Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. – “Being homeless is like being on the worst camping trip of your life, but it never ends,” said Bronwyn Carver, one of the focal voices in No Place to Grow Old.
In this interview-based documentary directed by Davey Schaupp and produced by Humans for Housing, Bronwyn was joined by other seniors with diverse experiences of homelessness.
As the fastest-growing demographic within the unhoused community in the United States, this film illuminates a reality facing an alarming number of older adults in Portland, Oregon.
Though the statistics in No Place to Grow Old are stark, the film is ultimately about people. We are a city, a state, and a country vastly unprepared for the housing needs of our aging population. Increasingly, residents are aging into homelessness.
Released in September, the film is currently showing at limited community screenings in Oregon and Washington.
In Portland, the average life expectancy for an unhoused person is only 49 years – 28 years below the national average – but the human stories reveal what the numbers alone cannot.
Herbert Olive, a long-time Portland resident on the edge of eviction, has worked for all his life he can remember, but fell prey to a predatory housing loan late in life. He spoke of reorienting his life after losing his home and facing homelessness.
Brought to life by the camera, he isn’t just another statistic. He’s “Hustlin’ Herb,” as his childhood friends call him.
On screen we are introduced to his teenage son and see multiple dimensions of his humanity – as a father, a son of parents who moved to Portland from Jackson, Mississippi with hope of finding more opportunity, a man with vivid memories and a tireless work ethic.
In the film, Jerry Vermillion, who is currently part of Portland’s unhoused community, speaks vulnerably about his experiences with societal perceptions. “People think we’re out here just because we’re lazy or we don’t wanna do anything, or we’re addicts … there’s a lot more to it than that,” he said.
A lifelong reader who finds refuge in Portland’s Central Library, Vermillion reflected on how homelessness has affected him mentally and emotionally as he ages.
Recently, he’s noticed that people see him as “older,” and he reveals he’s “frightened to death of dying.”
Vermillion’s story backed the analysis of John Taponga, a public policy advisor featured in the documentary who explained, “Becoming homeless late in life ages you considerably.”
With each individual’s voice, No Place to Grow Old pushes viewers to see that our unhoused population is composed of the stories of people like Bronwyn, Herbert, and Jerry – who live with nuanced dreams and fears.
Visually, the film ties these lives to the heart of Portland. No Place to Grow Old captures familiar landmarks – our parks, our bridges, our neighborhood corners – places that Portlanders interact with every day. Watching the backdrop of their stories, I felt a sense of awe at how distinctively I have come to be able to recognize Portland’s character.
Living in Oregon, I have often heard homelessness cited as the single biggest societal problem our community faces; in the stories of this documentary, it is easy to imagine people I have seen through a car window or passed when walking through Portland in the past. I do not doubt their stories are just as vivid.
In a sequence that stuck in my memory, a train thunders past a makeshift shelter, its roaring momentum shaking the tarps and walls of the tent just inches away from the tracks.
Jennifer Molinsky, director of the Housing an Aging Society Program at Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, said senior homelessness is a national crisis, not limited to Portland, and that without a proactive approach, the problem will only escalate as America’s population continues to age.
Since 1990, approximately 1 million people have moved into Oregon’s tri-county area, noted Associate Professor Marisa Zapata, director of Portland State University’s Homelessness Research and Action Collaborative. “We did not, in fact, keep up the pace of housing that we needed to accommodate that growth.”
This surge in population, without adequate affordable housing, means seniors – many of whom are homeless for the first time – are falling through the cracks. Zapata argued that greater intervention is needed.
The film’s message is clear: Portland, and cities across the country, must prioritize affordable housing if they hope to provide even the most basic security for their aging populations.
Even though I do not have the life experiences of those featured in No Place to Grow Old, and even though there is a significant age gap between us, I related to Jerry’s love of books, Herbert’s drive to find purpose in his community, and the concern Bronwyn felt about worrying her family over her housing situation.
This documentary is impactful because it asks the viewer – no matter their preconceptions – to rethink what it means to age with dignity. It is successful because it lets the voices of the community it hopes to highlight speak for themselves.
“Our population is rapidly aging, only to find there is no place to grow old,” the film revealed.
Though focused on the stories of Portlanders, this documentary would be an impactful watch for anyone in the United States, or around the world, who is interested in seeing their neighbors through new eyes.
Annamika Konkola is a Senior Reporter with Youth Journalism International.
