Moving Towards Age-Friendly Communities
LOWER MAINLAND/SEA TO SKY
Seniors and Seniors’ Services
Between 2007 and 2027, the total population of the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area is projected to increase by 30%. The aging of the baby boom
generation means that the number of adults 65 years of age and over will more than double (118%).
This dramatic rise in the number of older adults in
our communities raises significant issues for each
us – as relatives, neighbours, citizens and workers.
A key issue for the larger community is whether
healthy attitudes towards aging are taking hold.
Other important issues relate to the creation of
age-friendly communities. We need to see that
the right policies, services and programs are put
in place so that opportunities exist for all seniors
to live independently and participate fully in their
communities.
This report, funded by United Way of the Lower
Mainland, provides a summary of current and
projected future population figures for older adults,
both for the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area as a
whole and, in the accompanying community profiles, for the region’s municipalities. For the most
part, the demographic portrait and projections
are based on Statistics Canada’s 2006 Census and
estimates by BCStats for Local Health Areas.
The report also offers a preliminary overview of
existing seniors’ services in the region, in terms of
their number, type and municipal location. Data
on 189 seniors’-focused organizations has been
drawn from Vancouver Information Services’ Red
Book: Directory of Services for the Lower
Mainland, the most current region-wide source
available.
An Atlas of the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky
Seniors’ Population and Services has also
been prepared.
It is hoped that this information will prompt further
analysis, discussion and planning for the services
required to meet the demands of the region’s aging
population. The community profiles have been
created in hand-out form to meet the needs of the
six (soon eight) seniors’ community planning tables
that United Way of the Lower Mainland is currently
supporting in the region.
Summary
The doubling of the older adult population in the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Corridor over the next two decades presents the community with some real challenges and opportunities. People are living longer than ever before. And many seniors
are able and keen to play an active role in all areas of their lives. But there are
also growing numbers of seniors, many of whom are older women, living alone,
vulnerable to poverty, experiencing housing affordability and other issues, at risk
of social isolation, and likely to require in-home supports as they age. The region’s
older adult population also includes growing numbers of Aboriginal, foreign-born
and non-English speaking individuals.
Now is the time to examine more closely the current array of seniors’ services
in Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky communities. The preliminary exploration in this
report, based upon Red Book listings, suggests that while there are communities
where the numbers of services and seniors are roughly matched – in Vancouver,
the share of agencies actually exceeds its share of seniors by a wide margin –
there are other communities where seniors are poorly served. Communities falling
into the first category – where services and seniors’ populations are more or
less matched – include West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Maple Ridge and Pitt
Meadows, New Westminster, and Burnaby. In the other category – where a shortage of seniors’ services seems to exist – are Surrey and White Rock, Richmond,
Langley and the Sea to Sky communities of Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton.
The most common seniors’ services in the region are multi-activity programs,
in-home support services, adult day centres and clinics (both run by local health
authorities), as well as counseling and assistance services. The services that are
absent in most communities are household support services (cleaning, laundry,
yard maintenance, etc.), advocacy, education and training, and financial services,
all for seniors. Agencies offering seniors’ services with a particular ethno-cultural
focus or in languages other than English are also in short supply.
This preliminary analysis of seniors’ services in the region provides a basis for
further examination, discussion and planning so that the demands of an aging
population are met in the best ways possible.
The mission of United Way of the Lower Mainland is to strengthen our community’s capacity to address social issues. In the case of seniors, United
Way works with partners across the community to support an active aging agenda.
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 1
Seniors
In 2007, people over 65 represented 12% of
the total Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky population (Table 1). By 2027, their numbers will have
increased by 118% and seniors will account for
one in every five citizens in the region.
Table 1: Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors’ Population
Table 2 shows the projected increase in the
population age 65 and up over the next two
decades, as well as each Local Health Area’s
share of the total seniors’ population in each of
2007, 2017 and 2027.
2007
2017
2027
%
%
%
2007-2017
2007-2027
2,975,424
100.0
15.9
30.0
Total Pop.
2,288,917
100.0
65+
280,304
75+
136,230
85+
39,313
1.7
% Change
2,653,502
100.0
12.2
410,092
15.5
610,386
20.5
46.3
117.8
6.0
170,854
6.4
262,235
8.8
25.4
92.5
56,062
2.1
69,205
2.3
42.6
76.0
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run, Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Local Health Areas
The Local Health Areas where the largest
increases in the older age groups are expected to occur are the sparsely populated communities of Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton (244%), the
Tri-Cities area (188%) and Richmond (163%)
Table 2: Population Age 65+
2007
2017
2027
No. of
Seniors
% of
Total
No. of
Seniors
% of
Total
No. of
Seniors
% of
Total
% Chg
20072027
Vancouver
77,297
27.6
100,356
24.5
140,406
23.0
81.6%
Surrey/White Rock
52,747
18.8
83,083
20.3
127,026
20.8
140.8%
Burnaby
28,111
10.0
38,311
9.3
56,013
9.2
99.3%
Richmond
23,132
8.3
39,045
9.5
60,759
10.0
162.7%
Tri-Cities
20,214
7.2
34,397
8.4
58,178
9.5
187.8%
North Vancouver
17,852
6.4
24,141
5.9
34,579
5.7
93.7%
Langley
16,112
5.7
24,866
6.1
38,143
6.2
136.7%
Delta
13,452
4.8
20,761
5.1
28,727
4.7
113.6%
West Vancouver/
Bowen Island
11,041
3.9
14,081
3.4
17,187
2.8
55.7%
Maple Ridge/
Pitt Meadows
10,153
3.6
15,971
3.9
25,263
4.1
148.8%
New Westminster
8,010
2.9
10,811
2.6
16,591
2.7
107.1%
Squamish/Whistler/
Pemberton
2,183
0.8
4,269
1.0
7,514
1.2
244.2%
Lower Mainland/
Sea to Sky
280,304
100.0
410,092
100.0
610,386
100.0
117.8%
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run, Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Local Health Areas
West Vancouver, which currently has one of
the highest concentrations of seniors among its
residents, will experience the least percentage
change (56%), followed by Vancouver (82%)
and North Vancouver (94%).
At present, Vancouver represents the largest
share of the region’s seniors’ population, at
29%, while Surrey/White Rock have the second largest with 18%. In 20 years’ time, the
aging of the suburbs will mean that Vancouver
and Surrey/White Rock each have 22% of the
region’s 65 and over population, followed by
Richmond (10%) and Burnaby (10%).
Adults aged 80 and older are more likely to be
frail and require greater service supports. Table
3 shows the projected increase in this population over the next two decades, as well as
each Local Health Area’s share of the regional
total in 2007, 2017 and 2027. The table is
ranked by the largest to the smallest share of
regional seniors aged 80+ in 2007, with Vancouver again accounting for the largest share
at over 28%.
The expected average rate of increase for this
age group over the next two decades is 77%, with New Westminster experiencing the lowest rate of growth (20%) and Squamish, Whistler and
Pemberton experiencing the greatest (236%).
By 2027 Vancouver will still have the largest share of all adults age 80+ (22%), but its share will have fallen off from 2007. Communities such
as Surrey and White Rock, Richmond, Langley, Tri-Cities, Delta, Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, and Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton will all
increase their share of seniors in this age group.
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 2
Table 3: Population Age 80+
2007
No. of Seniors
% of Total
2017
2027
No. of Seniors
% of Total
No. of Seniors
% of Total
% Chg
2007-2027
Vancouver
23,028
28.6
27,300
26.2
31,700
22.2
37.7
Surrey/White Rock
14,791
18.4
20,537
19.7
31,112
21.8
110.3
Burnaby
8,114
10.1
10,254
9.9
12,963
9.1
59.8
Richmond
6,327
7.9
9,710
9.3
14,386
10.1
127.4
Langley
5,127
6.4
6,303
6.1
9,454
6.6
84.4
North Vancouver
5,085
6.3
6,218
6.0
8,133
5.7
59.9
Tri-Cities
4,933
6.1
7,988
7.7
12,518
8.8
153.8
West Vancouver/Bowen Island
3,737
4.6
4,037
3.9
4,909
3.4
31.4
Delta
3,586
4.5
4,419
4.2
6,982
4.9
94.7
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows
2,703
3.4
3,990
3.8
5,912
4.1
118.7
New Westminster
2,629
3.3
2,407
2.3
3,143
2.2
19.6
Squamish/Whistler/Pemberton
464
0.6
895
0.9
1,559
1.1
236.0
Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky
80,524
100.0
104,058
100.0
142,771
100.0
77.3
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run, Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Local Health Areas
Median age and median age at death provide
a gauge of the relative youthfulness or maturity of communities. In 2007, for example, the
region was slightly younger than the province
as a whole, with a median age of 38.8 compared with 40.1 for British Columbia.
Table 4 ranks the Local Health Areas from oldest to youngest in 2007, based on the median
age, and shows the corresponding median
age at death. As illustrated here, median age
levels across the region range from the more
youthful Howe Sound area’s 34.6 to the older
West Vancouver’s 47.9. This pattern repeats
itself with respect to the median age at death,
ranging from a low of 73 in Howe Sound to a
high of 84.3 in West Vancouver.
Table 4. Median Age and Median Age at Death
West Vancouver/Bowen Island
Median Age
Median Age at Death
47.9
84.3
Delta
41.4
80.8
North Vancouver
40.9
81.2
Richmond
40.7
80.9
New Westminster
40.1
79.9
Langley
39.0
80.8
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows
38.8
77.0
Burnaby
38.7
81.1
Tri-Cities
38.7
76.7
Vancouver
37.8
79.8
Surrey/White Rock
37.7
80.0
Squamish/Whistler/Pemberton
34.6
73.0
Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky
38.8
80.1
British Columbia
40.1
79.5
BC Stats P.E.O.P.L.E. 32 Projection Run
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 3
Key issues
Longer life-spans
» Most seniors in the region are under 80 and many are active and healthy. While 71% of the region’s seniors
are now 65 to 79 years old, 29% are over 80, and 5% are over 90. By 2027 the proportion of younger seniors
will increase to 77%, those over 80 will decline to 23% and those over 90 will remain at 5% of all seniors. As
a larger number of younger seniors move into older age groups, they will likely need more supports.
» The median age at death in the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area is now 80.1, up from 75.9 in 1987. In 2027, it
is forecast to rise again slightly to 80.3.
» As women tend to live longer than men (although the gap is narrowing), the proportion of women among
seniors increases with age. Currently women represent 52% of seniors aged 65-74 in the region and 67% of
those 85 and older.
Living on their own
» The number of older adults living alone is also rising
steadily. Many of those over 80 who live on their
own or with other non-family members are especially
vulnerable, of social isolation among other things. With
in-house support they are able to live in their homes
longer.
» Since the baby boom generation has had fewer children
than earlier generations, there will be fewer family support systems for frail and elderly seniors.
Vulnerability of poor and unattached seniors
» While the proportion of low-income seniors in Metro
Vancouver has declined over the past quarter century,
significant numbers still remain below the poverty line.1
In 2005, 18% of Metro Vancouver residents over age
65 lived in poverty, the second highest proportion in
the country after the Montreal Census Metropolitan
Area (Metro Vancouver, Vital Signs, 2007).
Table 5: Seniors Receiving
Maximum Government Income Supplement
Local Health Area
Total
Female
Male
Richmond
8.5
9.2
7.5
Vancouver
8.3
9.6
6.6
Burnaby
6.2
7.1
4.0
Surrey/White Rock
5.1
5.5
4.6
Tri-Cities
5.0
5.8
4.0
New Westminster
4.3
4.7
3.7
Delta
3.1
3.5
2.7
North Vancouver
3.1
3.4
2.7
Squamish/Whistle/Pemberton
2.2
2.7
1.8
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows
1.9
2.3
1.3
Langley
1.6
1.9
1.2
West Vancouver/Bowen Island
1.6
1.6
1.6
Metro Vancouver
(excluding Squamish/Whistler/Pemberton)
5.6
6.3
4.7
BCStats Socio-Economic Profiles
» Municipalities in the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area
with the greatest proportion of low-income seniors in 2006 include Langley City (31.1%), Vancouver (26.7%),
Richmond (25%), New Westminster (24.6%) and Burnaby (24.1%). Those with the lowest include West Vancouver (11.5%), White Rock (12.7%), Port Moody (12.7%), Squamish (13.4%) and Delta (15.1%).
» Table 5 shows the proportion of seniors in each Local Health Area receiving the maximum Government Income
Supplement (GIS) in 2006. Richmond, Vancouver, and Burnaby are again represented among the poorest
areas.
» Unattached seniors have a significantly higher poverty rate than those sharing accommodation. In 2005, 40%
of Metro Vancouver seniors living alone had incomes below the poverty line (Vital Signs, 2007).1
» Elderly women who live alone have a low-income rate considerably higher than that of unattached senior men
and couples. The gender disparity is evident as well in their respective shares of maximum GIS income
(Table 5).
» From 2002 to 2008, the number of homeless people 55+ in Metro Vancouver increased three-fold (or 316%).
Homeless seniors, while concentrated in Vancouver, were also found in significant numbers in New Westminster, Surrey and North Vancouver.
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 4
Foreign-born and non-English speaking seniors on the rise
» In 2006, four out of ten Metro Vancouver residents were foreign-born. Just over 152,000 of these immigrants
were recent arrivals who moved here within the past five years. The largest newcomer groups are from Mainland China (26%), India (12%), the Philippines, and South Korea. The majority of these recent immigrants live
in Vancouver, Richmond, Burnaby and Surrey.
» Many recent immigrants live with their families and can take advantage of in-home supports. However, compared to Canadian-born seniors, a 2005 study found “additional barriers to accessing services for low-income,
isolated, or non-English speaking seniors.”2
More active seniors
» Many older adults choose to work past the age of 65, while others continue working out of necessity. Many
assume volunteer roles. The number of retirees with higher education levels is growing and the growth of educational programs by community service organizations attests to a growing interest in lifelong learning. Nearly
30% of seniors aged 65 and older now use the Internet for information, networking or shopping (Statistics
Canada, Survey of Canadian Internet Use, 2007).
Services for seniors
In 2008, the Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland, published
by Information Services Vancouver, contained
nearly 190 listings of organizations in the
Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area that currently
offer services focusing on seniors. (Agencies
conducting such services from more than one
location are listed more than once in the Red
Book, so an agency with a main office and
two branch locations has three listings, for
example.)
Table 6 presents the Red Book listings of
seniors’ organizations by Local Health Area in
the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area. Close to
half of the listings (85, or 45%) are located in
Vancouver where many seniors’ agencies have
served the city’s sizable older adult population
for many years.
Table 6 also gives a rough indication of the
current match (or mismatch) between the size
of the seniors’ population and the number of
seniors’ agencies in the region’s various municipalities. Only in Vancouver does the share of
seniors’ agencies significantly exceed its share
of the region’s population over the age of 65.
Table 6: Seniors’ Service Organizations by Local Health Area
No. of
Listings
% Share of
LM/SS Listings
No. of
Seniors in 2007
% Share of
Seniors’ Pop.
Vancouver
85
45.0
77,297
27.6
Surrey/White Rock
22
11.6
52,747
18.8
Burnaby
18
9.5
28,111
10.0
Richmond
9
4.8
23,132
8.3
Tri-Cities
7
3.7
20,214
7.2
North Vancouver
12
6.3
17,852
6.4
Langley
6
3.2
16,112
5.7
Delta
7
3.7
13,452
4.8
West Vancouver/
Bowen Island
6
3.2
11,041
3.9
Maple Ridge/ Pitt Meadows
7
3.7
10,153
3.6
New Westminster
5
2.6
8,010
2.9
Squamish/Whistler/
Pemberton
5
2.6
2,183
0.8
Lower Mainland/
Sea to Sky
189
100.0
280,304
100.0
Information Services Vancouver, Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008) and BCStats
Some cities seem to have a good match between the agencies and the population they serve—most notably North Vancouver, Maple Ridge and
Pitt Meadows, New Westminster, Burnaby, and West Vancouver. Other communities have comparatively few services for seniors, given the number
of older adults living within their boundaries. Surrey and White Rock, Richmond, the Tri-Cities and Langley fall into this category. For example,
where Surrey and White Rock are currently home to almost one in five seniors in the region, the two communities had only 11.6% of the region’s
share of seniors-oriented social services in 2007
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 5
Table 7 presents the types of seniors’ services
offered by agencies in the area, according
to the frequency of their listings in the Red
Book:
Table 7:Seniors’ Services by Type
» The most readily available services for seniors in the region are what might be called
multi-activity programs. One in four
services available to older adults are of this
type. Commonly carried out in community
centres or on the premises of seniors’ organizations, such activities include educational, social, recreational, therapeutic or other
programs. Some agencies may also offer
transportation to and from such sessions or
seniors’ lunches on the premises.
