Abstract:

San Francisco's Tenderloin contains the largest concentration of elderly persons living in the city, approximately 17,000. At least 600 of these dwell in four Dept. of Housing & Urban Development subsidized hotels located within one block of each other in the heart of the Tenderloin. Attention is focused on the residents of the Alexander, Marlton Manor, Antonia Manor & Maria Manor Hotels. Data were collected by participant observation supplemented by ecological factors, in-depth interviews, case histories, role analysis & a "community" description. The following questions are posed: What are the relationships between aging & identity? What are the effects of situational factors on the identities of elders in the Tenderloin? What is different, if anything, about elderly people shaping & reshaping lives here? Structural, interactional & phenomenological concepts considered include: role loss & role ambiguity, socialization, social class, the self, significant other(s), meanings, values & knowledge. A number of compelling dimensions & at least one firm hypothesis have emerged. The dimensions of time, information and knowledge appear crucial as means (& even processes) by which residents of the Tenderloin constantly shape & create their social worlds. Other observed dimensions call into question many of the findings & assumptions of the relevant literature-at least on the surface. The major vehicle for the transmission of knowledge/information is social interaction-& its nature & degree of frequency appears to be quite different from the picture painted in a major theory on aging. Relative independence, indeed fierce independence, of many hotel residents-along with their concomitant survival skills-runs contrary to dependency norms described elsewhere. Transition to old age in the Tenderloin seems to be equally taxing for both men & women. In fact, it may be more difficult for women if we consider lower pensions resulting from lifelong low incomes, generation/sex related lack of "worldly skills" (eg, how to find a lawyer, fill out forms, etc), & high visibility as likely victims of crime. The experiences of these women is clearly different from assumptions on aging women prevalent in the literature.