Homeless over 50: The Graying of Chicago's Homeless Population
Project Team
C. George, CURL Research Asst. Professor
K. Patel, Undergraduate Fellow
C. Wiens, Undergraduate Fellow
Overview:
Homeless over 50: The Graying of Chicago's Homeless Population is a project that aims at finding out more about the homeless population between the ages of 50 and 64 in Chicago. Funded by the Retirement Research Foundation and being completed in partnership with the Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness the project aims to answer questions related to whether this population is growing, who the homeless people in this age group are, how and when they became homeless, how long they have been homeless, and what programs and services they need.
Data has been collected through a combination of focus groups and intensive life interviews with homeless individuals, as well as surveys conducted with local service providers. Quantitative data from service providers and from prior research with this population has also been utilized in the final analysis.