» In-home support services, the next
most common type, representing 15% of
the services available to seniors in the region, are carried out in the home. This type
of service includes
» formal government-subsidized personal health care or homemaker services offered through health authorities (23 listings)
» social supports, including home visit programs and support
calls, errands, shopping and delivery, and computer help (19
listings)
» meal preparation and delivery, such as Meals on Wheels programs (12 listings); and
» household supports — the least numerous (4 listings) — such
as house cleaning and laundry, home handyman services
(maintenance and repairs), yard maintenance and lawn mowing, and pet care.
» Health support services (50 listings), which are provided mainly
through Vancouver Coastal or Fraser Health Authorities, include
adult day centre programs and mental health centres or clinics.
» Counseling and assistance on such matters as personal issues or
filling out tax, pension, or legal forms are the fourth most frequent
component (46 listings). These services are often combined in centres which offer information and referrals.
» An ethno-cultural focus is provided by 38 agencies. These
include programs and services for Aboriginal and immigrant
seniors, and are located mainly in the City of Vancouver.
» Information, directories and referral operations (37) have as
one of their main functions the provision of information, the
production of directories or referrals to other community agencies.
» 23 agencies offer language services (including Mandarin, Cantonese, Hindi, Punjabi, Spanish and Vietnamese) or ESL classes
for non-English speaking newcomers.
No. of Listings
Percent of Total
Multi-Activity
97
24.7
In-home Support Services
58
14.8
Health Support Services
50
12.7
Counseling and Assistance
46
11.7
Ethno-cultural Service Focus
38
9.7
Information, Directories, Referral
37
9.4
Language Services
23
5.9
Advocacy
15
3.8
Transportation (excluding HandyDart)
13
3.3
Education and Training
12
3.1
Financial Assistance
4
1.0
Total
393
100.0
Information Services Vancouver, Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008)
» Advocacy organizations or programs (15), such as the BC Old
Age Pensioners’ Organization, advance the socio-economic
position of seniors, as well as arguing for improved services.
» Transportation services listed in the Red Book (13) offer
transport for older adults to and from their homes, excluding
HandyDart operations.
» Education and training services (12) provide either formal education programs for seniors as consumers or applied training
for employees and professionals who work with seniors.
» Financial Assistance services (4) are mainly income-support
and housing programs offered by the government (e.g. Shelter
Aid for Elderly Residents or SAFER).
The municipal location of the different types of seniors’ services is
presented in Table 8. The extent to which these services are concentrated in Vancouver is readily apparent. Six out of ten agencies providing education and training services, six out of ten agencies with an
ethno-cultural focus, more than half of seniors’ advocacy organizations,
almost half of all health support services, four out of ten counseling and
assistance services, and even four out of ten multi-activity services are
located in Vancouver.
Outside of Vancouver, only Burnaby has agencies representing the full
complement of services offered to seniors in the region. The Sea to
Sky communities have the narrowest range available (health support,
counseling and assistance, personal care, and information, directories
and referrals).
Services that are absent in most communities are household support
services (cleaning, laundry, yard maintenance, etc.), advocacy, education and training, and financial services specifically for seniors.
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 6
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 7
55
Total Municipalities
1
1
5
Lower Mainland/
SW BC
BC
3
3
Metro Vancouver
Agencies also serving:
1
1
Whistler
White Rock
16
2
12
8
2
4
3
27
1
58
1
1
1
1
2
3
1
1
1
1
4
2
3
22
9
Vancouver
West Vancouver
2
1
1
5
1
4
2
Surrey
3
Richmond
Squamish
1
1
Port Moody
1
Port Coquitlam
1
Pemberton
North Vancouver
Pitt Meadows
2
4
New Westminster
1
1
Maple Ridge
2
1
3
2
2
5
Delta
1
Health
Support
Langley
1
Financial
Assistance
1
1
1
Education
& Training
1
Burnaby
Coquitlam
Counselling
& Assistance
Advocacy
In-home Support Services
Table 8. Type of Seniors' Service by Municipality
6
1
1
1
1
2
Household
1
19
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
2
1
2
Meals
1
1
25
2
3
5
2
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
2
Social
1
28
2
1
10
2
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
2
1
1
1
Personal
Care
2
3
115
4
6
46
10
6
3
3
3
7
4
2
2
4
4
11
MultiActivity
Programs
17
2
2
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
Transportation
2
5
33
21
3
3
1
1
1
1
2
Ethno-cultural
Focus
1
1
22
1
9
3
2
1
1
1
1
3
Language
Services
15
9
17
455
15
4
24
179
34
5
27
11
11
11
3
27
15
10
12
18
12
37
Total
Information Services Vancouver, Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008)
3
1
1
45
2
1
2
14
3
1
5
1
1
1
5
2
1
1
1
4
Information
Directories
Referrals
Seniors’ Services in the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Area
Listed in Vancouver Information Services’ Red Book, 2008
Burnaby
Multi-Activity
Burnaby (City)
Burnaby Parks,
Recreation and Cultural Services
Chinese Christian Mission
Fraser Health Authority
Network of Burnaby Seniors
Seniors South Asian Friendship Society
Seton Villa
Volunteer Grandparents
In-Home Services: Personal Care
Fraser Health Authority
In-Home Services: Household
Senior Citizens’ Repair Service
Seton Villa
In-Home Services: Meal Prep &
Delivery
Langley Meals on Wheels Services
Society
In-Home Services: Social Supports
Langley Senior Resources Society
Counseling & Assistance
Fraser Health Authority
Health Support Services
Multi-Activity Programs
Boys and Girls Club Community Services
of Delta/Richmond
Delta Parks, Recreation and Culture
Dept.
In-Home Services: Meal Prep &
Delivery
Delta Meals on Wheels Society
In-Home Services: Social Supports
Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows
Community Services
Multi-Activity Programs
Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows
Parks and Leisure Services
Counseling & Assistance
Ridge Meadows
A ssociation for Community Living
Health Support Services
Fraser Health Authority
Transportation
Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows
Community Services
New Westminster
In-Home Services: Meal Prep &
Delivery
Burnaby Community Connections
Seton Villa
In-Home Services: Social Supports
Deltassist Family and Community Services Society
In-Home Services: Social Supports
Burnaby (City)
Burnaby Seniors Outreach Service Society
Transportation
Deltassist Family and Community Services Society
Health Support Services
Chinese Christian Mission
Edmonds Community Centre for Older
Adults
Fraser Health Authority
Langley
Information, Directories & Referral
Burnaby Parks, Recreation and Cultural
Services
Burnaby Seniors Outreach Service Society
Edmonds Community Centre for Older
Adults
Advocacy
BC Old Age Pensioners’ Organization
Langley Coalition Against Abuse of
Seniors
Information, Directories & Referral
New Westminster (City)
Seniors Services Society
Counseling & Assistance
Ishtar Transition Housing Society
Langley Senior Resources Society
Counseling & Assistance
New Westminster (City)
Seniors Services Society
Health Support Services
Langley Senior Resources Society
Information, Directories & Referral
Langley Senior Resources Society
Health Support Services
Fraser Health Authority
Transportation
Langley Senior Resources Society
Information, Directories & Referral
Capilano Community Services Society
North Shore Community Resources
Society
North Shore Neighbourhood House
Parkgate Community Services
Silver Harbour Centre Society
Ethno-cultural & Language Services
Chinese Christian Mission
Services for Seniors (ESA, CHI)
Seniors South Asian Friendship Society
(SA, HIN, PUN)
Advocacy
Network of Burnaby Seniors
Counseling & Assistance
Burnaby Seniors Outreach Service Society
Education & Training
Western Community-Centred
College for the Retired
Financial Assistance/Income Support
BC Housing
Transportation
Burnaby Community Connections
Delta
In-Home Services: Personal Care
Fraser Health Authority
Multi-Activity Programs
BC Old Age Pensioners’ Organization
Langley Senior Resources Society
Maple Ridge and Pitt
Meadows
In-Home Services: Personal Care
Fraser Health Authority
In-Home Services: Household
Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows
CommunityServices
In-Home Services: Meal Prep &
Delivery
Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows
Community Services
North Shore Neighbourhood House
North Shore Restorative Justice Society
In-Home Services: Personal Care
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority North Shore/Coast Garibaldi
In-Home Services: Social Supports
Capilano Community Services Society
Advocacy
North Shore Community Resources
Society
Education & Training
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority
Health Support Services
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority North Shore/Coast Garibaldi
Multi-Activity Programs
Fraser Health Authority
New Westminster (City)
Seniors Services Society
Transportation
Capilano Community Services Society
In-Home Services: Personal Care
Fraser Health Authority
Information, Directories & Referral
Always There for You
Home Support Services Inc.
Richmond Multicultural Concerns Society
Richmond Recreation and Cultural
Services
SUCCESS
Volunteer Richmond Information Services
In-Home Services: Meal Prep &
Delivery
Seniors Services Society
In-Home Services: Social Supports
Seniors Services Society
North Vancouver
Multi-Activity Programs
North Shore Assn for the
Mentally Handicapped
North Shore Neighbourhood House
Parkgate Community Services
Silver Harbour Centre Society
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority North Shore/Coast Garibaldi
Richmond
Multi-Activity Programs
Richmond Kinsmen Home Support
Society
Richmond Multicultural Concerns Society
Richmond Recreation and Cultural
Services
Salvation Army, The - BC Division
Volunteer Richmond Information Services
Counseling & Assistance
Richmond Recreation and Cultural
Services
SUCCESS (United Chinese Community
Enrichment Services Society)
Volunteer Richmond Information Services
In-Home Services: Personal Care
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority Richmond
In-Home Services: Household
Always There for You
Home Support Services Inc
In-Home Services: Social Supports
Volunteer Richmond Information Services
Health Support Services
Richmond Kinsmen Home Support
Society
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority Richmond
Counseling & Assistance
Capilano Community Services Society
North Shore Community Resources
Society
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 8
Transportation
Always There for You
Home Support Services Inc.
Ethno-cultural & Language Services
SUCCESS (United Chinese Community
Enrichment Services Society)
SUCCESS Richmond Service Centre (IM,
SEC, CAN, ESL, HIN, MAN, PUN)
Squamish, Whistler and
Pemberton
Health Support Services
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority North Shore/Coast Garibaldi
Counseling & Assistance
Sea to Sky Community Services Society
Information, Directories & Referral
Sea to Sky Community Services Society
In-Home Services: Personal Care
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority North Shore/Coast Garibaldi
Surrey and White Rock
Multi-Activity
Crescent Beach Community Services
at Camp Alexandra
DiverseCity Community Resources
Society
Progressive Intercultural Community
Services Society
Surrey Delta Indo Canadian Seniors
Society
Surrey Parks, Recreation and Culture
Dept.
White Rock/Surrey Come Share Society
White Rock Leisure Services
In-Home Services: Personal Care
Fraser Health Authority
In-Home Services: Meal Prep &
Delivery
Surrey-North Delta
Meals on Wheels Society
White Rock Meals on Wheels
In-Home Services: Social Supports
Progressive Intercultural Community
Services Society
White Rock/Surrey Come Share Society
Peace Arch Community Services
Counseling & Assistance
Fraser Health Authority
Peace Arch Community Services
Progressive Intercultural Community
Services Society
Surrey Delta Indo Canadian
Seniors Society
Surrey Parks, Recreation and
Culture Dept.
Information, Directories & Referral
DiverseCity Community Resources
Society
Surrey Parks, Recreation and
Culture Dept.
White Rock/Surrey Come Share Society
White Rock Leisure Services
Ethno-cultural & Language Services
Progressive Intercultural Community Services Society (SEC, ESL, HIN, PUN, URD)
Surrey Delta Indo Canadian Seniors
Society
(SA, HIN, PUN, URD)
DiverseCity Community Resources
Society
English Classes – CAAPRI – (SEC, ESL)
Advocacy
Council of Senior Citizens’
Organizations of BC
Progressive Intercultural
Community Services Society
Education & Training
DiverseCity Community Resources
Society
Surrey Crime Prevention Society
Health Support Services
Fraser Health Authority
Transportation
White Rock/Surrey Come Share Society
Tri-Cities
Multi-Activity Programs
Coquitlam Leisure and Parks Services
Fraser Health Authority
Pinetree 50plus Society
Port Coquitlam Parks and Recreation
Dept.
In-Home Services: Personal Care
Fraser Health Authority
In-Home Services: Meal Prep &
Delivery
PoCoMo Meals on Wheels Society
In-Home Services: Social Supports
Port Coquitlam Parks and
Recreation Dept.
Counseling & Assistance
Coquitlam Leisure and Parks Services
Health Support Services
Fraser Health Authority (FHA)
Information, Directories & Referral
Port Coquitlam Parks and
Recreation Dept.
