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Malinda Gottschalk, 52, is experiencing homelessness for the second time in her life due to medical challenges. Steve Koss<\/p>\nMalinda Gottschalk, 52, is experiencing homelessness for the second time in her life due to medical challenges. Steve Koss<\/p>\n
When Malinda Gottschalk lost her home in Holly at age 52, she\u2019d been experiencing intensifying physical and mental symptoms that hadn\u2019t yet been diagnosed as lymphedema. Gottschalk had noted swelling in her ankles and legs for about 10 years at that point. The swelling spread throughout her body, and her condition eventually resulted in brain fog.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy thinking wasn\u2019t clear,\u201d says Gottschalk, now 58. \u201cI mean, I get \u2018A\u2019s and \u2018B\u2019s in math, and sometimes I had a hard time mentally doing addition and subtraction at the store. And that\u2019s just not me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gottschalk had worked as an administrative assistant and receptionist, but she\u2019d become too sick to work by the time she lost her home in 2019. A friend took her in, but Gottschalk says that situation \u201ccreated a lot of friction\u201d because Gottschalk couldn\u2019t work at the time. Her friend kicked her out earlier this year, while Gottschalk had an open wound on her leg oozing lymph fluid that she says \u201cstung like hell.\u201d However, she says that was a \u201cgood thing\u201d because it forced her to visit an emergency room, where her condition was finally correctly diagnosed, and to stay at Pontiac-based HOPE Shelters\u2019 Recuperative Shelter<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now, Gottschalk is on the road to regaining her health, getting a new job, and finding her own housing again. But she says she\u2019s faced unique challenges as an older adult experiencing homelessness, and that those challenges may go unrecognized by the general public.<\/p>\n \u201cI think when people think of homelessness, they think of addictions and maybe mental health issues,\u201d she says. \u201cThe age category doesn\u2019t necessarily come in unless you\u2019re thinking about veterans.\u201d<\/p>\n Unfortunately, in Oakland County and many other communities, Gottschalk\u2019s story of homelessness in middle or older age is far from unique. Leah McCall, executive director of the Pontiac-based Alliance for Housing<\/a>, says her organization works with \u201ca high number of individuals\u201d aged 55 and older.<\/p>\n \u201cNobody thinks of their grandparents or older parents being homeless, and that really is a good population of individuals that we serve that are experiencing homelessness,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cI never saw it coming\u201d<\/p>\n Older adults may experience homelessness for a variety of unexpected reasons, often related to medical conditions and resulting job loss. Jane Smith, who requested to be referred to by a pseudonym in this story to protect her privacy, is a 58-year-old Pontiac resident who lost her housing seven years ago while she was living in New Baltimore. Smith was blinded in one eye when her next-door neighbor\u2019s boyfriend threw a rock at her through her screen door.<\/p>\n \u201cI never saw it coming,\u201d she says. \u201cNo argument, no discussion. He just picked up a rock and threw it at me.\u201d<\/p>\n A University of Michigan graduate, Smith had a successful career as a pharmaceutical salesperson and owned a home, but her injury rendered her unable to work.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was no way they were going to hire someone like me [or] give me a company car, knowing I can\u2019t see,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019d be a liability to them.\u201d<\/p>\n At the same time, Smith\u2019s then-husband was on a ventilator, in a diabetic coma. When they lost their house, Smith\u2019s husband went to stay with his parents, but Smith didn\u2019t join him because, she says, \u201cwe were going to get divorced anyway.\u201d She got a part-time job at Target as soon as she could, but Smith\u2019s minimum-wage earnings weren\u2019t enough for her to pay for her own permanent housing. Over four years, Smith stayed with friends, in motels, in a homeless community in Mount Clemens (where, she notes, \u201cthere were a lot of older people\u201d), and eventually at HOPE Shelters\u2019 Adult Shelter in Pontiac.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew nothing about being homeless,\u201d she says. \u201cI didn\u2019t even know where to go.