When it comes to homelessness among seniors, you may feel as though it’s a hopeless situation if that’s what you’re going through right now. As a loved one of a senior or a senior citizen yourself, it can be heartbreaking to consider that folks just like yourself and those you hold dear end up homeless through no fault of their own. As a group, seniors frequently fall through the cracks in housing services. Though it can seem hopeless, acts of kindness from strangers can turn these horrible situations into hopeful ones.
While there are plenty of housing options for seniors, such as retirement homes, assisted living facilities, and living with family, some seniors become overwhelmed by the process of navigating stable housing as they age. For others, the financial burden of being on a fixed income can make it difficult or even impossible to maintain a home. This can put them on the streets as the house in which they raised their family goes into foreclosure or their apartment rent payments fall behind so far that they face eviction.
When we see a neighbor struggling to make housing payments or living in a home that isn’t suitable for them to inhabit, we may feel like it’s not our business to step into the situation. While we should respect their privacy and dignity, if we notice that a community member is having a hard time holding onto their house or apartment, stepping in and offering a helping hand can mean the world to them. We need to look out for each other and check in with basic questions like “Are you alright?”
If you interview random individuals on the street and ask them what the most potent words in the English language are, many might answer the small but mighty phrase “I love you.” These three little syllables hold so much weight and meaning for a lot of us. For one homeless woman who was staying in a Target parking lot, these words have taken on an extra layer of significance. They’re the first few words that a pair of best buddies extended to her when they spotted her in the supermarket’s lot. This might seem like it was moving fast, but when you hear this woman’s story, you’ll see why they were prompted to show her such love and compassion from the first few words they exchanged.
The first thing that best friends Jennifer Husband-Elsier and Melissa Akacha saw as they approached the woman in the Target parking lot was her belongings piled into a compact Mercedes Benz SUV. It appeared that she lived out of the car with her two four-footed canine companions. While some people might feel compelled to shy away from her situation, they gravitated toward her and her dogs. On some level, they could see that she needed help. They probably also saw her inner strength shining through as a woman who hadn’t been having an easy time of it.
At 70 years old, Lynn Schutzman had a lot of pride in spite of living out of an SUV with her duo of dogs. When Husband-Elsier and Akacha questioned her about her situation, she waved away their concerns and let them know that she was fine. As is common with some seniors, she may not have wanted to burden them with her troubles. She may also have worried that they would judge her for how she was living or think poorly of her. Although there’s no way to know for certain why she put up a front, it seems like she had been keeping her struggles to herself for a long time. Still, these two women saw that there was more than meets the eye in this scenario. With a glance at her stuffed SUV, it was clear that Schutzman was anything but fine or okay.
As they pried for more details, the friends learned that Schutzman had fallen on hard times. While she once worked as a pharmacist, she had since retired from her career. Instead of treating patients, she was now dealing with multiple ailments that impacted her quality of life. To top off her troubles, she had recently lost her husband and found herself without support. Her illness and her husband’s passing culminated in piles of medical bills. These were impossible for her to pay off on her own, so she put her home on the market and packed what little remained into her vehicle. From there, she began living out of her car for survival.
Although she was struggling to pay down her hospital bills, she was unable to qualify for programs such as affordable housing opportunities. As a homeless senior with two dogs, she couldn’t bear the thought of separating herself from her furry family members. Since homeless shelters forbid dogs, she had nowhere to go with her dogs. With this in mind, her only option seemed to be camping out in a Target parking lot.
As Husband-Elsier and Akacha learned more about Schutzman’s experiences, they felt moved to do something. Their first action was scouring social media for more background on the subject. They also put the reality of Schutzman’s situation on social media to bring awareness to the issue. Even if community members had been looking out for Schutzman, they still probably wouldn’t have known the severity of her struggles. She put up a good front that all was well for her while her world was crumbling around her. Because of her Mercedes Benz, folks usually assumed she was affluent. The truth was far from it. She stacked cash to spend a night in a motel once a month and enjoy a “monthly shower.”
As someone who was putting up a good front, Schutzman needed someone to see through her shiny defenses into the heart of the matter. With the truth out, she could start recovering from this painful ordeal. To give her a leg up financially, the two best friends who discovered her in the Target parking lot put together a GoFundMe page. The community overwhelmed her with support once they knew what was going on.
Some community members offered financial donations to the crowdfunding page. Others donated blankets, clothes, food, and water. It was a great relief to have spare clothes and blankets brought by neighbors. In addition to the money and items donated by others, the two friends also arranged for a place for her to stay after she left.
While the King of Prussia community was the ones who wanted Schutzman to grow used to the idea that asking for help is a sign of strength and not weakness, any community that supports seniors will jump at the chance to keep seniors on their feet. In a little over a week, Schutzman’s community rallied around her and raised enough money to rent a studio apartment for two years at a rate that was affordable for her. They didn’t leave her on her own after she had finished moving into her new place. Her neighbors supplied her with furniture, gave the walls a fresh coat of paint, and provided pet sitting so she could get some much-needed rest.
“It wouldn’t have happened without these angels,” Schutzman explained to ABC News. “I just want people to realize that this can happen to anybody. … I had a good job. I had good retirement but I got sick and health insurance only covers so much. … I have no children. I have no family. .. I had nowhere to turn. Sometimes, you know, just the kindness of strangers just makes all the difference in someone’s life.”
As they say, no man is an island. During an interview with ABC News, Husband-Elsier shared that they had a whole team behind them who helped make a difference. She and her best friend got the ball rolling by asking Schutzman if she was okay. After that, the rest is history.
If you want to spread random acts of kindness by strangers to combat homelessness among seniors, you should consider asking the same simple question that these two best friends did. What started as a basic conversation among strangers turned into what may have been the greatest blessing of this woman’s life. The chain reaction that flowed out from this simple question is a great example of what can come from reaching out to community members and checking in with those who seem to be struggling.
Even if someone says they’re fine, they might have a secret battle that they’re fighting. By asking them if they’re okay and letting them know you care, they might open up enough to get some help. While this story may have broken your heart in the beginning, it’s sure to warm your heart by the end. If you want to hear about this story from those who experienced it firsthand, you can watch the video here.