Ethno-cultural and Language
Services
Coquitlam Leisure and Parks Services
Tri-Cities Seniors Peer Counselling
(ESA, CAN, MAN)
Vancouver
Multi-Activity Programs
411 Seniors Centre
ASK Friendship Society
Britannia Community Services
Centre Society
Brock House Seniors Citizens Activity
Centre
Cedar Cottage Neighbourhood House
Centre, The (LGTB Community Centre)
Chown Adult Day Centre
Continental Seniors Centre
Crossreach Seniors’ Day Centre
Downtown Eastside
Residents’ Association
Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre
Gordon Neighbourhood House
Health and Home Care Society of BC
Italian Cultural Centre Society
Japanese Community
Volunteers’ Association
Jewish Community Centre of
Greater Vancouver
Jewish Seniors Alliance of Greater
Vancouver
Kiwassa Neighbourhood House
Lions Den Recreation Centre
Little Mountain Senior Live Wires
Marpole Oakridge Area Council Society
Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House
Native Courtworker and
Counselling Assn of BC
New Leaf Friends
Oakridge Seniors Centre
Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture
Renfrew-Collingwood Seniors’ Society
Salvation Army
South Granville Seniors Centre
South Vancouver Neighbourhood House
SUCCESS Multi-Level Care Society
Sunset Indo-Canadian Seniors Society
Taoist Tai Chi Society of Canada
Vancouver (City)
Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship
Centre Society
Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation
Vancouver Second Mile Society
West End Seniors’ Network
Health Support Services
411 Seniors Centre
Health and Home Care Society of BC
Holy Family Hospital
Kitsilano Neighbourhood House
Native Courtworker and
Counselling Assn of BC
New Roots Centre
Renfrew-Collingwood Seniors’ Society
Seniors Well Aware Program
SUCCESS Multi-Level Care Society
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority Vancouver
Vancouver Community Mental Health
Services
Vancouver General Hospital
CABC)
Saint James Community Service Society
Seniors Well Aware Program
South Granville Seniors Centre
South Vancouver Neighbourhood House
Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority Vancouver
West End Seniors’ Network
In-Home Services: Personal Care
Holy Family Hospital
Jewish Family Service Agency
South Vancouver Neighbourhood House
SUCCESS Multi-Level Care Society
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority Vancouver
Vancouver General Hospital
In-Home Services: Meal Prep &
Delivery
Health and Home Care Society of BC
Jewish Family Service Agency
In-Home Services: Social Supports
Britannia Community Services Centre
Society
Chalmers Lodge
Japanese Community Volunteers’ Association
Jewish Family Service Agency
Information, Directories & Referral
411 Seniors Centre
BC Coalition to Eliminate Abuse of
Seniors
Britannia Community Services
Centre Society
Fedsinfo
Japanese Community Volunteers’ Association
Little Mountain Senior Live Wires
Llowyn’s Legacy Foundation
South Granville Seniors Centre
South Vancouver Neighbourhood House
Vancouver (City)
Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority –
Vancouver
Vancouver Second Mile Society
West End Seniors’ Network
Ethno-cultural & Language Services
411 Seniors Centre
Multicultural Resource Center
(ESL, MAN, SPA)
Counseling & Assistance
Downtown Eastside Residents’ Assn
BC Coalition to Eliminate
Senior Citizens’ Club (ESA, CHI)
Abuse of Seniors
Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre
Centre, The (LGTB Community Centre)
(ESA)
Downtown Eastside Residents’ Assn
Health and Home Care Society of BC
Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre
Meals on Wheels (ESA)
Fedsinfo
Italian Cultural Centre Society
Gordon Neighbourhood House
Drop-in Center for Seniors (EUR)
Holy Family Hospital
Japanese Community Volunteers’ Assn
Japanese Community Volunteers’ Assn
Tonari Gumi – Social/Community
Jewish Family Service Agency
Services
Ken Lagasse Chartered Accounting
(ESA, PEC, JAP)
Kitsilano Neighbourhood House
Jewish Community Centre of
Llowyn’s Legacy Foundation
Greater Vancouver
Ministry of Attorney General and Minister
Jewish Seniors Program Dept. (ME, PEC)
Responsible for Multiculturalism
L’Chaim Adult Day Center (ME)
Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House
Jewish Family Service Agency (ME, PEC)
Native Courtworker and
Jewish Seniors Alliance of
Counselling Association of BC (NCGreater Vancouver (ME, SEC)
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 9
Kiwassa Neighbourhood House (AB,
IM, PEC)
Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House
Seniors Services (ESL)
Native Courtworker and
Counselling Assn of BC
Aboriginal Elders Support Program (AB)
Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture
Solem Aleichem Seniors (ME)
South Granville Seniors Centre
South Granville Seniors Friendship Center
Society (GEC)
South Vancouver Neighbourhood House
SUCCESS Multi-Level Care Society
Chieng’s Adult Day Center (ESA, SEC,
CHI)
Harmony House Assisted Living
(ESA, SEC, CHI)
Sunset Indo-Canadian Seniors Society
(SA, SEC, HIN, PUN)
Taoist Tai Chi Society of Canada
Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship
Centre Society (AB, SEC)
Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation
Ray-Cam Cooperative Center (AB, ESA,
GEC)
Vancouver (City) (AB, GEC)
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority Vancouver
Aboriginal Wellness Program (AB)
Home Support Program (SA)
Advocacy
411 Seniors Centre
BC Association of Community
Response Networks
BC Coalition to Eliminate Abuse of
Seniors
Downtown Eastside Residents’ Assn
Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre
Jewish Seniors Alliance of Greater
Vancouver
Llowyn’s Legacy Foundation
Ministry of Attorney General and
Minister Responsible for Multiculturalism
Vancouver Second Mile Society
Education & Training
411 Seniors Centre
BC Association of Community
Response Networks
BC Coalition to Eliminate Abuse of
Seniors
Llowyn’s Legacy Foundation
National Academy of Older Canadians
Seniors Well Aware Program
Vancouver Second Mile Society
Financial Assistance/
Income Support
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Columbia Housing Advisory Association
Vancouver (City)
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority –
Vancouver
West Vancouver and
Bowen Island
In-Home Services: Meal Prep &
Delivery
North Shore Meals on Wheels Society
In-Home Services: Social Supports
North Shore Volunteers for Seniors
Senior Citizens’ Special Services Society
West Vancouver Parks and
Community Services Div.
Multi-Activity Programs
North Shore Volunteers for Seniors
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority North Shore/Coast Garibaldi
West Vancouver Parks and
Community Services Div.
Counseling & Assistance
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority North Shore/Coast Garibaldi
West Vancouver Parks and
Community Services Div.
Health Support Services
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority North Shore/Coast Garibaldi
Transportation
Senior Citizens’ Special Services Society
West Vancouver Parks and
Community Services Div.
Appendix:
Ethno-cultural and
Language Codes
Ethno-cultural
AB
Aboriginal
AF
African
SEC
Solely European Community
PEC
Primarily European Community
GEC
General Community and European Community
IM
Immigrants
CB
Caribbean
ESA
East and South Asian
EU
European
LCSA
Latin, Central and South American
SA
South Asian
WA
West Asian
ME
Middle East
RF
Refugees
Language
HIN
Hindi
PUN
Punjabi
CHI
Chinese
CAN
Cantonese
MAN
Mandarin
SPA
Spanish
URD
Urdu
KOR
Korean
VIE
Vietnamese
ESL
English as a second language
JAP
Japanese
Endnotes
1The terms poverty line and low income here refer to the measure most commonly used as a proxy for poverty--Statistics Canada’s Low Income Cut-offs (LICOs). These define an
income threshold, based on family expenditures, below which families or individuals spend more than the average on basic necessities.
2See Simces, Zena & Associates, “Feasibility of Community-based Alternatives to Provide Daily Living Supports to Low Income Seniors in South Vancouver” (January, 2005) and
Vancouver Coastal Health, “Seniors’ Services Partnership Initiative: Identifying Continuum Gaps and Vancouver Coastal Health. Seniors’ Services Partnership Initiative: Identifying Continuum Gaps and Opportunities in Providing Daily Living Supports to Seniors (September, 2005)
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2006 Census, A Portrait of Seniors in Canada (2006),The Daily and “Dependent seniors at home—formal and informal help” (2003 report); BCStats
P.E.O.P.L.E. 32 Projection Run, and 2006 Census, Socio-Economic Profiles and Profiles of Immigrants and of Diversity in BC 2006; Information Services Vancouver, Red Book:
Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008); Metro Vancouver’s Vital Signs 2007; CBC Radio British Columbia; Special Senate Committee on Aging, Embracing the Challenge of Aging (First Interim Report, March 2007); and Simces, Zena & Associates, “Feasibility of Community-based Alternatives to Provide Daily Living Supports to Low Income
Seniors in South Vancouver” (Jan. 2005)
Report prepared by Mayling Stubbs for the United Way of the Lower Mainland (2008)
Financial Services
Columbia Housing Advisory Association
Canada Mortgage and
Housing Corporation
Vancouver (City)
Transportation
Chown Adult Day Centre
Crossreach Seniors’ Day Centre
United Way of the Lower Mainland / November 2008
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 10
Moving Towards Age-Friendly Communities.
BURNABY
Seniors and Seniors’ Services
Over the next two decades the number of adults age 65 and up is projected to double in the
Burnaby Local Health Area.1 Dramatic as this growth is, the rate for seniors across the broader
Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area is expected to be even higher, at 118%.
This report, along with its companion, Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services, provides a summary of current and projected future population figures for
seniors, based on Canada’s 2006 Census and estimates by BCStats for Local Health Areas in
the region. It also offers a prewliminary overview of seniors’ services, in terms of the approximate number, type and municipal location. For this data, the report draws upon Vancouver
Information Services’ Red Book as the most current region-wide source available. An Atlas
of Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services accompanies the two
reports. It is hoped that this material will prompt further analysis, discussion and planning for
the services required to meet the demands of an aging population.
Seniors
Burnaby has the third largest seniors’ population in the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area after
Vancouver and Surrey/White Rock. Its total population is expected to rise by 35% between
2007 and 2027 – a rate of increase slightly higher than the regional growth expected of
30%. As Table 1 shows, Burnaby’s share of seniors in 2007 as a portion of its total population is slightly higher in each age category than the distribution across the broader region
– a situation that reverses by 2027, when Burnaby’s share of older adults is expected to be
slightly lower than the region as a whole.
Focusing on the ten-year period to 2017, the number of Burnaby seniors age 65 and up is
expected to rise by over one-third, from 28,100 to 38,300. The area’s share of seniors in
the region will fall slightly over this period, from 10% to 9%. Burnaby adults age 80+ will
increase by 26%, from 8,100 to 10,250, with the LHA’s share of all seniors in this category
remaining steady at approximately 10%.
Summary
One in ten older adults in the Lower
Mainland/Sea to Sky area currently
resides in Burnaby, making the community the third largest concentration of
seniors in the region. Even so, Burnaby’s
older adult population is expected to
double over the next two decades.
The community has the third largest
number of older adults living alone in
the region, the fifth highest proportion
of low-income seniors, and a highly
diverse population. One in five residents
is a recent immigrant, having arrived
since 2001. Current seniors’ services in
Burnaby roughly match its share of the
region’s seniors’ population and, unlike
most communities in the region, the full
range of seniors’ services is available
locally, including several agencies with
an ethno-cultural focus and language
services. Unless the growth in services
keeps pace with the growth in the
seniors’ population, however, a shortfall
in number and range of seniors’ services
can be expected in the future.
Table 1: Burnaby LHA Seniors
2007
2017
%
Total Pop.
215,735
100.0
65+
28,111
75+
13,660
85+
3,862
2027
%
% Change
%
2007-2017.
2007-2027 .
291,779
100.0
17.8
35.2
15.1
56,013
19.2
36.3
99.3
6.5
23,773
8.1
21.5
74.0
2.1
6,499
2.2
40.0
68.3
254,112
100.0
13.0
38,311
6.3
16,594
1.8
5,407
Source: BC Stats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run, Burnaby Local Health Area
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008– Page 1
Table 2: Adults Age 55+ by Ten-Year Age Groups, 2007 and 2027
55-64
65-74
75-84
85+
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
Burnaby
22,995
41,413
80.1
14,451
32,240
123.1
9,798
17,274
76.3
3,862
6,499
68.3
LM/SS
253,683
413,066
62.8
144,074
348,151
141.6
96,917
193,030
99.2
39,313
69,205
76.0
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run
Table 2 presents the population figures for Burnaby adults age 55 and up in ten-year age groups between 2007 and 2027. The aging of the
baby boom generation can be seen in the 65-74 age group, which will experience the greatest increase both in Burnaby (123%) and regionwide (142%) over the next two decades.
Table 3: Seniors by 5-Year Age Groups, 2007
65-69
70-74
75-79
80-84
85-89
90+
Total
Burnaby
7,668
6,783
5,546
4,252
2,556
1,306
28,111
LM/SS
78,722
65,352
55,706
41,211
25,411
13,902
280,304
Burnaby’s Share
9.7%
10.4%
10.0%
10.3%
10.1%
9.4%
10.0%
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run
Table 3 and the accompanying pie chart show seniors in Burnaby by five-year age groups in 2007. Adults aged 65-74 make up just over half of
all seniors.
The current median age of 38.7 (half of the population is below this age and half above) in
Burnaby will rise to 41.5 by 2017 and to 44.7 by 2027. The median age at death, now 81.1, is
expected to rise slightly to 81.6 in 2017 before falling back to 80.5 in 2027.
Older people residing on their own are often more vulnerable and generally more in need of
in-home support services. According to the 2006 Census, over one quarter (27%, or 7,150)
of Burnaby seniors in private households lived alone. Burnaby has the
third largest number of older adults living alone in the region, after
Vancouver and Surrey.
Burnaby LHA Seniors Age 65+, 2007
In 2006, the incidence of low income2 among adults age 65 and up in
Burnaby was 24.1%, compared with 20.8% for the Lower Mainland
as a whole. Burnaby has the fifth highest proportion of low-income
seniors in the region. In the same year, 6.2% of Burnaby seniors
received the maximum Government Income Supplement (GIS)—7.2%
of female and 4% of male seniors.
According to the 2006 Census, for which immigrant seniors’ data is
not yet available, 50.3% of Burnaby’s population are immigrants and
one in five of the total population is a newcomer (21% or 21,790 individuals), having arrived in the community sometime between 2001
and 2006. The majority (72%) of Burnaby’s recent immigrants are
from Asia, including Mainland China, Hong Kong, the Philippines and
India. After English, the languages most often spoken in the home
are Chinese (21%), Korean (3%), and Punjabi (2%).3 The Census reports that 10.2% of Burnaby’s immigrant population has knowledge
of neither English nor French.
Source: BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E. 32 Projection Run, Burnaby Local Health Area
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008– Page 2
Table 4: Seniors’ Service Organizations by Local Health Area
Number of Listings
% Share of LM/SS Listings
Number of Seniors in 2007
% Share of Seniors’ Population
Vancouver
85
45.0
77,297
27.6
Surrey/White Rock
22
11.6
52,747
18.8
Burnaby
18
9.5
28,111
10.0
Richmond
9
4.8
23,132
8.3
Tri-Cities
7
3.7
20,214
7.2
North Vancouver
12
6.3
17,852
6.4
Langley
6
3.2
16,112
5.7
Delta
7
3.7
13,452
4.8
West Vancouver/Bowen Island
6
3.2
11,041
3.9
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows
7
3.7
10,153
3.6
New Westminster
5
2.6
8,010
2.9
Squamish/Whistler/Pemberton
5
2.6
2,183
0.8
Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky
189
100.0
280,304
100.0
Information Services Vancouver, Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008) and BCStats
Services for seniors
In 2008 the Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower
Mainland, published by Information Services Vancouver, contained
the names of nearly 190 organizations in the Lower Mainland/Sea to
Sky area that currently offer services focusing on seniors. (Agencies
conducting services from more than one location are listed more than
once in the Red Book, so an agency with a main office and two
branch locations has three listings, for example.).
agencies and the size of the population they serve.
Table 4 presents the Red Book listings of seniors’ organizations for
LHAs in the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area. Close to half of the
listings (85, or 45%) are located in Vancouver, a sign of the city’s role
as seniors’ service hub for the region. The table also provides a rough
indication of the current match between the size of the seniors’ population and the number of seniors’ agencies in various communities.
Only in Vancouver does the share of seniors’ agencies significantly
exceed the city’s share of the region’s population over 65.
Like most communities, the most common type of seniors’ service
available in Burnaby is the multi-activity program (nearly 30% of all
listings). In-home support services come next (almost 20%), including household services (2 listings), meal preparation and delivery
(12), social supports (19) and personal care (23). Health authority
services such as adult day programs and mental health centres come
third (13.5%).
With 18 agency listings, or 9.5% of the total, Burnaby’s proportion of
services is close to its share of the region’s seniors’ population (10%).
This puts it in the same category as North Vancouver, Maple Ridge
and Pitt Meadows, New Westminster, and West Vancouver – communities where a rough match seems to exist between the number of
The seniors’ agencies and branch operations based in Burnaby provide a full array of service, a situation found in very few communities
in the region. Table 5 ranks the seniors’ services in Burnaby by type.
(For the classification of services used in this research, see Lower
Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services.)
Some seniors’ organizations offer services in other communities,
across Metro Vancouver, the Lower Mainland/Southwestern BC, or
province-wide. For the distribution of this full scope of services across
the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area, see Table 8 in the companion
report, Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’
Services.
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008– Page 3
Table 5: Seniors’ Service Listings by Type
LM/SS
Burnaby
% of Burnaby
% of LM/SS
Multi-Activity Programs
97
11
29.7
11.3
In-home Support Services
58
7
18.9
12.1
Health Support Services
50
5
13.5
10.0
Information, Directories, Referral
37
4
10.8
10.8
Language Services
23
3
8.1
13.0
Ethno-cultural Service Focus
38
2
5.4
5.3
Advocacy
15
1
2.7
6.7
Counseling and Assistance
46
1
2.7
2.2
Education and Training
12
1
2.7
8.3
Financial Assistance
4
1
2.7
25.0
Transportation (excluding HandyDart)
13
1
2.7
7.7
Total
393
37
100.0
9.4
Information Services Vancouver, Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008)
Burnaby Red Book Listings
Multi-Activity Programs
Burnaby Parks, Recreation and
Cultural Services
Chinese Christian Mission
City of Burnaby
Fraser Health Authority
Network of Burnaby Seniors
Seniors South Asian
Friendship Society
Seton Villa
Volunteer Grandparents
In-Home Services:
Personal Care
Fraser Health Authority
In-Home Services:
Meal Prep & Delivery
Burnaby Community Connections
Seton Villa
In-Home Services:
Social Supports
Burnaby Seniors Outreach
Service Society
City of Burnaby
Health Support Services
Chinese Christian Mission
Edmonds Community
Centre for Older Adults
Fraser Health Authority
In-Home Services: Household
Senior Citizens’ Repair Service
Seton Villa
Information, Directories
& Referral
Burnaby Parks, Recreation and
Cultural Services
Burnaby Seniors Outreach
Service Society
Edmonds Community Centre for
Older Adults
Ethno-cultural
& Language Services
Chinese Christian Mission
Services for Seniors (East and
Chinese)
Seniors South Asian Friendship Society (South Asian, Hindi, Punjabi)
Counseling & Assistance
Burnaby Seniors Outreach
Service Society
Education & Training
Western Community-Centred
College for the Retired
Financial Assistance
BC Housing
Transportation
Burnaby Community Connections
Advocacy
Network of Burnaby Seniors
Endnotes
1 The BCStats’ PEOPLE Population Projections in this report are based on Local Health Areas (LHAs) which form part of larger regional Health Service Delivery and Health Authority Areas. The Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area is
composed of Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health Authorities, and the following LHAs: Burnaby, Coquitlam (including the Tri-Cities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, as well as the Villages of Anmore and Belcarra),
Delta, Howe Sound (including Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton), Langley (City and Township), Maple Ridge (including Pitt Meadows), New Westminster, North Vancouver (City and District), Richmond, Surrey (including White
Rock), Vancouver, and West Vancouver-Bowen Island.
