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wxramooamuz-wmmsaou-a N 0 place like home 0 I O C I 0 Region faces housmg crunch jbr senwrs m commgdecades unless more is done 8”le per cent increase over the 507,096 that Chmnl‘desmlf called the region home in 2011. But the number of seniors is expected to more than The/lard: ”WWW double over that same time frame. from mmwuofm 62.590 to 129.725. ' . . . Whammy-sin Mambo Region. it’s an emerging trend across the country ff”? m*:wj ' 7 as the Baby Boomers get set to retire. ‘, ore of Waterloo Region‘s most According to Statistics Canada. seniors are 3‘ w - .- M vulnerable seniors could end up the fastest-growing age group in Canada. 3. " . on the streets as the municipality An estimated five million Canadians were ,. , . 1 3. a... prepares for the arrival ofthousands of new 65 or older in 2011, a number expected to at!“ .. 42"" A ‘ ' * ' ”as residents over the coming decades. more than double to 10.4 million by 2036. E f .i‘ Gael Gilben. executive director of Supâ€" This growth in seniors. combined with J . ., . - portive Housing of Waterloo, worries the the low binh rate. means that for the first . " 1 ' . numbers of homeless or under-housed time in Waterloo Region's history there will .4 . . seniors could climb sharply over the next be more residents over the age of 65 than , ..- 55" . ' . 20 years unless something is done soon to under theage of” by2031. ” . . ' provide more housing options for at‘risk Canada has done well to reduce poverty .. seniors, levels among seniors in recent decades. " ,2» t “ L,“ ‘l'm not sure at this point that it's seen The percentage of seniors living below the l , 5‘ as much of an issue (and) I think it's going low-income cutoff fell from 36.9 per cent in y ' “ I : ' to be,” she said. "lt really concerns me." |976 to 3.9 per cent in 1995. “ ‘ _ ,_ g . SHOW is a non-profit organization But those numbers have been quietly ' aimed at designing. building and operating creeping up into the double digits in the Gael Gilbert m mam “0““? ofWaterloo, says more should be done permanent affordable and supportive last decade. The percentage of seniors liv- tohelpseniors in needolaffordable housing. AAA-ammo housing in Waterloo for those experiencing ing below the low-income cutoff hit 10.2 persistent homelessness or who may be per cent in 2005 and rose to 12.3 per cent in er this year. between 1996 and 2006 hous- lems. such asdementia. Gilbert said. hard-to-house due to a past history of drug 2010. according to Statistics Canada. ing costs rose from $467 per month to $663 'We've had three tenants die here in the or alcohol abuse. last yw, the low-income wtoii’ for one for seniors, at 42 per cent increase. Int two years and the average age was 50,” Gilbert is also the coâ€"chair of the hous- person was just over $23,000. or about An estimated 26 per cent of seniors in Gilbert said 'Bodiesaged way beyond their ing committee on Waterloo Mayor Brenda $29,000 for two people. according to Statis- the region also rent their homes. and a years. Halioran's task force for an age-friendly city. tics Canada. quarter of seniors pay 30 per cent or more 'I find it appalling that this is whafliur That group is working towards establishing Gilbert said women in particular are at of their monthly income towards housing. seriouhavetolook forward to" a housing strategy for hard-to~place seniors risk. and statistics support that claim. the highest of all population groups. file region is responsible for affordable who can't afford retirement homes or who Between zoos and 2010. about 60 per cent according to the housing action plan. That housing but Gilbert said they've done as may be rejected by nursing homes because of the estimated 160,000 seniors living in report also notes there is a limited range of much as they can do. There needs to be they either have a drug or alcohol addic- poverty in this country were women. par- housing options for low-income seniors. more support from the provincial and fed ' " tion, or are fighting one with methadone or ticularly those over the age of 75. While the churchâ€"based Out of the Cold eral levels of govanment. she said. another treatment program. This is largely due to pension allowances program. which provides a hot meal and a My Owen Place. a five-storey. 49-unit Waterloo Region lacks sufficient housing that have traditionally been linked to place to sleep for the homeless from apartment buildingaimed at seniors 60 or for this atâ€"risk population of seniors. employment history. reports the Confer November to April each year. doesn't ofii- older in need of affordable housing, has Gilbert said. Only 17 per cent (roughly ence Board of Canada. a not-forprofit daily track the ages ofits visitors, the num< helped, but those kinds of projects are few 1.600) of all community housing units are think tank. ber of people using the service has and far between. Gilbert said. are knows of dedicated to seniors Gilbert said the number of seniors living increased steadily in the past decade. no new afiordable housing projects for sen- ‘That just doesn't exist here. There's a in poverty will likely worsen in the coming The number of ovemight guests at Out iors coming at the regional level. and that whole population of individuals that we decades since two-thirds of working Cana- of the Cold rose about seven per cent to must change before the problem worsens. could place in that housing or support sys- dians don't have a company pension plan nearly 12.000 people last winter. The pro» '1 think we're being incredibly short tern that are using the Out ofthe Cold pro- and only one-third contribute to Registered gram also served more than 26.000 meals signed and we need to be building for the grams. living in very mary'naliwd boarding Retirement Savings Plans At SHOW. two of the 30 residents are future, because the future has a habit of homes or rooming houses. and we really Housing coats are also increasing more over the age of 65. and another eight are coming fairly quickly.” she said. need a much better level ofservice.' for seniors than any other segment of the not officially seniors but are so prematurely Too often we try to play catch-up with By 2031. Waterloo Hogan's population is population. According to the Waterloo aged due to their lives on the street some these kinds of problems. she added. "and expected to swell to about 742.000 â€" a 46 Region Housing Action Plan. released earli» suffer age-related illnesses or other prob- we don’t do it all that well." ‘ YOUR TOP AWARD WINNING SPA a. w I ' 5 519.IOO.2090 I cinnamon I I. .lflfl‘mn‘NIl' ,._ “J" m‘-"'