For 18 years, Vernon Wedge worked as a security camera operator at Dillard's in Arizona. But when he began to lose his eyesight, he lost his job, then his savings, and he became homeless for the first time at 69.
“Money ran out, we got a shopping cart and filled it with personal belongings, mostly clothes, and hit the streets,” Wedge told NBC News’ stephanie Gosk about how he, his adult son Grant, who struggles with substance abuse, and their dog, Roscoe, were evicted.
“I spent my 70th birthday on the street,” Wedge said.
He’s just one of many seniors experiencing homelessness in their older age. Last year, more than 42,000 people over 65 in the United states were homeless, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Emerging Crisis of Aged Homelessness report.
Learn more by watching NBC News Digital Doc "The Gray Wave: Rising Homelessness for American seniors."
For a while, Wedge made do, showering at public parks and seeking refuge in church, and he eventually found housing at seniors-only homeless shelter, st. Vincent de Paul in Phoenix. Even that respite is just temporary, as residents can stay a maximum of only two years.
Lori Cowling is living a similar harsh reality, having become homeless earlier this year at 80 years old. she said her social security check of just over $1,000 isn't enough to cover rent for a studio or a one-bedroom apartment in Phoenix.
"Now, a couple of years later, my vision getting even worse. I don't think I could do the street again," Wedge said. "The one thing that I don't want to be remembered when people hear about my death is that I died in a homeless shelter."