The two Roberts share more than just a first name in common.
Both are senior citizens who are residents of the Lebanon Rescue Mission.
LebTown interviewed both men to shed light on a growing problem here and elsewhere: senior citizen homelessness. (LebTown is not using their last names at the request of the mission’s CEO and executive director Susan Blouch to protect their anonymity.)
Robert, 77, is a mission resident who lost his part-time job last July and was living in his pick-up truck when a friend convinced him in October to enter the men’s shelter in Lebanon city until permanent housing can be found.
“A friend of mine talked me into coming here because I didn’t have a place to live. And I’ve been here ever since until we get into more affordable housing since I’m just living on my SSI (social security income),” Robert said, adding that he could have ridden out the harsh 2025-26 winter had he stayed in his truck. “It’s doable. No, not necessarily the most comfortable, but it’s doable.”
Blouch told LebTown that one of the blessings bestowed on the mission in what’s an otherwise capacity-filled men’s dorm is having some of the older men work with the younger residents in an unofficial mentoring role.
While Robert says he’s a quiet man who keeps to himself, program case manager Corbett Blouch says Robert’s always ready to offer advice to – or share scripture with – his fellow residents when asked by them.
“One of the things with Robert especially is he’s a quiet man, but he’s an example and other people watch that. Because he follows our rules to the tee. He goes to our classes, but he’s not one to open up to somebody,” Corbett said. “But if you ask him a question, he’s going to answer it for you – especially biblically. We started having some conversations and there’s a lot of knowledge in this man, biblically and otherwise. So other men watch that and they see him doing that. So although he might not be on a soapbox, if he gets asked a question, he’ll answer it.”
The other Robert
The second Robert, who goes by Bob, is a 69-year-old former area dentist who retired from practice and celebrated that life achievement – too excess. The problem is he never stopped celebrating, and alcohol took control of his life.
“I retired 14 years ago and found myself with too much time on my hands. I was celebrating retirement by drinking alcohol, which was an issue with me,” said Bob, who added he tried several rehab centers and rescue missions to quit the bottle to no avail. “I continued to drink. So it was quite the lineup of different rehabs I had gone to.”
Bob said he’s done with that lifestyle because he knows it will lead to a tragic end.
“I don’t want to drink anymore. I don’t see my life continuing should I take that route. Coming here, I know it’s Bible-based and I got a lot out of it from the time that I was here before. But without God Jesus in my life, it’s not going to … work,” he said.
Corbett said mission residents participate in one, or possibly more, of its seven programs, including one called Relocation.
“The Relocation program is the one that the first Robert you met was in,” he said. “Those are men who don’t necessarily come here through alcohol or drugs or whatever the reason is they got here. They’re just here until they can find another home.
“And then we have what we call our Step-Up program, and that is a shorter program for men who may have lost their jobs and lost their housing. They come here (while) finding another job. We give them enough time to save … an amount of money to go get another place, a room, or an apartment. … They’re out working during the day.”
Read More: Groundbreaking held for Agape Safe Haven
“Homelessness does not discriminate. It doesn’t know age, sex, and now, as you can see, occupation,” Corbett said. “But there are many reasons: loss of job, loss of spouse or family member. We see that with the seniors especially. There are many reasons, but number one is loss of job, I would say, or loss of spouse is there with the seniors. And then yes, there are some substance issues as well. But not as much as with the seniors as we see with the younger groups.”
With a perpetually filled men’s dorm and no apparent end to demand in sight, there’s plans to help alleviate that situation with the new Agape Shelter.
With a planned opening in April 2027, the new shelter across the street from LRM’s headquarters will have 40 bedrooms, with 16 designated for seniors and the rest for women and their children, who will occupy just under 200 available beds when it opens, according to Susan.
Unfortunately, all mission shelters are currently at capacity, including the women’s facilities.
“The reality is, yes, there’s insufficient senior housing for Lebanon County, for Pennsylvania, for across the country because I think COVID exaggerated (circumstances),” said Susan. “After COVID was over, then you had this huge sudden jump in housing costs and that saturated the problem and now you’ve got this also big jump in an aging population.”
That led to the perfect storm for too many seniors, she added.
Read More:
- Jubilee Ministries purchases Lebanon Rescue Mission’s Agape Shelter home
- Commissioners support Lebanon Rescue Mission’s planned expansion project
- Soup, soap, salvation: Lebanon Rescue Mission thankful for 80-year ministry
- Lebanon Rescue Mission to meet community need with Agape Safe Haven
“So the combination of things, you know, it’s not just a housing issue. A lack of affordable housing is certainly why they end up here. But there’s so many other issues tangled up in it, too,” Susan said.
Some kind of breakdown in the family structure is a contributing factor, she said.
“We just had a woman that was admitted to our women’s ministry at her temporary location. She lived with her daughter. Her daughter expected to outlive her mother, made no arrangements for who would take care of mom if something happened to her,” Susan explained. “But she died, the apartment’s in her name, mom can’t afford it, and now she’s dealing with the family tragedy and nowhere to live.”
While the Pennsylvania Department of Aging doesn’t track senior homeless statistics, communications director Karen Gray said the Shapiro administration has taken steps to address the growing problem.
“One of Gov. Shapiro’s first executive actions was to direct the Department of Aging to lead the development of Aging Our Way, PA – Pennsylvania’s 10-year strategic plan to support older adults, enhance services, and promote independence and well-being across the commonwealth,” she said.
Gray said that guided by the input of more than 20,000 older Pennsylvanians, Aging Our Way, PA prioritizes housing affordability, accessibility, and availability, and older adult homelessness specifically.
She said key tactics include:
- Creating partnerships between PDA, the housing sector, and health and social service experts to develop and administer aging-specific grants for older adults experiencing homelessness – and collaborate at the local level across agencies to better serve older adults at risk of losing their housing, or in need of behavioral health services.
- Advocating for legislation that requires higher-density options, such as Accessory Dwelling Units or Elder Cottage Housing Opportunities, to be considered in local zoning and planning regulations.
Gray cited two bills in the legislature that the administration supports, including House bills 2186 and 2109, the latter known as the Golden Girls law, “which would expand shared housing models by reducing local restrictions on the number of unrelated people who may reside together in one home. This bill aligns with the governor’s Housing Action Plan and our Aging our Way Plan,” Gray explained.
In Lebanon County, the goal is to get mission residents into Community Homes housing. But, as might be expected, there’s a waiting list there, too, and a shelter resident must have enough income before they make the move.
“We sign them up for Community Homes, because it’s income-based. So we find them income-based housing. Whatever that particular housing might be, most are 30% of their income,” Susan said. “That’s really their only route. Because with Social Security, it’s not enough to live on.”
Meanwhile, the first Robert looks to the day when he’ll have his own place to call home. One issue keeping him at the mission is the lack of transportation. His truck is sitting at a garage and needs to be fixed.
“I’m not here to take advantage of anybody or any situation. I want to be independent as quickly as I can, but at the same time, Christ tries to convince me to be patient, which is hard to do in my case,” Robert said. “So that’s really the only time I get discouraged, because I’m still here.”
The drive to be on his own again, since he’s lived most of his life alone, is evident.
“The weather’s getting nicer outside, and I mean to get out there where I can enjoy it. But yeah, even when I leave here, I have full intention to get into a part-time job. Matter of fact, right before I came in here, I’d already been accepted to be a school bus driver,” he added. “So even at my age, there’s opportunities out there. All you gotta do is have the desire, put yourself out there and make yourself known.”
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