2 The terms poverty line and low income here refer to the measure most commonly used as a proxy for poverty – Statistics Canada’s Low Income Cut-offs (LICOs). These define an income threshold, based on family expenditures,
below which families or individuals spend more than the average on basic necessities. The LICO figures cited here are based on income before tax.
3The percentages cited here represent single responses to the 2006 Census question on the language spoken most often or on a regular basis at home by the individual at the time of the census.
Sources: Statistics Canada 2006 Census; BCStats, P.E.O.P.L.E. 32 Projection Run and 2006 Census, Socio-Economic Profiles and Profiles of Immigrants and of Diversity in BC 2006; and Information Services Vancouver, Red Book
Directory of Services (2008)
Report prepared by Mayling Stubbs for United Way of the Lower Mainland (2008)
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008– Page 4
Moving Towards Age-Friendly Communities.
DELTA
Seniors and Seniors’ Services
The number of adults age 65 and up is projected to double in the Delta Local Health Area1
over the next two decades, rising 113% by 2027. Dramatic as this growth is, the rate for
seniors across the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area is expected to be slightly higher, at 118%.
This report, along with its companion, Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services, provides a summary of current and projected future population figures for
seniors, based on Canada’s 2006 Census and estimates by BCStats for Local Health Areas in
the region. It also offers a preliminary overview of seniors’ services, in terms of the approximate number, type and municipal location. For this data, the report draws upon Vancouver
Information Services’ Red Book as the most current region-wide source available. An Atlas
of Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services accompanies the two
reports. It is hoped that this material will prompt further analysis, discussion and planning for
the services required to meet the demands of an aging population.
Seniors
The total population of Delta Local Health Area, now accounting for less than 5% of regional
residents, is expected to rise over the next two decades by one of the lowest rates in the
region (3.5%) – much lower than the broader area’s population growth of 30%. Against this
backdrop, however, Delta seniors as a portion of its total population will increase significantly.
Currently the Local Health Area’s share of seniors in each of the age categories shown in
Table 1 is similar to the distribution for the region. By 2027, however, Delta’s share of seniors
is expected to be greater than the average for the broader region and in fact the second
largest among the Local Health Areas after West Vancouver. Adults aged 65 and up in Delta
will then represent 27% of its total population (compared with 30.4% in West Vancouver and
21% for the region). Those aged 75+ in Delta will account for 12% of its total population
(compared with 9% in the region), and those aged 85 and up, for 3% (compared with 2%
across the region).
Summary
Delta is the region’s eighth largest Local
Health Area in terms of total population, and the number of residents is
forecast to grow very slowly (under
4%) between 2007 and 2027. As a
portion of its total population, however,
Delta’s seniors are expected to double
over this period, coming to represent
over one-quarter of its total population
– and the second largest concentration of seniors in the region after West
Vancouver. The number of its current
seniors’ services—and also the number
of services provided by organizations
in adjacent communities – falls slightly
below its share of the region’s seniors’
population. This shortage will need to
be addressed as the projected doubling
of the 65+ population calls for even
more services to meet the demands of
an aging population.
For the ten-year period 2007 to 2017, the number of Delta adults 65 and over is expected to
rise by over one-half, from 13,450 to 20,750. The area’s share of seniors in the region will
increase slightly over this period, from 4.8% to 5.1%. Delta adults age 80+ will increase by
23%, from 3,600 to 4,400, with the area’s share of all seniors in this category remaining falling very slightly from 4.5% to 4.2%.
Table 1: Delta LHA Seniors’ Population
2007
2017
%
2027
%
% Change
%
2007-2017
2007-2027
100.0
2.8
3.5
28,727
27.1
54.3
113.6
13,062
12.3
31.2
113.1
2.8
42.0
75.3
Total Pop.
102,375
100.0
105,199
100.0
65+
13,452
13.1
20,761
19.7
75+
6,129
6.0
8,044
7.6
85+
1,709
1.7
2,426
2.3
2,996
105,949
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run, Delta Local Health Area
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008– Page 1
Table 2: Adults Age 55+ by Ten-Year Age Groups, 2007 and 2027
55-64
2007
2027
% Chg
65-74
2007
2027
% Chg
75-84
2007
2027
% Chg
85+
2007
2027
% Chg
Delta
13,544
14,685
8.4
7,323
15,665
113.9
4,420
10,066
127.7
1709
2,996
75.3
LM/SS
253,683
413,066
62.8
144,074
348,151
141.6
96,917
193,030
99.2
39,313
69,205
76.0
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run
Table 2 presents Delta adults age 55 and up in ten-year age groups between 2007 and 2027. The aging of the baby boom generation can be
seen in the age 65-74 and 75-84 groups. These will experience the greatest increases in Delta (114% and 128% respectively) and the region
as a whole (142% and 99% respectively) over the next two decades.
Table 3: Seniors by 5-Year Age Groups 2007
65-69
70-74
75-79
80-84
85-89
90+
Total
Delta
4,253
3,070
2,543
1,877
1,176
533
13,452
LM/SS
78,722
65,352
55,706
41,211
25,411
13,902
280,304
Delta’s Share
5.4%
4.7%
4.6%
4.6%
4.6%
3.8%
4.8%
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run
Table 3 and the accompanying pie chart show seniors in Delta by five-year age groups in
2007. As with most other communities in the region, adults aged 65-74 make up just over
half of all seniors.
The current median age in Delta of 41.4 (half of the population is below
this age and half above) will rise to 46.6 by 2027. The median age at
death is now 80.8.
Delta LHA Seniors Age 65+, 2007
Older adults residing on there own are generally more vulnerable and
likely to be in need of more in-home support services. According to the
Census, 22.9%, or 2,770) of Delta seniors in private households lived
alone in 2006. This puts Delta close to Richmond and Surrey, the two
communities with the lowest proportions of live-alone seniors in the
region (20% and 20.7% respectively).
In 2006, the incidence of low income2 among older adults age 65 and up
in Delta was 15.1%, compared with 20.8% for the Lower Mainland. In
the same year, 3.1% of Delta seniors received the maximum Government
Income Supplement (GIS)—3.5% of female seniors and 2.7% of male
seniors.
According to the 2006 Census, for which immigrant seniors’ data is not
yet available, just over a quarter of Delta’s residents (28%) are immiSource: BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E. 32 Projection Run, Delta Local Health Area
grants. Of these immigrants, 8.6% have knowledge of neither English
nor French. Newcomers who arrived between 2001 and 2006 make up
13.7% of the immigrant population. Most of these people (72%) are
from India and other parts of Asia. After English, the languages spoken most often at home
by Delta residents are Punjabi (7%), Chinese (3%), Hindi (0.7%), Filipino (0.6%), and Korean
(0.4%).3
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008– Page 2
Table 4: Seniors’ Service Organizations by Local Health Area
Number of Listings
% Share of LM/SS Listings
Number of Seniors in 2007
% Share of Seniors’ Pop.
Vancouver
85
45.0
77,297
27.6
Surrey/White Rock
22
11.6
52,747
18.8
Burnaby
18
9.5
28,111
10.0
Richmond
9
4.8
23,132
8.3
Tri-Cities
7
3.7
20,214
7.2
North Vancouver
12
6.3
17,852
6.4
Langley
6
3.2
16,112
5.7
Delta
7
3.7
13,452
4.8
West Vancouver/Bowen Island
6
3.2
11,041
3.9
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows
7
3.7
10,153
3.6
New Westminster
5
2.6
8,010
2.9
Squamish/Whistler/Pemberton
5
2.6
2,183
0.8
Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky
189
100.0
280,304
100.0
Information Services Vancouver, Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008) and BCStats
Services for seniors
In 2008 the Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower
Mainland, published by Information Services Vancouver, contained
the names of nearly 190 organizations in the Lower Mainland/Sea to
Sky area that currently offer services focusing on seniors. (Agencies
conducting such services from more than one location are listed more
than once in the Red Book, so an agency with a main office and
two branch locations has three listings, for example.)
Table 4 presents the Red Book listings of seniors’ organizations for
the LHAs in the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area. Close to half of the
listings (85, or 45%) are located in Vancouver, a sign of the city’s role
as seniors’ service hub for the region. The table also gives a rough
indication of the current match or mismatch between the size of the
seniors’ population and the number of seniors’ agencies in the various cities in the region. Only in Vancouver does the share of seniors’
agencies significantly exceed the city’s share of the region’s population over 65.
With seven listings, or 3.7% of the total, Delta’s share of service
agencies is slightly lower than its share of the regional seniors’ population (4.8%).
The seniors’ agencies and branch operations based in Delta each
provide a quite limited range of services. Table 5 ranks the seniors’
services in Delta by type. (For the classification of services used in
this research, see Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and
Seniors’ Services.) Like most communities, multi-activity programs
are the most common type of seniors’ service in Delta, followed by
counseling and assistance services, and health authority services such
as adult day programs and mental health centres.
Some seniors’ organizations offer services in other communities,
across Metro Vancouver, the Lower Mainland/Southwestern BC or
province-wide. The distribution of this full scope of services across
Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky municipalities is presented in Table 8
of the companion report, Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and
Seniors’ Services. As that table shows, the existence of agencies
serving Delta from adjacent municipalities results in an increase in the
number of services offered to older adults from 10 to 18, or 4% of
the region’s overall total. The transportation difficulties many seniors
experience in accessing services also needs to be taken into account.
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008– Page 3
Table 5: Seniors’ Service Listings by Type
LM/SS
Delta
% of Delta
% of LM/SS
Multi-Activity Programs
97
3
30.0
3.1
Counseling and Assistance
46
2
20.0
4.3
Health Support Services
50
2
20.0
4.0
In-home Support Services
58
2
20.0
3.4
Transportation
13
1
10.0
7.7
Advocacy
15
0
0.0
0.0
Education and Training
12
0
0.0
0.0
Financial Assistance
4
0
0.0
0.0
Information, Directories, Referral
37
0
0.0
0.0
Ethno-cultural Service Focus
38
0
0.0
0.0
Language Services
23
0
0.0
0.0
Total
393
10
100.0
2.5
Information Services Vancouver, Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008)
Delta Red Book Listings
In-Home Services: Personal Care
Fraser Health Authority
In-Home Services: Meal Prep & Delivery
Langley Meals on Wheels Services Society
In-Home Services: Social Supports
Langley Senior Resources Society
Counseling & Assistance
Fraser Health Authority
Health Support Services
Multi-Activity Programs
Boys and Girls Club Community Services of Delta/Richmond
Delta Parks, Recreation and Culture Dept.
In-Home Services: Meal Prep & Delivery
Delta Meals on Wheels Society
In-Home Services: Social Supports
Deltassist Family and Community Services Society
Transportation
Deltassist Family and Community Services Society
Endnotes
1The BCStats’ PEOPLE Population Projections in this report are based on Local Health Areas (LHAs) which form part of larger regional Health Service Delivery and Health Authority Areas. The Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area is
composed of Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health Authorities, and the following LHAs: Burnaby, Coquitlam (including the Tri-Cities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, as well as the Villages of Anmore and Belcarra),
Delta, Howe Sound (including Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton), Langley (City and Township), Maple Ridge (including Pitt Meadows), New Westminster, North Vancouver (City and District), Richmond, Surrey (including White
Rock), Vancouver, and West Vancouver-Bowen Island.
2The terms poverty line and low income here refer to the measure most commonly used as a proxy for poverty--Statistics Canada’s Low Income Cut-offs (LICOs). These define an income threshold, based on family expenditures,
below which families or individuals spend more than the average on basic necessities. The LICO figures cited here are based on income before tax.
3The percentages cited here represent single responses to the 2006 Census question on the language spoken most often or on a regular basis at home by the individual at the time of the census.
Sources: Statistics Canada 2006 Census; BCStats, P.E.O.P.L.E. 32 Projection Run and 2006 Census, Socio-Economic Profiles and Profiles of Immigrants and of Diversity in BC 2006; and Information Services Vancouver, Red Book
Directory of Services (2008)
Report prepared by Mayling Stubbs for United Way of the Lower Mainland (2008)
United Way of the Lower Mainland / November 2008
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008– Page 4
Moving Towards Age-Friendly Communities.
LANGLEY
Seniors and Seniors’ Services
While the overall population of the Langley Local Health Area1 is projected to increase by
56% over the next two decades, the number of older adults within its boundaries is expected
to more than double. The 137% increase in Langley’s population 65 years and up exceeds
the growth rate for seniors anticipated for the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area as a whole –
118%
The Langley Local Health Area (hereafter called Langley) encompasses the City and Township of Langley, with the City representing just less than one-fifth of the total population (or
23,600 residents). In 2007 the area’s total population of 125,400 accounted for 5.5% of all
Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky residents.
This report, along with its companion, Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services, provides a summary of current and projected future population figures for
seniors, based on Canada’s 2006 Census and estimates by BCStats for Local Health Areas in
the region. It also offers a preliminary overview of seniors’ services, in terms of the approximate number, type and municipal location. For this data, the report draws upon Vancouver
Information Services’ Red Book as the most current region-wide source available. An Atlas
of Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services accompanies the two
reports. It is hoped that this material will prompt further analysis, discussion and planning for
the services required to meet the demands of an aging population.
Seniors
For the ten-year period 2007 to 2017, the number of Langley seniors age 65 and up is expected to rise by just over one-half, from 16,100 to 24,800. The area’s share of seniors in the
region will increase slightly over this period, from 5.7% to 6.1%.
Summary
The age distribution of older adults in
Langley is very similar to the pattern
found across the Lower Mainland/Sea
to Sky area. However, the projected
growth rate for its population over 65 is
considerably higher than that forecast
region-wide. Langley City has both
the highest percentage of low-income
seniors and seniors who live alone in the
region.
Like most communities, the number
of agency listings for Langley is lower
than its share of the regional seniors’
population. Even when the full scope of
services by type and those offered from
adjacent communities are taken into account, however, Langley (along with the
Howe Sound Local Health Area) has the
lowest share of seniors’ services in the
region. The sizeable increase expected
for the seniors’ population calls for
more services to meet the demands of
Langley’s aging population.
Langley’s share of seniors as a portion of its total population in 2007 is a little higher in each
age category in Table 1 than the distribution for the region, but this will reverse modestly by
2027, when seniors 65 and up in Langley will account for just under one in five total residents,
and the older age groups (75+ and 85+) will make up around 9% and 2% respectively.
Langley adults age 80+ will increase by 23%, from 5,100 to 6,300, with the Local Health
Area share of all seniors in this category falling slightly from 4.1%to 3.9%.
Table 1: Langley LHA Seniors’ Population
2007
2017
2027
%
%
%
2007-2017
% Change
2007-2027
55.7
Total Pop.
