To the Editor:

I was appalled to learn that four homeless New Yorkers were murdered recently while sleeping on the sidewalk (“Man’s Deadly Rampage Illuminates the Perils of Living on the Street,” news article, Oct. 7). When I read that one victim was 83 years old, my heart sank — but I was not surprised.

I was part of a team of researchers who found that a crisis of aged homelessness is upon us and predicted to worsen. Our study found that shelter residents 65 and older in New York City reached 2,600 in 2017 and will top 6,900 by 2030. Nationally, we project there will be 106,000 homeless people aged 65 and older by 2030 .

I’m an emergency room doctor at one of New York City’s public hospitals. The same night as the murders, I saw homeless patients in their 60s and 80s. Caring for elderly homeless patients has become par for the course.

Will public outrage reach a tipping point and lead to action when more and more homeless people look like grandmas and grandpas? Or will we simply acclimate to the changing landscape of homelessness and the human suffering that accompanies it?