Here's what B.C.'s outgoing seniors advocate says is the biggest issue facing seniors

B.C.'s outgoing seniors advocate is painting a troubling picture of some of the issues facing elderly people in the province.

But Isobel Mackenzie said her biggest worry is affordability.

“When you look at the incomes of seniors, they’re 65 per cent lower than the incomes of the working-age population,” she said. “The apartment they want to rent is in the same rental market. There’s not a seniors rate for renting. So they are having a very, very difficult time.”

That reality is leading to a growing number of seniors who find themselves homeless, including Mark Beauregard. The 70-year-old retired locksmith is living in an Abbotsford seniors’ shelter after his trailer burned. He said he lost everything in the fire at an Aldergrove RV park.

“(It) devastated me. I was dumbfounded. I just stood there and watched it burn,” he said.

Beauregard said he’s been searching for a new place, but can’t afford the rents on his fixed income.

“We are seeing more and more seniors who are coming into our care at our homeless shelter strictly because they can’t afford somewhere to rent,” explained Jesse Wegenast, the executive director of Sparrow Community Care Society.

“Oftentimes this happens after they’ve been renovicted or they’ve had a relationship fall apart that has caused them to leave a place where they’ve been renting, 10, 15 years. And when they go look for a new place, the cost of rent is 30, 40, 50 per cent higher,” he said.

In her final report, MacKenzie noted that half B.C.'s seniors have an income below minimum wage.

“When you’re looking at home support costing $9,000 a year for a daily visit, if your income is $29,000, you can see this affordability issue is a very, very big concern,” she said.

She is also concerned about rising levels of abuse, neglect and criminal activity against older people.

And when it comes to long-term care, she questions why B.C. has seen a 17-per-cent increase in residents given anti-psychotic meds without a diagnosis.

“British Columbia has been above the national average and well above Alberta and Ontario in terms of residents taking antipsychotics without a supporting diagnosis. It’s something we really need to look at because there’s not an underlying explanation,” she said.

Back on the affordability issue, Beauregard said he doesn’t know how he will be able to leave the shelter and find a new home.

Wegenast said the shelter that is specifically for seniors is always full.

“In fact, right now we are about 40 per cent over capacity. We are working with our partners at BC Housing to expand,” he said, adding that it’s a tragic indicator of the dire situation that seniors find themselves in.