125,382
100.0
159,751
100.0
195,201
100.0
27.4
65+
16,112
12.9
24,866
15.6
38,143
19.5
54.3
136.7
75+
8,192
6.5
10,348
6.5
16,819
8.6
26.3
105.3
85+
2,590
2.1
3,636
2.3
4,565
2.3
40.4
76.3
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run, Langley LHA
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008– Page 1
Table 2: Adults Age 55+ by Ten-Year Age Groups, 2007 and 2027
55-64
65-74
75-84
85+
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
Langley
14,213
24,716
73.9%
7,920
21,324
169.2%
5,602
12,254
118.7%
2,590
4,565
76.3%
LM/SS
253,683
413,066
62.8%
144,074
348,151
141.6%
96,917
193,030
99.2%
39,313
69,205
76.0%
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run
Table 2 presents Langley adults age 55 and up in ten-year age groups between 2007 and 2027. The aging of the baby boom generation can
be seen in the 65-74 age group, which will experience a significant increase over the next two decades – nearly 170%, compared with 142%
across the region.
Table 3: Seniors by Five-Year Age Groups
65-69
70-74
75-79
80-84
85-89
90+
Total
Langley
4,426
3,494
3,065
2,537
1,733
857
16,112
LM/SS
78,722
65,352
55,706
41,211
25,411
13,902
280,304
Langley’s Share
5.6%
5.3%
5.5%
6.2%
6.8%
6.2%
5.7%
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run
Table 3 and the accompanying graph show seniors in the Local Health Area by five-year age
groups in 2007. Adults aged 65-74 make up just under half of all seniors.
The median age in Langley is currently 39 (half of the population is below
this age and half is above). This is expected to rise to 40.7 by 2017 and
to 43 by 2027. The corresponding figures for the median age at death are
80.8, 80.3, and 80.4.
Langley LHA Seniors Age 65+, 2007
5%
90+
Older adults residing on their own are generally more vulnerable and
likely to be need of more in-home support services. According to the
Census, 43% of seniors (or 1,690 individuals) in Langley City and 38%
(2,410) in the Township of Langley who resided in private households
lived alone in 2006. Langley City has the highest proportion of live-alone
seniors in the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area.
11%
85-89
16%
80-84
19%
75-79
22%
70-74
In 2006, the incidence of low income among older adults age 65 and
up in Langley City was 31.1%, compared with 20.8% for the Lower
Mainland. In fact, Langley City has the highest percentage of seniors
living in poverty in the region, ahead of Vancouver and Richmond with
26.7% and 25% respectively. In 2006, 1.6% of Langley seniors received
the maximum Government Income Supplement (GIS)—1.9% of female
seniors and 1.2% of male seniors.
27%
65-69
2
85-89
11%
90+
5%
65-69
27%
80-84
16%
75-79
19%
70-74
22%
Source: BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E. 32 Projection Run, Langley Local Health Area
According to the 2006 Census, for which no immigrant seniors’ data
is yet available, immigrants made up 17.7 % (4,170 individuals) of the
population of Langley City and 16.9% (15,885) of the Township. Nearly 17% of the City’s immigrants and 15% of the District’s immigrants are newcomers who arrived between 2001 and
2006. The majority of the recent immigrants are from Asia. After English, the top languages
spoken most often at home are Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Punjabi.
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008– Page 2
Table 4: Seniors’ Service Organizations by Local Health Area
Number of Listings
% Share of LM/SS Listings
Number of Seniors in 2007
% Share of Seniors’ Pop.
Vancouver
85
45.0
77,297
27.6
Surrey/White Rock
22
11.6
52,747
18.8
Burnaby
18
9.5
28,111
10.0
Richmond
9
4.8
23,132
8.3
Tri-Cities
7
3.7
20,214
7.2
North Vancouver
12
6.3
17,852
6.4
Langley
6
3.2
16,112
5.7
Delta
7
3.7
13,452
4.8
West Vancouver/Bowen Island
6
3.2
11,041
3.9
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows
7
3.7
10,153
3.6
New Westminster
5
2.6
8,010
2.9
Squamish/Whistler/Pemberton
5
2.6
2,183
0.8
Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky
189
100.0
280,304
100.0
Information Services Vancouver, Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008) and BCStats
Services for seniors
In 2008 the Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower
Mainland, published by Information Services Vancouver, contained
the names of nearly 190 organizations in the Lower Mainland/Sea to
Sky area that currently offer services focusing on seniors. (Agencies
conducting such services from more than one location are listed more
than once in the Red Book, so an agency with a main office and
two branch locations has three listings, for example.)
Table 4 presents the Red Book listings of seniors’ organizations for
LHAs in the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area. Close to half of the listings (85, or 45%) are located in Vancouver, a sign of the city’s role as
seniors’ service hub for the region. The table also gives a rough indication of the current match between the size of the seniors’ population and the number of seniors’ agencies in the various communities.
Only in Vancouver does the share of seniors’ agencies significantly
exceed the city’s share of the region’s population over 65.
With six agency listings, or 3.2% of the total, Langley’s proportion
of services represents just over half its share of the region’s seniors’
population (5.7%). This puts in Langley in step with most communities in that the number of seniors’ services falls below their propor-
tion of the region’s seniors’ population. In the Tri-Cities, Richmond,
and Surrey/White Rock this mismatch is even more pronounced.
The seniors’ agencies and branch operations based in Langley each
provide one or more types of service. Table 5 ranks these services
by type. (For the classification of services used in this research, see
Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services.
Langley’s seniors’ services include advocacy, counseling and assistance, in-home support services and information, directories and
referrals. There are two listings for multi-activity programs, the most
commonly offered seniors’ service across the region, but several other
kinds of services for older adults are not available locally.
Some seniors’ organizations offer services in other communities,
across Metro Vancouver, the Lower Mainland/Southwestern BC
or province-wide. For the distribution of this full scope of services
across Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky municipalities, see Table 8 in the
companion report, Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and
Seniors’ Services. As that table shows, the existence of agencies
serving Langley seniors from adjacent municipalities increases the
number of services offered to 12. However, the difficulties many older
adults experience with transportation need to be taken into account.
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008– Page 3
Table 5: Seniors’ Service Listings by Type
LM/SS
Langley
% of Langley
% of LM/SS
In-home Support Services
58
3
25.0%
5.2%
Advocacy
15
2
0.0%
13.3%
Counseling and Assistance
46
2
16.7%
4.3%
Multi-Activity Program
97
2
16.7%
2.1%
Health Support Services
50
1
8.3%
2.0%
Information, Directories, Referral
37
1
8.3%
2.7%
Education and Training
12
0
0.0%
0.0%
Financial Assistance
4
0
0.0%
0.0%
Transportation (excluding HandyDart)
13
1
8.3%
7.7%
Ethno-cultural Service Focus
38
0
0.0%
0.0%
Language Services
23
0
0.0%
0.0%
Total
335
12
100.0%
3.6%
Information Services Vancouver, Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008)
Langley Red Book Listings
Multi-Activity Programs
BC Old Age Pensioners’ Organization
Langley Senior Resources Society
Advocacy
BC Old Age Pensioners’ Organization
Langley Coalition Against Abuse of Seniors
Health Support Services
Langley Senior Resources Society
Information, Directories & Referral
Langley Senior Resources Society
Transportation
Langley Senior Resources Society
Counseling & Assistance
Ishtar Transition Housing Society
Langley Senior Resources Society
Endnotes
1 The BCStats’ PEOPLE Population Projections in this report are based on Local Health Areas (LHAs) which form part of larger regional Health Service Delivery and Health Authority Areas. The Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area is
composed of Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health Authorities, and the following LHAs: Burnaby, Coquitlam (including the Tri-Cities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, as well as the Villages of Anmore and Belcarra),
Delta, Howe Sound (including Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton), Langley (City and Township), Maple Ridge (including Pitt Meadows), New Westminster, North Vancouver (City and District), Richmond, Surrey (including White
Rock), Vancouver, and West Vancouver-Bowen Island.
2 The terms poverty line and low income here refer to the measure most commonly used as a proxy for poverty--Statistics Canada’s Low Income Cut-offs (LICOs). These define an income threshold, based on family expenditures,
below which families or individuals spend more than the average on basic necessities. The LICO figures cited here are based on income before tax.
Sources: Statistics Canada 2006 Census; BCStats, P.E.O.P.L.E. 32 Projection Run and 2006 Census, Socio-Economic Profiles and Profiles of Immigrants and of Diversity in BC 2006; and Information Services Vancouver, Red Book
Directory of Services (2008)
Report prepared by Mayling Stubbs for United Way of the Lower Mainland (2008)
United Way of the Lower Mainland / November 2008
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008– Page 4
Moving Towards Age-Friendly Communities.
MAPLE RIDGE
Seniors and Seniors’ Services
While the contingent of adults age 65 and over in the Maple Ridge Local Health Area1 is
currently the second smallest in the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area, the seniors’ population
will more than double over the next two decades. The projected increase of nearly 150% is
considerably higher than the 118% growth rate anticipated for the region as a whole.
Summary
Ridge Meadows currently has the
third lowest share of seniors in the
region, after the Sea to Sky communities and New Westminster. At
3.6%, this share is roughly matched
by the LHA’s percentage of the
region’s seniors’ services (3.7%).
However, by 2027, having grown
faster than all but three LHAs in the
region, the seniors’ population in
Ridge Meadows will be more than
double what it is today and one in
five residents will be 65 years of age
and over. Unless more services are
put in place, a shortfall in the number and range of seniors’ services
can be expected
The Maple Ridge LHA encompasses the District Municipalities of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows and is also known as Ridge Meadows.
This report, along with its companion, Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services, provides a summary of current and projected future population figures for
seniors, based on Canada’s 2006 Census and estimates by BCStats for Local Health Areas in
the region. It also offers a preliminary overview of seniors’ services, in terms of the approximate number, type and municipal location. For this data, the report draws upon Vancouver
Information Services’ Red Book as the most current region-wide source available. An Atlas
of Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services accompanies the two
reports. It is hoped that this material will prompt further analysis, discussion and planning for
the services required to meet the demands of an aging population.
Seniors
In 2007 Ridge Meadows’ population of 92,500 represented 4% of the region’s total residents.
As the population is expected to increase by 40% over the next two decades, it will grow
faster than the region as a whole (30%).
For the ten-year period 2007 to 2017, the number of Ridge Meadows seniors age 65 and up is
expected to rise by over 50%, from 10,150 to 15,900. The LHA’s share of seniors in the region
will increase very slightly over this period, from 3.6% to 3.9%. Ridge Meadows adults age
80+ will increase by just under half, from 2,700 to 4,000, with the LHA share of all seniors in
this category growing only slightly from 3.4% to 3.8%.
Maple Ridge LHA’s share of seniors in each of the age categories shown in Table 1, while currently lower than the region’s share in each category, will shift to an age distribution like the
region’s by 2027. At that time, adults 65 and up will account for one in five Ridge Meadows
residents, and the older age groups (75+ and 85+) will make up around 8% and 2% of the
community’s total population, respectively.
Table 1: Maple Ridge LHA Seniors’ Population
2007
2017
2027
% Change
Total Pop.
91,514
100.0
109,716
100.0
128,294
100.0
19.9
40.2
65+
10,153
11.1
15,971
14.6
25,263
19.7
57.3
148.8
75+
4,766
5.2
6,694
6.1
10,580
8.2
40.5
122.0
85+
1,259
1.4
2,082
1.9
2,819
2.2
65.4
123.9
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run, Maple Ridge LHA
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 1
Table 2: Adults Age 55+ by Ten-Year Age Groups, 2007 and 2027
55-64
65-74
75-84
85+
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
Maple Ridge
9,464
17,480
84.7
5,387
14,683
172.6
3,507
7,761
121.3
1,259
2,819
123.9
LM/SS
253,683
413,066
62.8
144,074
348,151
141.6
96,917
193,030
99.2
39,313
69,205
76.0
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run
Table 2 presents the number of adults age 55 and up in ten-year age groups for both the Maple Ridge LHA and the whole region between
2007 and 2027. The aging of the baby boom generation is evident in the growth forecast for the 65-74 age group. While the Lower Mainland/
Sea to Sky area is expected to experience a significant increase (142%) in this age group over the next two decades, its growth rate is even
higher in Ridge Meadows (173%).
Table 3: Seniors by Five-Year Age Groups, 2007
65-69
70-74
75-79
80-84
85-89
90+
Total
Maple Ridge
3,007
2,380
2,063
1,444
860
399
10,153
LM/SS
78,722
65,352
55,706
41,211
25,411
13,902
280,304
Maple Ridge’s Share
3.8%
3.6%
3.7%
3.5%
3.4%
2.9%
3.6%
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run
Table 3 and the accompanying pie chart show seniors in the LHA by five-year age groups in
2007. Adults age 65-74 make up just over half of all seniors.
The median age in Ridge Meadows is currently 38.8 (i.e. half the population is below this age and half is above). This makes it one of the younger
communities in the region, particularly in comparison to West VancouverBowen Island where the median age is now 47.9. This is expected to
change, however, as the median age in Ridge Meadows rises to 41.4 by
2017 and 43.4 by 2027. Corresponding figures for the median age at
death in Ridge Meadows are 77, 78 and 79.
Maple Ridge LHA Seniors Age 65+, 2007
Older people residing on their own generally need more in-home support
services. According to the 2006 Census, just over one-quarter (27.7%,
or 2,050) of the seniors in Maple Ridge and 26.1% (455) of those in Pitt
Meadows lived alone. The percentage of live-alone seniors ranges from a
high of 43% in the City of Langley to a low of 20% in Richmond.
In 2006, the incidence of low income2 among adults 65 and up was
17.6% in Maple Ridge and 18.1% in Pitt Meadows, slightly lower than
the 20.8% average for the BC Lower Mainland. In the same year, 1.9%
of Ridge Meadows seniors received the maximum Government Income
Supplement (GIS)—2.3% of female and 1.3% of male seniors.
Source: BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E. 32 Projection Run, Maple Ridge Local Health Area
According to the 2006 Census, for which no immigrant seniors’ data is
yet available, immigrants made up 17% (11,745 individuals) of the population of Maple Ridge and 21% (3,240 persons) of Pitt Meadows. Of these immigrants, 3.3%
in Maple Ridge and 4.3% in Pitt Meadows had knowledge of neither English nor French.
Twelve percent of Maple Ridge immigrants and 14% of Pitt Meadows immigrants were newcomers, having arrived between 2001 and 2006. Approximately half of the recent immigrants
in Maple Ridge were from Asia, and the same proportion in Pitt Meadows came mainly from
the Chinese Mainland and India. The languages spoken most often at home by Maple Ridge
residents, after English, are Chinese (0.9%), Korean (0.7%) and Punjabi (0.6%).3 Pitt Meadows also has small numbers of Chinese (2.5%), Punjabi (2.5%) and Korean (0.8%) speakers.
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 2
Table 4: Seniors’ Service Organizations by Local Health Area
Number of Listings
% Share of LM/SS Listings
Number of Seniors in 2007
% Share of Seniors’ Pop.
Vancouver
85
45.0
77,297
27.6
Surrey/White Rock
22
11.6
52,747
18.8
Burnaby
18
9.5
28,111
10.0
Richmond
9
4.8
23,132
8.3
Tri-Cities
7
3.7
20,214
7.2
North Vancouver
12
6.3
17,852
6.4
Langley
6
3.2
16,112
5.7
Delta
7
3.7
13,452
4.8
West Vancouver/Bowen Island
6
3.2
11,041
3.9
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows
7
3.7
10,153
3.6
New Westminster
5
2.6
8,010
2.9
Squamish/Whistler/Pemberton
5
2.6
2,183
0.8
Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky
189
100.0
280,304
100.0
Information Services Vancouver, Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008) and BCStats
Seniors’ Services
In 2008 the Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower
Mainland, published by Information Services Vancouver, contained
the names of nearly 190 organizations in the Lower Mainland/Sea to
Sky area that currently offer services focusing on seniors. (Agencies
conducting services from more than one location are listed more than
once, so an agency with a main office and two branch locations has
three listings, for example.)
Table 4 presents the Red Book listings of seniors’ organizations for
the LHAs in the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area. Close to half the
listings (85, or 45%) are located in Vancouver, an indication of the
city’s role as the region’s seniors’ service hub. The table also provides
a rough indication of the current match between the size of the
seniors’ population and the number of seniors’ agencies in various
communities. It shows that only in Vancouver does the share of
seniors’ agencies significantly exceed the city’s share of its population
over 65.