\u201d<\/p>\n McCall says many retirees, as well as older adults with disabilities, are at a heightened risk of losing their homes due to being on a fixed income.<\/p>\n \u201cIf rents increase, they can no longer meet that rental rate with the fixed income that they\u2019re on.\u00a0We see that a lot,\u201d McCall says. \u201cAnd \u2026 if they\u2019re in their own home, they don\u2019t have the funds to keep up their home or pay taxes or utilities that have increased.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt just physically gets harder\u201d<\/p>\n Homelessness is difficult for anyone who experiences it, but it can present extra challenges for middle-aged and older adults. McCall says those may include increased susceptibility to medical conditions due to both age and inability to access health care, additional struggles finding new employment, and trouble accessing technology that may be crucial to apply for important social services.<\/p>\n Earl Wise, a 64-year-old Pontiac resident, struggled with accelerating medical challenges during a period of homelessness that lasted from his mid-40s to mid-50s. After losing his job of 22 years and going through a divorce, Wise says he \u201ckind of let [him]self down,\u201d leading to a period during which he was \u201cthe lowest [he\u2019s] ever been in [his] life.\u201d Wise lived primarily in abandoned houses rather than homeless shelters so that he would have a roof over his head during the day. However, he says, \u201cwinters got rough\u201d on him both physically and mentally.<\/p>\n \u201cI was getting goofy,\u201d he says. \u201cYou know, I needed help. I needed some meds at the time because I was getting mental.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Gottschalk says she\u2019s been \u201cvery blessed\u201d overall in her experience with homelessness, but it\u2019s still not easy.<\/p>\n \u201cThe body\u2019s just not as young anymore,\u201d she says, adding that she\u2019s glad she hasn\u2019t had to live outdoors. \u201cI\u2019ve seen some people [experiencing homelessness] that are in pretty rough shape, and I know they\u2019re around my age. I don\u2019t know how long they\u2019ve been dealing with it, but it just physically gets harder.\u201d<\/p>\n Even in the midst of these challenges, many older adults experiencing homelessness go to great lengths to hide their situation. Smith says she \u201cwent out of [her] way to not look homeless\u201d so co-workers at her part-time job at Target wouldn\u2019t judge her. She carried a backpack of supplies to keep up her appearance and bathe in a restroom on her way to work.<\/p>\n \u201cThe people I worked with never knew,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cThey need help\u201d<\/p>\n Middle-aged and older adults experiencing homelessness often need short- or long-term support finding housing, medical care, and other basic needs. Gottschalk lived out of her truck briefly in 2019 before her friend took her in. She says that experience and her current period of homelessness \u201care like polar opposites.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had so much support this time,\u201d she says, primarily crediting HOPE Shelters staff for helping her through her recuperation. \u201cI\u2019m just so thankful. And I\u2019m thankful that my body is healing.\u201d<\/p>\n Gottschalk says the support she\u2019s received has sometimes taken the form of someone giving her \u201ca little push.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re dealing with new things, it\u2019s not always easy to do,\u201d she says. \u201cBut that support\u2019s been there, and it just kind of lifts you up and encourages you to do what you need to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Smith also credits a counselor at HOPE Shelters for helping her get back on her feet. She had struggled to find Section 8 housing, despite having a housing voucher. The counselor helped her get into a permanent supportive housing program through Troy-based Community Housing Network<\/a> (CHN), which offers clients wraparound services in addition to their housing. Smith now lives in Pontiac, and her rent and utility bills are covered by CHN.<\/p>\n \u201cI just thank [the counselor] to this day, because I was honest with him,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen they do the intake questions, I used to be embarrassed. But I just told the truth and I qualified for a program.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/leahmccall-1-1024x683.jpg\")
Leah McCall. David Lewinski<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_Homelessness_20250928_Selections-10-1024x683.jpg\")
Malinda Gottschalk. Steve Koss<\/p>\n