*3.3. The Homeless*

It must be noted that homeless populations face unique vulnerabilities, and these vulnerabilities can lead to critical mental and physical health consequences, adding to which the prevalence of homelessness worldwide could be increasing due to climate change. Consequently, Kidd et al. (2021a) developed a hypothetical model that captures the risk factors and the vulnerabilities of the homeless to climate change. They looked at the types of risks in two categories: both primary and secondary. At the primary level, the risks were associated with cold, humidity, water level, rapid change, and disasters. At the secondary level, food, water, insecurity, vector-borne diseases. illness, mortality, morbidity, emergency service use, infrastructure burden, and homelessness prevalence were included.

Both levels of risk can be impacted by the following: dwelling vulnerability, chronic illness, malnourishment, mobility, education, social inequity, social service infrastructure, and response. As a consequence, the following outcomes can materialize, for example, illnesses that can lead to increased mortality and rising morbidity, exposure to violence, and emergency service use and infrastructure burden. This can have a cyclic effect and further increase the primary and secondary risks without proper interventions to mitigate these circumstances. Kidd et al. (2021b) add that there is a need for outreach and education, service adaptations, and disaster planning to assist with disaster responses. Homeless people may experience vulnerability to conditions such as heat stroke, dehydration, and respiratory illness (Osborn et al. 2019). Malnutrition is a huge issue that reduces their ability to tolerate temperature extremes (Walters and Gaillard 2014). It must also be noted that the homeless are a highly stigmatized group, and historic inequities can be exacerbated during adverse climate change events.

### **4. Exploring the Economic Implications of Climate Change on the Elderly, Disabled and Homeless in the Caribbean**

By the year 2022, it is estimated that the population of the Latin American and Caribbean region will be 658 million (UN 2022). Even though the rate of fertility in the region has slowed by two births per female, those of the adolescent age have a rate of 53 births per thousand. This, together with the rising life expectancy of Caribbean nationals to 80.6 years by 2050, implies that by 2056, the region's population is expected to peak at 752 million (UN 2022). Such a transformation in the size of the population could undoubtedly cause significant changes in the demographic structure of the region. This implies that the vulnerable segment of these populations, such as the elderly and weaker social groups, not unlike the homeless and the disabled, are all likely to grow. According to the ECLAC-UN (2022), it is expected that by the year 2030, the proportion of people 60 years and older in the Latin American and Caribbean region will be 16.5%.

As the Caribbean region continues to grapple with the effects of climate change such as the negative fallout from natural disaster events, i.e., hydrological hazards, such as flooding, geophysical hazards such as earthquakes and landslides, and meteorological hazards such as hurricanes and tropical storms, it is expected that the number of people affected by such events will also grow. Among the wide range of areas in which these vulnerable segments could be impacted as discussed below, the one which stands out the most is housing, which could either be compromised or unavailable. Because of the immediate threats that climate change poses to the housing of the elderly, disabled and the homeless, this unavoidably creates a domino effect, with a myriad of challenges ranging from changes in household spending to individual healthcare, which these groups now face.

#### *4.1. Limited Household Funds*

Paying special attention to the economic implications that these events are likely to have on the elderly, homeless, and disabled in the Caribbean reveals that the elderly living in squalid and overcrowded conditions are susceptible to climate change events. Like elderly migrant women living in the slum areas of Dhaka City, India, and Kenya, elderly women in rural areas in the Caribbean might be one of the most vulnerable groups to climate change events because they are the poorest in their communities. It is possible that these elderly women, who may also be homeless and those who are rendered homeless due to climate change events, do not have sufficient household income to access basic needs such as food, shelter, and healthcare services (Amjad 2020).

This is an important issue because, during rising levels of inflation and cost of living in the Caribbean and given that the spending habits of the elderly and homeless people tend to yield short-term benefits, they are often allocated fewer public resources as their experience of climate risks is either ignored or oversimplified (Omolo and Mafongoya 2019). As a result, what may transpire is a reduced quality of life and standard of living, as climate change events might increase the risk of undernutrition as well as water insecurity experienced by the elderly, disabled, and homeless population; existing inequalities continue to persist because government assistance in the form of senior citizen's pensions, public assistance grants, and food cards are limited and insufficient to meet the medical and dietary requirements of such people as the cost of living continues to rise (Stein and Stein 2021). For these reasons, the elderly, homeless, and disabled in the Caribbean might not fully support climate change policies because of the lack of inclusion of their needs and experiences in climate change mitigation and adaptation plans (Andor et al. 2018).

