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The request for the task force comes from Talbot County Council member Lynn Mielke. Based on council feedback, a resolution to create the task force seems poised for approval at the council’s Aug. 12 meeting.

Members of the county’s Commission on Aging and other health and housing experts spoke on mounting challenges faced by area seniors, from housing costs and food insecurity to mental health struggles.

Rachel Smith, chair of the aging commission, said a task force would help align local nonprofits, county boards and the health department. There’s currently a “disconnect,� she said.

“There isn’t anybody who is behind all of these organizations pushing to keep everybody connected,� Smith said. “And that’s what we found is one of the biggest problems. We have all these organizations out here that are doing so much great work, but then we’ve got to figure out a way to connect so we can help all these people.�

Mielke said there’s no single solution to help the homeless senior population.

“Each agency would bring solutions or suggestions, but not one agency can deal with all of the issues,� Mielke said.

As drafted, the senior citizens task force would consist of representatives from the following entities: Commission on Aging, Delmarva Community Services, Talbot Interfaith Shelter, Neighborhood Service Center, Talbot County Health Department, Easton Town Council and County Council. Members from Mid-Shore Behavioral Health and law enforcement agencies may also be added based on Tuesday’s discussions.

The task force would make recommendations to the County Council on housing, transportation and meal services for homeless seniors.

Homelessness is growing

Julie Lowe, executive director of Talbot Interfaith Shelter, cited jumps in calls from seniors as evidence that homelessness is on the rise.

In 2023, the shelter received 15 calls from men 55 and older and 14 calls from women 55 and older. One year later, those marks increased to 30 and 23, respectively.

This year, the Easton-based shelter has already received 19 calls from men and 13 calls from women in that age range.

Talbot Interfaith has limited capacity, Lowe said. It runs a multi-year program to transition people into paying for partial rent before moving out on their own. But even when shelter residents move out, Lowe said finding a financially viable apartment in the area isn’t an easy task, especially for seniors who can’t work.

“Most of the people who we work with will never get to that point with the market-rate housing and where it is now,� Lowe said.

Lee Newcomb, a Talbot County social worker for 26 years and the aging commission’s secretary, said she’s never seen senior need at such a high level.

Newcomb said the Days Inn in Easton is home to many unhoused individuals. Smith said seniors especially suffer in the winter months since Talbot County doesn’t have a low-barrier homeless shelter.

Smith noted an incident at the Days Inn last December as a wake-up call. According to police, an unhoused man who was living in the woods behind the hotel was found dead on Dec. 14, 2024.

“I feel like we missed something there,� Smith said. “We shouldn’t have our senior residents — some of them have worked in our community — die.�

Cambridge-based Delmarva Community Services has served many homeless people from Talbot County down in Dorchester, according to president and CEO Andy Hollis.

Hollis said a low-barrier, overnight shelter is a gap in Talbot County, and something that a task force could work on. Many others at the meeting on Tuesday emphasized the need for a physical location to consolidate services for the senior homeless population.

‘We don’t have this issue in Talbot,’ we thought for so long,� Hollis said. “And we truly do. It’s something that is long overdue in terms of being addressed.�

“The challenge is not leveling out and it’s only going to get worse,� he added.