0:00 A night in a car
0:44 How many seniors are sleeping in vehicles?
2:33 The physical cost of sleeping upright
3:50 Why shelters are not a simple answer
4:40 The daily loop of parking and safety
7:13 Pensions, rent, and the path into a car
10:47 The danger of being unseen
12:29 Waiting for a door that locks

What happens when retirement leaves an older person with nowhere to sleep but a car? I follow one winter night in the life of Margaret, a composite drawn from stories of Canadian seniors living through homelessness, and show why the cold is only part of the danger.

I examine the physical costs of sleeping in a hatchback, the risks of dehydration and carbon monoxide, the limits of shelters, and the daily struggle to find safe places to park, eat, charge a phone, and use a washroom.

I also break down the gap between Canada Pension Plan payments, Old Age Security, rent, food, gas, and medication—and explain how isolation, vehicle requirements, and long housing waitlists can leave seniors with no safe way back indoors.