Life on hold

Number of older adults experiencing homelessness rises in Baltimore

Diana Del Prete prepares to cross the street near the city shelter on South President Street where she has lived for the past few months. Del Prete, unable to walk long distances due to a foot injury, has few opportunities to venture far from the shelter, which is based in a former Fairfield Inn. Amy Davis/Staff photos

Diana Del Prete spends her days waiting.

Waiting for her foot to heal, waiting for a place to sleep in a shelter, waiting for meds and meetings with social workers, waiting to straighten out misplaced bank funds, waiting to be reunited with her beloved dog and waiting on the phone.

“Making calls takes a long time,” Del Prete, 76, says. “You are put on hold and then you lose your thought.”

A bad fall in the kitchen of her Morrell Park apartment in October led to hospitalization for a broken left foot, followed by almost four months in rehab.

The accident upended the life of the retired marketing director. When Del Prete checked herself out of the rehab center at Autumn Lake Healthcare in Woodberry in December, her former apartment was not available.

With no network of friends to turn to, Del Prete found herself homeless in downtown Baltimore.

A social worker at My Sister’s Place Women’s Center, a day shelter for women run by Catholic Charities, connected her with the city shelter system. The city shelters accepted Del Prete, except for one cold day in mid-February when she was forced to spend a sleepless night huddled outside the entrance to Catholic Charities headquarters on West Mulberry Street.

Del Prete, who once traveled the world for a job with the Department of Defense, said, “I can’t believe it, that I’m in this situation. Because nobody wants to be in this situation.”

As her foot gradually healed, other health problems developed that sent her to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. Lately she has been staying at the former Fairfield Inn on South President Street, now used by the Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services as a city shelter. T.I.M.E. Organization, a nonprofit that provides behavioral and mental health services, operates this shelter under a contract with the city.

Nationwide, 771,480 people experienced homelessness on a single night in January 2024, the largest number ever recorded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for its “point in time” survey. The Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services relies on the annual count conducted for HUD for its baseline estimate that “approximately 1,600 men, women and children are homeless in Baltimore City on any given night.”

Citing the limitations of one narrow survey, advocates for homeless people point to other data that indicate the number of those without stable housing is far greater.

“Last year, there was an 18% increase in homelessness nationally over the year before, and the year before that, it was a 12% increase,” notes Kevin Lindamood, president and CEO of Healthcare for the Homeless.

The increase is hitting especially hard for senior citizens. According to the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, adults over 65 who experienced homelessness jumped 77% between 2018 and 2023.

Based on our experience, we’re seeing older and older people, Lindamood says. “That percentage is only trending upward.”

Del Prete’s experience with homelessness reflects the vicious cycle between having health problems and being unhoused.

Del Prete came to Baltimore on the recommendation of a childhood friend from California, who told her that rents here were cheap. She lived in Little Italy for five years in the 1990s, working as a hostess at Chiapparelli’s restaurant. When her granddaughter was born, Del Prete returned to the West Coast to help her daughter with child care.

A relationship with a boyfriend that became abusive motivated her to come back to Baltimore three years ago. She settled in Morrell Park where she felt comfortable. After her accident, a neighbor agreed to care for Tony, her beloved shih tzu poodle mix who is named after “The Sopranos” TV character Tony Soprano.

Financial challenges as well as health concerns affect Del Prete’s wellbeing. She says she discovered a few months ago that her monthly Social Security check, which had been automatically deposited in a longtime Bank of America account, is now being deposited at CitiBank in error. Without transportation to visit a bank in-person, her only recourse is to make more phone calls, and file a complaint with the Maryland Attorney General.

Del Prete dreams of being reunited with her dog and living in a subsidized senior apartment that accepts pets.

“I miss him, and I just want to be with him in a place of our own,” she says.

Del Prete reflects that she has always been a positive person. “I wake up smiling,” she says, adding that she asks herself, “What am I going to do today to get myself in a better situation?”

But for now, she checks her phone and waits.

If you’re experiencing homelessness in Baltimore City and need help, call the Baltimore City Shelter hotline at 443-984-9540. Internet access is available at all Enoch Pratt Free Library locations. Have a news tip? Contact The Baltimore Sun at newstips @baltimoresun.com or by calling 410-332-6100.