With seven agency listings, or 3.7% of the total, the Maple Ridge
LHA’s proportion of services approximates its share of the region’s
older population (3.6%). This puts Ridge Meadows in the same
category as North Vancouver, New Westminster, and West Vancouver
– communities where a rough match currently exists between the
number of seniors’ agencies and the size of the population they serve.
The seniors’ service agencies and branch operations based in Ridge
Meadows provide an incomplete array of services. (For the classification of seniors’ services used in this research, see Lower Mainland/
Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services.) Table 5 ranks the
Maple Ridge LHA’s seniors’ services by type. The most common
kind of service for seniors in Ridge Meadows is in-home support.
All sorts of in-home support services are available for seniors in this
community, including household (home and garden maintenance),
meal preparation and delivery, social supports, and personal care.
This makes Ridge Meadows different from other communities where
multi-activity programs tend to predominate. Seniors’ services that
are not available locally (according to the Red Book) are education
and training services, financial assistance, and services offering an
ethno-cultural focus or language service.
Some seniors’ organizations offer services in other communities,
across Metro Vancouver, the Lower Mainland/Southwester BC or
province-wide. The distribution of this full scope of seniors’ services
across the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area is presented in Table 8
of the companion report, Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and
Seniors’ Services.
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 3
Table 5: Seniors’ Service Listings by Type
LM/SS
Maple Ridge
% of Maple Ridge
% of LM/SS
In-home Support Services
58
3
25.0
5.2
Advocacy
15
2
0.0
13.3
Counselling and Assistance
46
2
16.7
4.3
Multi-Activity Programs
97
2
16.7
2.1
Health Support Services
50
1
8.3
2.0
Information, Directories, Referral
37
1
8.3
2.7
Education and Training
12
0
0.0
0.0
Financial Assistance
4
0
0.0
0.0
Transportation (excluding HandyDart)
13
1
8.3
7.7
Ethno-cultural Service Focus
38
0
0.0
0.0
Language Services
23
0
0.0
0.0
Total
335
12
100.0
3.6
Information Services Vancouver, Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008)
Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows Red Book Listings
In-Home Services: Personal Care
Fraser Health Authority
In-Home Services: Household
Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows Community Services
In-Home Services: Meal Prep & Delivery
Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows Community Services
Counseling & Assistance
Ridge Meadows Association for Community Living
Health Support Services
Fraser Health Authority
Transportation
Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows Community Services
In-Home Services: Social Supports
Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows Community Services
Multi-Activity Programs
Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows Parks and Leisure Services
Endnotes
1The BCStats’ PEOPLE Population Projections in this report are based on Local Health Areas (LHAs) which form a part of larger regional Health Service Delivery and Health Authority Areas. The Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area is
composed of Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health Authorities, and the following LHAs: Burnaby, Coquitlam (including the Tri-Cities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, as well as the Villages of Anmore and Belcarra),
Delta, Howe Sound (including Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton), Langley (City and Township), Maple Ridge (including Pitt Meadows), New Westminster, North Vancouver (City and Township), Richmond, Surrey (including White
Rock), Vancouver, and West Vancouver-Bowen Island.
2The terms poverty line and low income here refer to the measure most commonly used as a proxy for poverty--Statistics Canada’s Low Income Cut-offs (LICOs). These define an income threshold, based on family expenditures,
below which families or individuals spend more than the average on basic necessities. The LICO figures cited here are based on income before tax.
3The percentages cited here represent single responses to the 2006 Census question on the language spoken most often or on a regular basis at home by the individual at the time of the census.
Sources: Statistics Canada 2006 Census; BCStats, P.E.O.P.L.E. Projection Run 32, 2006 Census and Socio-Economic Profiles; BC Multiculturalism & Immigration Branch, Profiles of Immigrants in BC Communities 2006; Information
Services Vancouver, Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008)
Report prepared by Mayling Stubbs for the United Way of the Lower Mainland (2008)
United Way of the Lower Mainland / November 2008
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 4
Moving Towards Age-Friendly Communities.
NEW WESTMINSTER
Seniors and Seniors’ Services
Older adults age 65 and up will double in the New Westminster Local Health Area1 over the
next two decades. Dramatic as this growth is, the rate for seniors across the broader Lower
Mainland/Sea to Sky area is even greater, at 118%.
Summary
New Westminster has only 3% of the
total population in the region, making it
the second smallest Local Health Area
after the Sea to Sky communities. The
small proportion of residents aged 65
and over make it second smallest in
this respect too (18.5%), again after
Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton
(15%). New Westminster has the fourth
highest proportion of low-income
seniors in the region. Like many other
communities in the Lower Mainland/
Sea to Sky area, the number of seniors
is expected to double in New Westminster between 2007 and 2027. Although
the full range of seniors’ services is not
available in the community, the number
of services available through organizations in adjacent municipalities means
there is a rough match between services
and New West’s share of the region’s
seniors’ population. The doubling of the
65+ population calls for more services
to meet the demands of an aging population.
This report, along with its companion, Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services, provides a summary of current and projected future population figures for
seniors, based on Canada’s 2006 Census and estimates by BCStats for Local Health Areas in
the region. It also offers a preliminary overview of seniors’ services, in terms of the approximate number, type and municipal location. For this data, the report draws upon Vancouver
Information Services’ Red Book as the most current region-wide source available. An Atlas
of Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services accompanies the two
reports. It is hoped that this material will prompt further analysis, discussion and planning for
the services required to meet the demands of an aging population.
Seniors
With respect to total population, the New Westminster Local Health Area is currently the third
smallest in the region. Its 63,000 residents in 2007, representing only 2.8% of the region’s
total, will rise by almost half again over the next two decades to nearly 90,000. This growth
rate is higher than the broader region’s increase of 30% over this period.
New Westminster’s share of seniors as a portion of its total population in 2007 is slightly
higher in each age category in Table 1 than the distribution across the region as a whole — a
situation that reverses by 2027, when New Westminster’s share of older adults is expected to
be slightly less than the regional distribution.
For the ten-year period 2007 to 2017, the number of New Westminster adults age 65 and
up is expected to rise by just over a third, from 8,000 to 10,800. The area’s share of seniors
in the region will fall slightly over this period, from 2.9% to 2.6%. New Westminster adults
age 80+ will decrease by 8%, from 2,600 to 2,400, with the area’s share of all seniors in this
category also falling from 3.3% to 2.3%.
Table 1: New Westminster LHA Seniors’ Population
2007
2017
%
2027
%
2007-2017
2007-2027
63,018
100.0
76,437
100.0
89,856
100.0
21.3
42.6
65+
8,010
12.7
10,811
14.1
16,591
18.5
35.0
107.1
75+
4,292
6.8
4,045
5.3
6,421
7.1
-5.8
49.6
85+
1,303
2.1
1,299
1.7
1,274
1.4
-0.3
-2.2
Total Pop.
%
% Change
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run, New Westminster LHA
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 1
Table 2: Adults Age 55+ by Ten-Year Age Groups, 2007 and 2027
55-64
65-74
75-84
85+
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
New West.
7,184
13,616
89.5
3,718
10,170
173.5
2,989
5,147
72.2
1,303
1,274
-2.2
LM/SS
253,683
413,066
62.8
144,074
348,151
141.6
96,917
193,030
99.2
39,313
69,205
76.0
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run
Table 2 presents New Westminster adults age 55 and up in ten-year age groups between 2007 and 2027. The aging of the baby boom generation can be seen in the age group 65-74, which will experience a significant increase, particularly in New Westminster (174%), but also in the
region as a whole (142%) over the next two decades.
Table 3: Seniors by Five-Year Age Groups
65-69
70-74
75-79
80-84
85-89
90+
Total
New West.
2,047
1,671
1,663
1,326
831
472
8,010
LM/SS
78,722
65,352
55,706
41,211
25,411
13,902
280,304
New West’s Share
2.6%
2.6%
3.0%
3.2%
3.3%
3.4%
2.9%
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run
Table 3 and the accompanying pie chart show seniors in the New Westminster Local Health
Area by five-year age groups in 2007. Adults aged 65-74 make up nearly half of all seniors.
The current median age in New Westminster of 40.1 (half of the population is below this age and half above) will rise to 42.4 by 2017 and to
45.2 by 2027. The corresponding figures for the median age at death are
79.9, 75.1, and 75.1.
New Westminster
LHA Seniors Age 65+, 2007
Older adults residing on their own are generally more vulnerable and
likely to be in more need of in-home support services than seniors sharing
accommodation with a spouse, for example. According to the Census,
over one quarter (26%, or 2,830) of New Westminster seniors in private
households lived alone in 2006. This compares to Langley City with 43%,
the highest proportion of seniors living alone in the region, and Richmond with 20%, the lowest.
Of the 212 homeless seniors (55+) counted in Metro Vancouver’s 2008
homeless count, 16 (or 8%) were found in New Westminster. New West
was one of four communities where more than 10 homeless seniors were
counted (the others being Vancouver, Surrey and North Vancouver).
In 2006, the incidence of low income2 among older adults age 65 and up
in New Westminster was 24.6%, compared with 20.8% for the Lower
Mainland. The LHA had the fourth highest proportion of low-income
seniors in the region, behind Langley City, Vancouver and Richmond. In
2006 as well, 4.3% of New Westminster seniors received the maximum
Government Income Supplement (GIS)—4.7% of female and 3.7% of male seniors.
Source: BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E. 32 Projection Run, Burnaby Local Health Area
According to the 2006, for which immigrant seniors’ data is not yet available, immigrants
made up 31.4% (18,360 individuals) of New Westminster’s population in 2006. Of these immigrants, 5.6% have knowledge of neither English nor French. Twenty-three percent of New
West’s immigrant population is newcomers (4,245 individuals), having arrived between 2001
and 2006. The majority (72%) of these people are from Eastern Europe, the Philippines, and
Asia including Mainland China and India. After English, the languages spoken most often at
home in New Westminster households are Chinese (4%), Punjabi (3%), and Filipino (2%).3
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 2
Table 4: Seniors’ Service Organizations by Local Health Area
Number of Listings
% Share of LM/SS Listings
Number of Seniors in 2007
% Share of Seniors’ Pop.
Vancouver
85
45.0
77,297
27.6
Surrey/White Rock
22
11.6
52,747
18.8
Burnaby
18
9.5
28,111
10.0
Richmond
9
4.8
23,132
8.3
Tri-Cities
7
3.7
20,214
7.2
North Vancouver
12
6.3
17,852
6.4
Langley
6
3.2
16,112
5.7
Delta
7
3.7
13,452
4.8
West Vancouver/Bowen Island
6
3.2
11,041
3.9
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows
7
3.7
10,153
3.6
New Westminster
5
2.6
8,010
2.9
Squamish/Whistler/Pemberton
5
2.6
2,183
0.8
Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky
189
100.0
280,304
100.0
Information Services Vancouver, Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008) and BCStats
Services for seniors
In 2008 the Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower
Mainland, published by Information Services Vancouver, contained
the names of nearly 190 organizations in the Lower Mainland and
Sea to Sky area that currently offer services focusing on seniors.
(Agencies conducting services from more than one location are listed
more than once in the Red Book, so an agency with a main office
and two branch locations has three listings, for example.)
Table 4 presents the Red Book listings of seniors’ organizations
for LHAs in the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area. Close to half the
listings (85, or 45%) are located in Vancouver, a sign of the city’s role
as seniors’ service hub for the region. The table also provides a rough
indication of the current match between the size of the seniors’ population and the number of seniors’ agencies in various communities.
Only in Vancouver does the share of seniors’ agencies significantly
exceed the city’s share of the region’s population over 65.
With five agency listings, or 2.6% of the total, New Westminster’s
proportion of services is relatively close to its share of the region’s
seniors’ population (2.9%). This puts it in the same category as
North Vancouver, Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, and West Vancouver – communities where a rough match seems to exist between the
seniors’ agencies and the population they serve.
The seniors’ agencies and branch operations based in New Westminster provide a quite limited range of services. Table 5 ranks the
number of New Westminster’s seniors’ services by type. (For the
classification of seniors’ services used in this research, see Lower
Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services.)
Like most communities, multi-activity programs are the most common
type of seniors’ service in New Westminster, followed by in-home
support services (consisting of one listing each for meal preparation
and delivery, social supports, and personal care), counseling and
assistance, health support services (such as adult day programs and
mental health centres), and information, directories, and referral
services.
Some seniors’ organizations offer services in other communities,
across Metro Vancouver, the Lower Mainland/Southwestern BC, or
province-wide. For the distribution of all seniors’ services in the Lower
Mainland/Sea to Sky area, see Table 8 in the companion report,
Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services.
As that table shows, the addition of agencies serving New Westminster from adjacent municipalities results in a modest increase in the
number of services offered to the community’s seniors, from 13 to
15. However, the transportation difficulties many seniors’ experience
need to taken into account as well.
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 3
Table 5: Seniors’ Service Listings by Type
LM/SS
New West
% of New West
% of LM/SS
Multi-Activity Programs
97
4
30.8
4.1
In-home Support Services
58
3
23.1
5.2
Counseling and Assistance
46
2
15.4
4.3
Health Support Services
50
2
15.4
4.0
Information, Directories, Referral
37
2
15.4
5.4
Advocacy
15
0
0.0
0.0
Education and Training
12
0
0.0
0.0
Financial Assistance/Income Support
4
0
0.0
0.0
Transportation (excluding HandyDart)
13
0
0.0
0.0
Ethno-cultural Service Focus
38
0
0.0
0.0
Language Services
23
0
0.0
0.0
Total
393
13
100.0
3.3
Information Services Vancouver, Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008)
New Westminster Red Book Listings
Multi-Activity Programs
Fraser Health Authority
City of New Westminster
Seniors Services Society
In-Home Services: Personal Care
Fraser Health Authority
In-Home Services: Meal Prep & Delivery
Seniors Services Society
In-Home Services: Social Supports
Seniors Services Society
Information, Directories & Referral
City of New Westminster
Seniors Services Society
Counseling & Assistance
City of New Westminster
Seniors Services Society
Endnotes
1The BCStats’ PEOPLE Population Projections in this report are based on Local Health Areas (LHAs) which form part of larger regional Health Service Delivery and Health Authority Areas. The Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area is
composed of Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health Authorities, and the following LHAs: Burnaby, Coquitlam (including the Tri-Cities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, as well as the Villages of Anmore and Belcarra),
Delta, Howe Sound (including Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton), Langley (City and Township), Maple Ridge (including Pitt Meadows), New Westminster, North Vancouver (City and District), Richmond, Surrey (including White
Rock), Vancouver, and West Vancouver-Bowen Island.
2 The terms poverty line and low income here refer to the measure most commonly used as a proxy for poverty – Statistics Canada’s Low Income Cut-offs (LICOs). These define an income threshold, based on family expenditures,
below which families or individuals spend more than the average on basic necessities. The LICO figures cited here are based on income before tax.
3 The percentages cited here represent single responses to the 2006 Census question on the language spoken most often or on a regular basis at home by the individual at the time of the census.
Sources: Statistics Canada 2006 Census; BCStats, P.E.O.P.L.E. 32 Projection Run and 2006 Census, Socio-Economic Profiles and Profiles of Immigrants and of Diversity in BC 2006; and Information Services Vancouver, Red Book
Directory of Services (2008)
Report prepared by Mayling Stubbs for United Way of the Lower Mainland (2008)
United Way of the Lower Mainland / November 2008
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 4
Moving Towards Age-Friendly Communities.
NORTH VANCOUVER
Seniors and Seniors’ Services
The number of seniors aged 65 and up will nearly double (93%) in the North Vancouver Local
Health Area1 over the next two decades, a growth rate that falls below the 118% increase
expected in the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area as a whole.
The North Vancouver LHA encompasses both the City and the District of North Vancouver,
with the City representing about a third of the total population. In 2007 the LHA’s population
of 137,500 represented six percent of the region’s total. The total population of the LHA is
projected to rise by 17% over the next two decades, again a rate much lower than the 30%
increase anticipated for the region as a whole.
This report, along with its companion, Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services, provides a summary of current and projected future population figures for
seniors, based on Canada’s 2006 Census and estimates by BCStats for Local Health Areas in
the region. It also offers a preliminary overview of seniors’ services, in terms of the approximate number, type and municipal location. For this data, the report draws upon Vancouver
Information Services’ Red Book as the most current region-wide source available. An Atlas
of Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services accompanies the two
reports. It is hoped that this material will prompt further analysis, discussion and planning for
the services required to meet the demands of an aging population.
