈥淲e have clients that need memory care. Maybe they were living independently before, but they were unable to maintain that and got evicted due to dementia or different things like that,鈥� said Baleigh Dellos, who manages the MVP shelter for The Road Home, a local nonprofit.
Specialized medical case managers work at the shelter. Primary care doctors and therapists visit weekly. Residents can even receive physical therapy in private spaces on-site.
A path to stability
The first thing most new residents need help with is medication, said Matt Haroldsen with the Fourth Street Clinic, which provides health services at the shelter.
For people living on the streets, just keeping hold of regular medications is a challenge. 鈥淭heir medications get jacked when they鈥檙e in their camps,鈥� he said.
Diabetes patients without homes often bury their insulin to keep it cold. Haroldsen said they might forget where they buried it, or the vials might get too warm and spoil.
Helping residents at the shelter get those medications can stabilize their conditions, allowing them to focus on other priorities, such as getting an ID and other documents they need to apply for disability, Social Security, and programs that can help them secure housing.
Nonprofits and local governments have opened similar shelters in Florida, California and Arizona to meet the needs of older unhoused adults.
Having access to specialized shelters can be the difference between life and death, said Caitlin Synovec, assistant director of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council.
In cold-weather states, denying seniors a bed because of mobility and other health issues can be especially risky. In 2022, a Bozeman, Montana, senior froze to death after he was asked to leave a shelter because of incontinence.
Complex medical needs can pose a danger to other residents that most shelters aren鈥檛 prepared to manage.
鈥淎 typical shelter doesn鈥檛 allow somebody on oxygen to come in because that鈥檚 such a fire hazard and risk,鈥� Synovec said.
Health issues are a common reason seniors can鈥檛 afford or maintain housing, she added.
A growing model
The MVP model is showing promise in Utah and elsewhere.
鈥淥ver 80% of the people who鈥檝e stayed in our program this past year have moved into stable or permanent housing,鈥� said Jacob Torner, vice president of programs for the Task Force for Ending Homelessness in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The nonprofit runs a shelter called Elder Haven.
The MVP shelter near Salt Lake City was able to permanently house 36 seniors as of late last year.
Still, Dellos, the shelter鈥檚 manager, said the waitlist hovers around 200 people. She said the shelter prioritizes people based on medical need, not time spent on the waitlist.
Last spring, 62-year-old Jeff Gregg was playing fetch with his dog, Ruffy, just beyond the lawn in front of the MVP.
An old back injury forced Gregg to hunch over as he threw the ball. It also fueled a decades-long addiction to opioids. That cycle was hard to escape, he said.
Gregg said sobriety took a back seat to more immediate needs, like finding food and a bed in a shelter. He said the MVP was the first place where he could relax and focus on recovery.
鈥淚 was able to get clean. It took me a couple months, but I just kept plucking away,鈥� he said.
He said the experience paved the way for him to get back surgery. He hopes that with less back pain, he can eventually get a job to help him afford an apartment.
This article is part of a partnership with NPR and Montana Public Radio.
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