Growing Senior Population: Problem or Opportunity?
by Joy Gordon July 28, 2008
It's not just the politicians who are doing flip flops these days, it's also our population.
From a culture with a high preponderance of youth, we are quickly becoming a nation of seniors. According to the League of Minnesota Cities study, the growth among the over 65 will be explosive in the next 30 years, up 125% between 2005 and 2038. (Now if only my stocks would take a similar jump, I would jump for joy. Dream on, you say.) It's being called a "Silver Tsunami." Now, do we look at this aging population as a liability or as a resource? Do we focus on the problems in our communities or look for the assets and then build on those?
Okay. So we have all heard about the affect of the baby boomers and the graying of our communities. We are beginning to identify areas such as transportation, housing, health care, safety and security that need to respond to the changing demographics. So who is going to address these issues? Can we wait for the government to step in or do we need to mobilize as communities and build collaborations to begin to explore solutions to these areas? And how can we work together more effectively across the State and across the nation?
I recently attended a videoconference titled Transform 2010: Fostering Communities for a Lifetime: Concept and Action. In three hours people from across the State shared what they were doing, exchanged best practices, raised questions and exchanged answers. People met, people talked, and people got excited, motivated and energized. This was exhilarating and offered hope that grassroots efforts are springing up and making a difference to meet the challenges of our changing times. What are you doing? What is your community, city, county doing? What do you think they should do and how will you help? What talents will you bring to the table?
Comments
Steve Jones - 2008-08-02 09:16:26
I would like to see a greater role for the area community colleges to provide programs for the 55 + generation. Many in this group want and / or need to continue working and need to develop new skills and understand more about today's labor market. I work in continuing education at Anoka-Ramsey Community College and am working to develop some new programs in this area. The research indicates a real need in this area. One challenge is how to get the word out and to know if we are on the right track with our program efforts.
Carol Daly - 2008-08-12 16:16:57
Joy,
There's no question in my mind that WE need to do the mobilizing and responding. However, at the same time that we think about the needs of an older population, we'd be wise to consider the pluses, the assets that population will likely be able to provide.. Communities can benefit from the experiences of older adults who have some time to spare. Most of us want to contribute, to be productive. Let's be sure to also pay attention to the human resources that will be available to communites at little or no cost.
Persephone Arbour - 2008-12-31 07:40:35
If you can read, write, speak, paint, sing, talk, walk, think or dare - you already have the skills (or at least one!) to bring to your community. Rather than looking for where you can learn more - find ways to use what you have, to share it with others. Now 75 years old this is what I do - latest development my own web site - http:www.persephonearbour.com Very impulsively I jumped into this new world of wwws and just share of myself in anyway I can. You can do the same - or similar. Putting energy out at any level - acutally makes room for more to come in!