The eviction of Doña María Magdalena Ortiz Rosado, 83, is expected to be made official sometime this week. After almost three decades as a tenant in Hato Rey, she will have to leave the home she has lived in. Her case is not unique: although few cases become public, more older adults are being left without housing.
Belinda Hill, executive director of the foundation Solo por Hoy, a nonprofit that has served homeless populations for 17 years, said her group sees such cases constantly. "They call us saying the landlord needs the property to remodel it. Magdalena’s case is not the first," Hill said.
She noted that what makes the cases of Ortiz Rosado and Ramona Cruz Sanabria, 78, in Aguadilla, exceptional is their age. Both are elderly women with health conditions facing eviction and possible homelessness. Hill said the state is responsible for Ortiz Rosado’s situation and that the court did not take into account that she was alone, calling this the biggest failure.
She said that under the agreed protocol, projects serving homeless people should have been notified of evictions in advance so they could intervene and evaluate alternatives. A recent count of homeless people found that 27% of those living on the street are 55 or older, and many reached that situation after being evicted. The largest number of evictions tied to tourism-oriented development projects occurs in the metropolitan area.