#### *4.2. Housing and Public Infrastructure*

#### 4.2.1. The Elderly and Disabled Population

The prevalence and intensity of climate change events often cause a significant and negative impact on household and living conditions, as well as the public infrastructure of victims around the world. In Brazil, Azevedo et al. (2021) explain that during climate change events, the movement of both the elderly and the disabled is severely hampered by different modes of transportation, which become inaccessible to them. This lack of inclusion by different modes of public transportation, such as public buses and taxis, creates an even greater risk during rainy weather, storms, and flooding events, as the elderly and disabled might use these services less, especially when residing in urban and rural areas in the Caribbean.

The lack of inclusion and social capital regarding disaster response for these groups often serves to exacerbate their current circumstances and makes them even more marginalized than before (Benevolenza and DeRigne 2018). This is especially the case, as disabled and weaker social groups in the Caribbean tend to be more prone to impoverished conditions. As a result, they are less likely to be given priority during evacuation exercises and offered insurance to protect their assets and homes during adverse weather events. One example of such a situation occurred during the passage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 when it was estimated that 155,000 people with visual and physical impairments were adversely affected during evacuation exercises (Kosanic et al. 2019). This is because people with disabilities as well as the elderly who are disabled, might not have access to safe housing and shelters during adverse weather conditions due to infrastructural issues such as walkways, bathrooms, and beds not being designed to meet their needs. Thus, some disabled people may be rendered homeless during and after severe weather events.

#### 4.2.2. The Homeless Population

People who experience homelessness are generally exposed to extreme weather events because they lack the financial know-how to adapt to conditions by having their own homes. Often, these people may also be elderly and disabled and can have very little access to supportive social networks and secure supplies of food, shelter/housing, medical facilities, and medication (Anderson et al. 2021). In the Caribbean, it is expected that during the annual dry and rainy seasons, extreme temperatures and rainfall, which in the latter case lasts from June-November, means that the overall health of the homeless is lowest during this time. This is mainly because, during the rainy season, the increase in rainfall and the risk of flooding and landslides make them more susceptible to foodborne, waterborne, and vector-borne diseases, as they may have little access to secure and safe forms of housing and clean drinking water (Kidd et al. 2021a). Living in such conditions, unfortunately, contributes to the homeless in the Caribbean experiencing instances of lower emotional well-being, as well as the continued erosion of both their physical and mental health (Bezgrebelna et al. 2021).

Regrettably, in the design of climate change policies, the subject of climate change and the homeless population is often treated as two separate issues rather than looking at how they interact with one another (Greif 2021). Such a disconnect in the climate change discussion in the Caribbean implies that the vulnerability of the homeless to climate change events is not effectively addressed. This leads to the greater stigma associated with homelessness and more occurrences of environmental injustice toward the homeless (Gibson 2019). In such a situation, what is needed to combat the issue of climate change and homelessness in the Caribbean is a Human Rights-Based Approach, which addresses the housing precarity that the homeless face, providing better means of housing and urban planning with the homeless population as the main stakeholder.

One good example of a climate change response that is sensitive to the needs of the homeless, which the Caribbean region can learn from, is the measures implemented by the government of Bangladesh to deal with climate change-induced displacement. This plan, as explained by Kisinger and Matsui (2021), resettles displaced homeless people into cluster villages on public land, providing life skills and training to help them better reintegrate into society and the workforce, as well as support through social safety nets, and financial support from all non-governmental organizations.

#### 4.2.3. Public Recreational Spaces

Further to this, as the world's population continues to age, in most cities and communities where the elderly live, public spaces such as community gardens, parks, cafes, and barbershops are being created to encourage them to lead a more active, sociable, and healthier lifestyle. Unfortunately, as Higueras et al. (2021) explained, climate change events such as typhoons, hurricanes, and earthquakes can not only destroy these public spaces but also have a marked effect on the health outcomes of older people. Where there is a lack of green spaces, it is expected that health issues such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, heat/cold shocks, accidents, and mental health issues, may pose an even greater risk when the elderly reside in high-density and rural areas.

In the Caribbean, even though there are many private and public sector enterprises which contribute to a thriving social atmosphere, such as waterparks, boardwalks, and parks, it is unknown whether these activities are designed for the needs of the elderly and the fluctuating climate change conditions in mind. For this reason, what is needed in the Caribbean is the design of inclusive, comfortable, and healthy green spaces, as well as communities that consider the safety, location, and health/mobility of the older population.