Seniors
North Vancouver LHA’s share of seniors as a portion of its total population in 2007 is slightly
higher in each of the age categories (Table 1) than the distribution across the region, and
will remain so until 2027. At that time, adults 65 and up will account for just over one in five
North Vancouverites, and the older age groups (75+ and 85+) will make up around 9% and
2% respectively.
Summary
North Vancouver’s median age makes
it the third ‘oldest’ community in the
region. Its seniors’ population accounts
for 6.4% of all seniors region-wide.
The number of older adults in North
Vancouver will nearly double by 2027,
even though its share of the region’s
seniors at that time is expected to be
slightly lower than it is today (5.7%).
North Van currently has a slightly higher
proportion of low-income seniors than
average, and an overall population
less diverse than most. A more or less
complete range of seniors’ services is
currently available and the proximity of
service organizations in West Vancouver
means a larger number of services are
available to North Vancouver’s older
residents. Even so, the doubling of the
65+ population calls for more services to meet the demands of an aging
population
For the ten-year period 2007 to 2017, the number of North Vancouver adults age 65 and up
is expected to rise by over one-third, from 17,800 to 24,100. The LHA’s share of seniors in
the region will fall slightly over this period, from 6.4% to just less than 6%. North Vancouver adults age 80+ will increase by 22%, from 5,000 to 6,200, with the area’s share of all
seniors in this category declining very slightly from 6.3% to 6%
Table 1: North Vancouver LHA Seniors’ Population
2007
2017
2027
%
%
%
2007-2017
2007-2027
Total
Pop.
137,495
100.0
65+
17,852
75+
8,733
85+
2,444
% Change
150,644
100.0
161,228
100.0
9.6
17.3
13.0
24,141
16.0
34,579
21.4
35.2
93.7
6.4
10,177
6.8
14,610
9.1
16.5
67.3
1.8
3,376
2.2
3,871
2.4
38.1
58.4
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run, North Vancouver LHA
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 1
Table 2: Adults Age 55+ by Ten-Year Age Groups, 2007 and 2027
55-64
65-74
75-84
85+
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
North Van
16,146
22,960
42.2
9,119
19,969
119.0
6,289
10,739
70.8
2,444
3,871
58.4
LM/SS
253,683
413,066
62.8
144,074
348,151
141.6
96,917
193,030
99.2
39,313
69,205
76.0
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run
Table 2 presents North Vancouver adults age 55 and up in ten-year age groups between 2007 and 2027. The aging of the baby boom generation is evident in the 65-74 age group, where an increase of 119% over the next two decades is expected (compared with 142% region-wide).
Table 3: Seniors by 5-Year Age Groups
65-69
70-74
75-79
80-84
85-89
90+
Total
North Van
4,952
4,167
3,648
2,641
1,627
817
17,852
LM/SS
78,722
65,352
55,706
41,211
25,411
13,902
280,304
North Van’s Share
6.3%
6.4%
6.5%
6.4%
6.4%
5.9%
6.4%
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run
Table 3 and the accompanying pie chart show seniors in the North Vancouver by five-year age
groups in 2007. Adults aged 65-74 make up just over half of all seniors.
North Vancouver is currently the third oldest LHA in the region after West
Vancouver and Delta. Its current median age of 40.9 (half of the population is below this age and half is above) is expected to rise to 43.3 by
2017 and to 45.1 by 2027. The corresponding figures for the median age
at death are 81.2, 81.9, and 81.2.
North Vancouver
LHA Seniors Age 65+, 2007
Older adults residing on their own are generally more vulnerable and
in need of more in-home support services than those sharing accommodation with a spouse, for example. According to the Census, four in
ten seniors (2,350 individuals) in North Vancouver City and one-quarter
(25.5%, or 2,710 persons) in the District who resided in private households lived alone in 2006.
In 2006, the incidence of low income2 among adults age 65 and up in
North Vancouver was 22.5%, compared with the average of 20.8% for
the Lower Mainland. In the same year, 3.1% of North Vancouver LHA
seniors received the maximum Government Income Supplement (GIS) —
3.4% of female and 2.7% of male seniors.
According to the 2006 Census, immigrants made up 36.3% (16,385 inSource: BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E. 32 Projection Run, North Vancouver Local Health Area
dividuals) of the population of North Vancouver City and 31.5% (25,995)
of the District. Of these immigrants, 3.8% in the City and 2.6% in the
District had knowledge of neither English nor French. Twenty-one percent of the City’s immigrants (3,470) and 15.7% of the District’s immigrants (4,075 persons)
were newcomers who arrived between 2001 and 2006. Over half of the recent immigrants in
the area were from Asia and the Middle East. After English, the languages most often spoken
at home are Persian (Farsi), Chinese, and Korean.
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 2
Table 4: Seniors’ Service Organizations by Local Health Area
Number of Listings
% Share of LM/SS Listings
Number of Seniors in 2007
% Share of Seniors’ Population
Vancouver
85
45.0
77,297
27.6
Surrey/White Rock
22
11.6
52,747
18.8
Burnaby
18
9.5
28,111
10.0
Richmond
9
4.8
23,132
8.3
Tri-Cities
7
3.7
20,214
7.2
North Vancouver
12
6.3
17,852
6.4
Langley
6
3.2
16,112
5.7
Delta
7
3.7
13,452
4.8
West Vancouver/Bowen Island
6
3.2
11,041
3.9
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows
7
3.7
10,153
3.6
New Westminster
5
2.6
8,010
2.9
Squamish/Whistler/Pemberton
5
2.6
2,183
0.8
Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky
189
100.0
280,304
100.0
Information Services Vancouver, Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008) and BCStats
Seniors’ Services
In 2008 the Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower
Mainland, published by Information Services Vancouver, contained
the names of nearly 190 organizations in the Lower Mainland and
Sea to Sky area that currently offer services focusing on seniors.
(Agencies conducting such services from more than one location are
listed more than once in the Red Book, so an agency with a main office and two branch locations has three listings, for example.)
Table 4 presents the Red Book listings of seniors’ organizations for
LHAs in the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area. Close to half of these
listings (85, or 45%) are located in Vancouver, a sign of the city’s role
as seniors’ service hub for the region. The table also provides an indication of the current match between the size of the seniors’ population and the number of seniors’ agencies in the various communities.
Only in Vancouver does the share of seniors’ agencies significantly
exceed the city’s share of the region’s population over 65.
With 12 agency listings, or 6.3% of the total, North Vancouver’s
proportion of services closely approximates its share of the region’s
seniors’ population (6.4%). This puts it in the same category as Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, New Westminster and West Vancouver
– communities where a match seems to exist between the number of
seniors’ agencies and the size of the population they serve.
The seniors’ agencies and branch operations based in North Vancouver provide a fairly complete range of services. Table 5 ranks the
number of North Vancouver seniors’ services by type. (For the classification of services used in this research, see Lower Mainland/Sea
to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services.) Two kinds of services are
commonly available for older adults in North Vancouver – information, directories and referral, and multi-activity programs. Most other
services are available in the LHA, the exceptions being education and
training, transportation services and financial assistance.
Some seniors’ organizations listed in the Red Book also offer
services in other communities, across Metro Vancouver, the Lower
Mainland/Southwestern BC or province-wide. For the distribution of
this full scope of services in the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area, see
Table 8 in the companion report, Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky
Seniors and Seniors’ Services. As that table shows, some of the
North Vancouver and West Vancouver agencies offer programs and
services across the North Shore, which means that the full extent
of services available to seniors in the North Vancouver increases
from 23 to 27. Whether older adults can make use of these services
depends on their ability to access transportation.
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 3
Table 5: Seniors’ Service Listings by Type
LM/SS
North Vancouver
% of North Vancouver
% of LM/SS
37
5
21.7
13.5
In-home Support Services
97
5
21.7
5.2
Health Support Services
46
4
17.4
8.7
Information, Directories, Referral
50
4
17.4
8.0
Multi-Activity Programs
Language Services
58
2
8.7
3.4
Ethno-cultural Service Focus
15
1
0.0
6.7
Advocacy
12
1
4.3
8.3
Counseling and Assistance
13
1
4.3
7.7
Education and Training
4
0
0.0
0.0
Financial Assistance
38
0
0.0
0.0
Transportation (excluding HandyDart)
23
0
0.0
0.0
Total
393
23
100.0
5.9
Information Services Vancouver, Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008)
North Vancouver Red Book Listings
Information, Directories & Referral
Capilano Community Services Society
North Shore Community Resources Society
North Shore Neighbourhood House
Parkgate Community Services
Silver Harbour Centre Society
Multi-Activity Programs
North Shore Assn for the Mentally Handicapped
North Shore Neighbourhood House
Parkgate Community Services
Silver Harbour Centre Society
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority - North Shore/Coast Garibaldi
Counseling & Assistance
Capilano Community Services Society
North Shore Community Resources Society
North Shore Neighbourhood House
North Shore Restorative Justice Society
In-Home Services: Personal Care
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority - North Shore/Coast Garibaldi
In-Home Services: Social Supports
Capilano Community Services Society
Advocacy
North Shore Community Resources Society
Education & Training
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority
Health Support Services
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority - North Shore/Coast Garibaldi
Transportation
Capilano Community Services Society
Endnotes
1The BCStats’ PEOPLE Population Projections in this report are based on Local Health Areas (LHAs) which form part of larger regional Health Service Delivery and Health Authority Areas. The Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area is
composed of Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health Authorities, and the following LHAs: Burnaby, Coquitlam (including the Tri-Cities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, as well as the Villages of Anmore and Belcarra),
Delta, Howe Sound (including Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton), Langley (City and Township), Maple Ridge (including Pitt Meadows), New Westminster, North Vancouver (City and District), Richmond, Surrey (including White
Rock), Vancouver, and West Vancouver-Bowen Island.
2The terms poverty line and low income here refer to the measure most commonly used as a proxy for poverty--Statistics Canada’s Low Income Cut-offs (LICOs). These define an income threshold, based on family expenditures,
below which families or individuals spend more than the average on basic necessities. The LICO figures cited here are based on income before tax.
Sources: Statistics Canada 2006 Census; BCStats, P.E.O.P.L.E. 32 Projection Run and 2006 Census, Socio-Economic Profiles and Profiles of Immigrants and of Diversity in BC 2006; and Information Services Vancouver, Red Book
Directory of Services (2008)
Report prepared by Mayling Stubbs for the United Way of the Lower Mainland (2008)
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 4
Moving Towards Age-Friendly Communities.
RICHMOND
Seniors and Seniors’ Services
The number of older adults age 65 and up in the Richmond Local Health Area1 is expected
to more than double over the next two decades. The projected growth rate of 163% for
Richmond seniors is much higher than the growth rate of 118% anticipated across the Lower
Mainland/Sea to Sky area.
Summary
Richmond’s older adult population is
projected to grow faster over the next
20 years than all but two areas in the
Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky region,
Howe sound and the Tri-Cities. Richmond is also expected to be third (along
with Tri-Cities) in terms of absolute
gains in the over 65 population, behind
Surrey/White Rock and Vancouver.
While the proportion of seniors living
alone in the community is the lowest in
the region, the percentage living under
the poverty line is high – only Langley
City and Vancouver have larger shares of
low-income seniors. Although 2006 census data for immigrant seniors is not yet
available, the municipality has the highest proportion of foreign-born people
in the country, many over 65. With only
nine seniors’ service agency listings in
the Red Book, or 4.8% of the region’s
total, Richmond’s share of services is
only a little more than half its share of
the region’s seniors’ population (8.3%).
This puts it in the same category as Surrey and White Rock, the Tri-Cities and
Langley – communities that have a clear
shortage of services for seniors. There is
also an incomplete array of services for
older adults in Richmond. The growth
projections for older age groups in Richmond call for more services to meet the
demands of its aging population.
This report, along with its companion, Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services, provides a summary of current and projected future population figures for
seniors, based on Canada’s 2006 Census and estimates by BCStats for Local Health Areas in
the region. It also offers a preliminary overview of seniors’ services, in terms of the approximate number, type and municipal location. For this data, the report draws upon Vancouver
Information Services’ Red Book as the most current region-wide source available. An Atlas
of Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services accompanies the two
reports. It is hoped that this material will prompt further analysis, discussion and planning for
the services required to meet the demands of an aging population.
Seniors
Richmond (over 185,000 people) represents a little over 8% of the region’s total population.
The community is expected to grow by 28% over the next two decades, a rate slightly below
that anticipated for the region as a whole (30%). These growth rates pale in comparison to
the increase projected for Richmond’s seniors, which at 163%, is much higher than the rate
forecast for seniors region-wide (118%). In fact Richmond can be expected to experience the
third highest percentage and absolute gains in the over 65 age group in the region. Only the
Sea to Sky communities and the Tri-Cities are expected to see larger percentage gains in their
older adult populations over the next 20 years. And only Surrey/White Rock and Vancouver
will see larger absolute gains. Richmond and the Tri-Cities are each predicted to have almost
38,000 more individuals 65+ in 2027 than they do today.
In 2007, for each of the age categories in Table 1 – 65+, 75+ and 85+ – Richmond’s population distribution in 2007 is not unlike that of the region as a whole. This changes by 2027,
however, when the aging of Richmond’s population intensifies, as indicated by the larger
percentages of seniors in each of the three categories.
Table 1: Richmond LHA Seniors’ Population
2007
2017
2027
%
%
%
% Change
2007-2017
2007-2027
Total Pop.
185,225
100.0
212,687
100.0
237,273
100.0
14.8
28.1
65+
23,132
12.5
39,045
18.4
60,759
25.6
68.8
162.7
75+
10,863
5.9
15,716
7.4
27,153
11.4
44.7
150.0
85+
3,071
1.7
5,199
2.4
7,131
3.0
69.3
132.2
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run, Richmond LHA
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 1
Table 2: Adults Age 55+ by Ten-Year Age Groups, 2007 and 2027
55-64
65-74
75-84
85+
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
Richmond
22,943
33,530
46.1%
12,269
33,606
173.9%
7,792
20,022
157.0%
3,071
7,131
132.2%
LM/SS
253,683
413,066
62.8%
144,074
348,151
141.6%
96,917
193,030
99.2%
39,313
69,205
76.0%
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run
Table 2 presents Richmond adults age 55 and up in ten-year age groups between 2007 and 2027. The aging of the baby boom generation is
most apparent in the age group 65-74. Here, the increase in Richmond (174%) can be seen to be much greater than in the region as a whole
(142%) over the next two decades.
Table 3: Seniors by Five-Year Age Groups, 2007
65-69
70-74
75-79
80-84
85-89
90+
Total
Richmond
6,510
5,759
4,536
3,256
2,039
1,032
23,132
LM/SS
78,722
65,352
55,706
41,211
25,411
13,902
280,304
Richmond’s Share
8.3%
8.8%
8.1%
7.9%
8.0%
7.4%
8.3%
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run
Table 3 and the accompanying pie chart show seniors in the Richmond LHA by five-year age groups in 2007. Adults age 65-74 make up just
over half of all seniors.
The current median age in Richmond of 40.7 (half of the population is below this age and half above) will rise to 44.5 by 2017 and to 47.6
by 2027, at which time the community will be the second oldest LHA
in the region, after West Vancouver (49.3). The corresponding figures
Richmond LHA Seniors Age 65+, 2007
for median age at death for Richmond are 80.9, 82.2, and 81.9 – again
amongst the oldest in the region.
Older adults residing on their own are generally more vulnerable and in
need of more in-home support services than seniors who share accommodation with a spouse, for example. Richmond stands out with respect
to seniors’ living arrangements. According to the 2006 Census, one in
five (20%, or 4,330) Richmond seniors lived alone – the lowest percentage in the region. The highest percentage is in Langley City, where 43%
(or 1,690 seniors) live alone.
In 2006, the incidence of low income2 among older adults age 65 and up
in Richmond was 25%, compared with 20.8% for the Lower Mainland
as a whole. This put Richmond in third place, behind Langley City and
Vancouver, in terms of the proportion of seniors living below the poverty
line. In 2006 as well, 8.5% of Richmond seniors received the maximum
Government Income Supplement (GIS)—9.2% of female and 7.5% of
male seniors.
