Ninety-Seven-Year-Old Homeless Woman Finds Shelter

Being without a home is a rather inconceivable concept even for the most able-bodied people. But to be homeless as a senior citizen seems absolutely incomprehensible.

Yet, according to an LA Times story, that's exactly the situation 97-year-old California resident Bessie Mae Berger found herself in. After Berger and her son, 60-year-old Larry Wilkenson, were dropped from the state-sponsored In-Home Supportive Services program, they found out the owner of the Palm Springs house they were living in had to sell the residence. Down on their luck and without enough dough to find their own place, Berger and Larry along with his brother, 62-year-old Charlie Wilkenson, were forced to live out of a 1973 Chevy Suburban van in Venice, CA.

The three bought food, kept up the car and purchased other provisions with Berger's Social Security checks and Larry and Charlie's disability checks, but there was still never enough left over to rent an apartment. Though the three tried to qualify for government-subsidized housing, they failed, partly because the family insisted on staying together.

The whole situation was heartbreaking, especially thinking about a frail, 97-year-old woman living out of a van. But luckily, according to the LA Times, Berger and her two sons recently found a place to live!

After a recent LA Times story drew attention to the family's plight, city, county and state officials teamed up with a local non-profit and stepped in. The three are now living comfortably in the California Villa Retirement Hotel in Van Nuys.

Employees from the Integrated Recovery Network, a non-profit that helped out Berger and her sons, say they can make living arrangements for the family for three months, and will work on securing additional long-term benefits.

Photo courtesy of stock.xchng.