LOS ANGELES — Locking the door to her new apartment is a daily reminder of how far Emma Paura has come.
Not long ago, she was living in a shelter, safeguarding the few items she had.
At 60-years-old she never imagined she would experience homelessness.
She had previously lived with her partner and his mom for 16 years, but after the mom's unexpected death, they lost their home and all their belongings.
"I didn't know where to go or who to ask, and that was the hardest part. You can Google everything, but then you call and it's a whole process. You can't just go in there and say okay, well, I need a place to stay," said Paura.
Her story is one repeatedly found in a UC San Francisco study on people experiencing homelessness in California. The study found the unhoused population is aging, with almost 50% of single adults experiencing homelessness being over the age of 50.
It's why those working to address the homeless crisis, like nonprofit Linc Housing, opened an affordable housing apartment complex named SagePointe for unhoused seniors.
The LA County Department of Health Services and the Coordinated Entry System helped match 55 unhoused seniors to the available units. They filled the complex in Wilmington in just three months.
Among those was Paura, who still looked in disbelief at the welcome sign that greeted her on her first day. She has a place to cook and sleep, access to the community laundry room, computer center and case management. Services play an important role in the goal of helping meet the physical and mental needs of the residents.
"The professionals, like the therapists, come in and work closely with our case managers to make sure there's alignment between the things that are happening here to socialize residents. So they have a more comprehensive treatment," said Marco Ramirez, vice president of impact and community strategy at Linc.
He explains this program focuses on helping reduce homelessness among this population by giving them a permanent solution.
Since SagePointe is not interim housing, residents can stay for as long as they want.
"People in this age group tend to be on a fixed income, so any changes to their household budget could compromise their housing. A flat tire could be the difference between paying your rent or not," said Ramirez.
The income variability is why people at this complex pay different rent rates based on what they can afford, with most residents using their supplementary security income payments.
The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles provides rental subsidies, and funding for the development came from various sources, including HHH funds and U.S. Bank loans.
With the population of older adults experiencing homelessness expected to triple by 2030, Linc points out the importance of continuing to build units like SagePointe to get people off the streets.
Paura, who now has her grandchildren's toys in every room of her new apartment, says having her family over now brings her the most joy.