Source: BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E. 32 Projection Run, Richmond Local Health Area
In the City of Richmond foreign-born residents now outnumber those
born in Canada. According to the 2006 Census, for which no immigrant
seniors’ data is yet available, just over half (57.4%) of Richmond’s total population was born outside Canada, making it the municipality with
the highest proportion of foreign-born persons in the country. Of these immigrants, the Census reports, 13.7% have knowledge of neither
English nor French. Nineteen percent of the City’s immigrant population (or 18,780 individuals) are newcomers, having arrived between 2001
and 2006. Half of these recent immigrants are from Mainland China. After English, the top languages spoken most often at home by Richmond’s residents are Chinese (34%), Punjabi (2.3%), and Filipino (1.8%).3
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 2
Table 4: Seniors’ Service Organizations by Local Health Area
Number of Listings
% Share of LM/SS Listings
Number of Seniors in 2007
% Share of Seniors’ Pop.
Vancouver
85
45.0
77,297
27.6
Surrey/White Rock
22
11.6
52,747
18.8
Burnaby
18
9.5
28,111
10.0
Richmond
9
4.8
23,132
8.3
Tri-Cities
7
3.7
20,214
7.2
North Vancouver
12
6.3
17,852
6.4
Langley
6
3.2
16,112
5.7
Delta
7
3.7
13,452
4.8
West Vancouver/Bowen Island
6
3.2
11,041
3.9
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows
7
3.7
10,153
3.6
New Westminster
5
2.6
8,010
2.9
Squamish/Whistler/Pemberton
5
2.6
2,183
0.8
Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky
189
100.0
280,304
100.0
Information Services Vancouver, Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008) and BCStats
Services for Seniors
In 2008 the Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower
Mainland, published by Information Services Vancouver, contained
the names of nearly 190 organizations in the Lower Mainland and
Sea to Sky area that currently offer services focusing on seniors.
(Agencies conducting services from more than one location are listed
more than once in the Red Book, so an agency with a main office
and two branch locations has three listings, for example.)
Table 4 presents the Red Book listings of seniors’ organizations for
LHAs in the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area. Close to half of the listings (85, or 45%) are located in Vancouver, a sign of the city’s role as
the seniors’ service hub for the region. The table also gives a rough
indication of the match between the size of the seniors’ population
and the number of seniors’ services in LHAs throughout the region.
Only in Vancouver does the share of seniors’ agencies significantly
exceed the city’s share of the region’s population over 65.
With only nine agency listings, or 4.8% of the total, Richmond’s proportion of services is a little more than half its share of the region’s
seniors’ population (8.3%). This puts it in the same category as
Surrey and White Rock, the Tri-Cities and Langley – communities that
have a clear shortage of services for seniors.
The seniors’ agencies and branch operations based in Richmond also
provide an incomplete array of services. Table 5 ranks Richmond’s
seniors’ services by type. (For the classification of services used for
this research, see Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and
Seniors’ Services.)
The most common seniors’ services in Richmond are information,
directories and referrals, and multi-activity programs. Next are counseling and assistance, and in-home support services. Listings for inhome support include one each of household services (such as house
cleaning and handyman repair), social supports, and personal care.
Some seniors’ organizations offer services in other communities,
across Metro Vancouver, the Lower Mainland/Southwestern BC or
province-wide. For the distribution of this full scope of services across
Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky communities, see Table 8 in the companion report, Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’
Services. This table shows that because Richmond’s seniors may be
served by agencies in adjacent communities as well as Richmond itself, the number of services increases from 21 to 27. While this brings
the number of services closer to Richmond’s share of the region’s seniors’ population (8.3%), the transportation difficulties many seniors
experience also need to be taken into account.
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 3
Table 5: Seniors’ Service Listings by Type of Service
LM/SS
Richmond
% of Richmond
% of LM/SS
Information, Directories, Referral
37
5
23.8
13.5
Multi-Activity Programs
97
5
23.8
5.2
Counseling and Assistance
46
3
14.3
6.5
In-home Support Services
58
3
14.3
5.2
Health Support Services
50
2
9.5
4.0
Transportation (excluding HandyDart)
13
1
4.8
7.7
Ethno-cultural Service Focus
38
1
4.8
2.6
Language Services
23
1
4.8
4.3
Advocacy
15
0
0.0
0.0
Education and Training
12
0
0.0
0.0
Financial Assistance
4
0
0.0
0.0
Total
393
21
100.0
5.3
Information Services Vancouver, Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008)
Richmond Red Book Listings
Information, Directories & Referral
Always There for You Home Support Services Inc.
Richmond Multicultural Concerns Society
Richmond Recreation and Cultural Services
SUCCESS
Volunteer Richmond Information Services
Multi-Activity Programs
Richmond Kinsmen Home Support Society
Richmond Multicultural Concerns Society
Richmond Recreation and Cultural Services
Salvation Army
Volunteer Richmond Information Services
Counseling & Assistance
Richmond Recreation and Cultural Services
SUCCESS (United Chinese
Community Enrichment Services Society)
Volunteer Richmond Information Services
In-Home Services: Personal Care
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority - Richmond
In-Home Services: Household
Always There for You Home Support Services Inc
Health Support Services
Richmond Kinsmen Home Support Society
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority - Richmond
Transportation
Always There for You Home Support Services Inc
Ethno-cultural & Language Services
SUCCESS
SUCCESS Richmond Service Centre (IM, SEC,
CAN, ESL, HIN, MAN, PUN)
In-Home Services: Social Supports
Volunteer Richmond Information Services
End notes
1The BCStats’ PEOPLE Population Projections in this report are based on Local Health Areas (LHAs) which form a part of larger regional Health Service Delivery and Health Authority Areas. The Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area is
composed of Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health Authorities, and the following LHAs: Burnaby, Coquitlam (including the Tri-Cities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, as well as the Villages of Anmore and Belcarra),
Delta, Howe Sound (including Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton), Langley (City and Township), Maple Ridge (including Pitt Meadows), New Westminster, North Vancouver (City and Township), Richmond, Surrey (including White
Rock), Vancouver, and West Vancouver-Bowen Island.
2The terms poverty line and low income here refer to the measure most commonly used as a proxy for poverty--Statistics Canada’s Low Income Cut-offs (LICOs). These define an income threshold, based on family expenditures,
below which families or individuals spend more than the average on basic necessities. The LICO figures cited here are based on income before tax.
3The percentages cited here represent single responses to the 2006 Census question on the language spoken most often or on a regular basis at home by the individual at the time of the census.
Sources: Statistics Canada 2006 Census; BCStats, P.E.O.P.L.E. 32 Projection Run and 2006 Census, Socio-Economic Profiles and Profiles of Immigrants and of Diversity in BC 2006; and Information Services Vancouver, Red Book
Directory of Services (2008)
Report prepared by Mayling Stubbs for the United Way of the Lower Mainland (2008)
United Way of the Lower Mainland / November 2008
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 4
Moving Towards Age-Friendly Communities.
SQUAMISH, WHISTLER AND PEMBERTON
Seniors and Seniors’ Services
In the next two decades, the Howe Sound Local Health Area1 is expected to see its seniors’
population increase by 244%, the highest increase in the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area
and more than double that expected for the region’s seniors’ population as a whole – 118%.
The Howe Sound LHA includes the District Municipalities of Squamish (46%) and Whistler
(28.5%), and the Village of Pemberton (6.8%). With a population of 35,500 in 2007, the
LHA represented 1.5% of the total Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area’s population. By 2027,
Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton combined are expected to grow by almost 50% — a rate
higher than the 30% growth rate expected region-wide.
This report, along with its companion, Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services, provides a summary of current and projected future population figures for
seniors, based on Canada’s 2006 Census and estimates by BCStats for Local Health Areas in
the region. It also offers a preliminary overview of seniors’ services, in terms of the approximate number, type and municipal location. For this data, the report draws upon Vancouver
Information Services’ Red Book as the most current region-wide source available. An Atlas
of Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors' Services accompanies the two
reports. It is hoped that this material will prompt further analysis, discussion and planning for
the services required to meet the demands of an aging population.
Summary
The small and youthful communities of
the Sea to Sky Corridor will experience
the region’s largest percentage increases
in their seniors’ population over the next
two decades. The lesser but equally significant gains in the number of seniors
aged 75+ and 85+ will far outpace
those expected elsewhere in the region.
Currently, Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton have both the fewest seniors’
services and the most limited array of
services for seniors in the region. More
seniors’ services are called for to meet
the demands of an aging population in
this area.
Seniors
With a median age of 34.6 (half of the population is below this age and half above), Howe
Sound is the youngest Local Health Area in the Lower Mainland/Sea region.
In 2007, the LHA’s share of seniors as a portion of its total population was much lower than
the region’s share in each of the 65+, 75+ and 85+ categories (Table 1). Even by 2027,
despite the very high rate of increase in seniors (244%), adults 65 and up are expected to
remain a lower portion of the LHA’s total population than in the region as a whole. At that
time, they will account for 15% of the LHA’s total (compared with 21% for the region), while
the older age groups (75+ and 85+) will make up around 6% and 1% respectively, compared
to 9% and 2% across the region.
Table 1: Howe Sound LHA Seniors
2007
2017
%
%
2027
2007–2017
2007–2027
%
% Chg.
% Chg.
50,060
100.0
27.7
49.3
10.0
7,514
15.0
95.6
244.2
3.7
2,854
5.7
83.6
231.9
1.1
724
1.4
112.3
241.5
Total Pop.
33,526
100.0
42,803
100.0
65+
2,183
6.5
4,269
75+
860
2.6
1,579
85+
212
0.6
450
Source: BC Stats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run, Howe Sound Local Health Area
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008– Page 1
Table 2: Adults Age 55+ by Ten-Year Age Groups, 2007 and 2027
55–64
65–74
75–84
85+
LHA
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
Howe Sound
2,925
6,861
134.6%
1,323
4,660
252.2%
648
2,130
228.7%
212
724
241.5%
LM/SS
253,683
413,066
62.8%
144,074
348,151
141.6%
96,917
193,030
99.2%
39,313
69,205
76.0%
Source: BC Stats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run
Table 2 presents Howe Sound area adults 55 and up in ten-year age groups between 2007 and 2027. The aging of the baby boom generation
can be seen in the age 65-74 and 75-84 groups, which will soar by more than 200% over the next two decades.
Table 3: Seniors by 5-Year Age Groups 2007
65–69
70–74
75–79
80–84
85–89
90+
Total
155
57
2,183
25,411
13,902
280,304
0.4%
0.8%
Howe Sound
771
552
396
252
LM/SS
78,722
65,352
55,706
41,211
Howe Sound’s Share of LMSS
1.0%
0.8%
0.7%
0.6%
0.6%
Source: BC Stats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run
Table 3 and the accompanying pie chart show seniors in the area by five-year age groups in 2007. Six in ten seniors in Howe Sound are currently in the younger age 65-74 cohort.
Older adults residing on their own are generally
more vulnerable and likely to be in need of more
in-home support services. According to the Census, 26.8% (or 330) of Squamish seniors, 6.4%
(75) of Whistler, and 7.3% (20) of Pemberton
seniors in private households lived alone in
2006. The figure for Squamish is comparable to
the percentage of seniors living alone in Ridge
Meadows and Burnaby.
Howe Sound LHA Seniors Age 65+, 2007
In 2006, the incidence of low income2 among
older adults age 65 and up in Squamish was
13.4%, much lower than the comparable figure
of 20.8% for the Lower Mainland. In the same
year, 2.2% of Howe Sound seniors received
the maximum Government Income Supplement
(GIS) — 2.7% of female and 1.8% of male
seniors.
According to the 2006 Census, for which no
immigrant seniors’ data is yet available, immigrants made up 21% of the population in
Squamish, 15.7% in Whistler and 16.7% in
Pemberton. Newcomers (or immigrants arriving
between 2001 and 2006) accounted for 18.6%
of Squamish’s immigrants, 19.2% of Whistler’s,
and 30.6% of Pemberton’s. The majority of recent immigrants in the Sea to Sky Corridor were
from Asia, Oceania (Australia, New Zealand),
and Europe. After English, the languages spoken
most often at home in area’s households are
Punjabi, French, and Chinese.
Source: BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E. 32 Projection Run, Howe Sound Local Health Area
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008– Page 2
Table 4: Seniors’ Service Organizations by Local Health Area
Number of Listings
% Share of LM/SS
Listings
Number of Seniors in
2007
% Share of Seniors’ Pop.
Vancouver
85
45.0
77,297
27.6
Surrey/White Rock
22
11.6
52,747
18.8
Burnaby
18
9.5
28,111
10.0
Richmond
9
4.8
23,132
8.3
Tri-Cities
7
3.7
20,214
7.2
North Vancouver
12
6.3
17,852
6.4
Langley
6
3.2
16,112
5.7
Delta
7
3.7
13,452
4.8
West Vancouver/Bowen Island
6
3.2
11,041
3.9
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows
7
3.7
10,153
3.6
New Westminster
5
2.6
8,010
2.9
Squamish/Whistler/Pemberton
5
2.6
2,183
0.8
Total
189
100
280,304
100.0
Source: Information Services Vancouver,
Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008), and BCStats
Services for Seniors
In 2008 the Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland, published by Information Services Vancouver, contained the
names of nearly 190 organizations in the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area that currently offer services focusing on seniors. (Agencies conducting such services from more than one location are listed more than once in the Red Book, so an agency with a main office and two branch
locations has three listings, for example.)
Table 4 presents the Red Book listings of seniors’ organizations for LHAs throughout the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area. Close to half of the
listings (85, or 45%) are located in Vancouver, a sign of the city’s role as seniors’ service hub for the region. The table also gives an indication of the current match between the size of the seniors’ population and the number of seniors’ agencies in the various communities. Only in
Vancouver does the share of seniors’ agencies significantly exceed the city’s share of the region’s population over 65.
With five listings, or 2.6% of the total, Howe Sound’s proportion of seniors’ service agencies is slightly greater than its modest share of the
region’s seniors (less than 1%).
The seniors’ agencies and branch operations based in Howe Sound provide a very narrow range of services. Table 5 ranks the LHA’s seniors’
services by type. (For the classification of services used in this research, see Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services.)
The Sea to Sky communities have the fewest and most narrow range of seniors’ services available in the region – health support, in-home
support services (comprising only personal care), counseling and assistance, and information, directories and referrals. The area has no multiactivity programs, and is without a large number of other seniors’ services as well.
Some seniors’ organizations offer services in other communities, across Metro Vancouver, the Lower Mainland/Southwestern BC or provincewide. The distribution of this full scope of services across Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky municipalities is presented in Table 8 of the companion
report, Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services.
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008– Page 3
Table 5: Seniors’ Service Listings by Type
LM/SS
Howe Sound
% of Howe Sound
% of LM/SS
Health Support Services
50
4
50.0
8.0
In-home Support Services
58
2
25.0
3.4
Counselling and Assistance
46
1
12.5
2.2
Information, Directories, Referral
37
1
12.5
2.7
Advocacy
15
0
0.0
0.0
Education and Training
12
0
0.0
0.0
4
0
0.0
0.0
Multi-Activity Programs
97
0
0.0
0.0
Transportation
13
0
0.0
0.0
Ethnocultural Service Focus
38
0
0.0
0.0
Language Services
23
0
0.0
0.0
393
8
100.0
2.0
Financial Assistance/Income Support
Total
Source: Information Services Vancouver,
Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008).
Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton Red Book Listings
Health Support Services
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority - North Shore/Coast Garibaldi
Counseling & Assistance
Sea to Sky Community Services Society
Information, Directories & Referral
Sea to Sky Community Services Society
In-Home Services: Personal Care
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority - North Shore/Coast Garibaldi
Endnotes
1The BCStats’ PEOPLE Population Projections in this report are based on Local Health Areas (LHAs) which form part of larger regional Health Service Delivery and Health Authority Areas. The Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area is
composed of Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health Authorities, and the following LHAs: Burnaby, Coquitlam (including the Tri-Cities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, as well as the Villages of Anmore and Belcarra),
Delta, Howe Sound (including Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton), Langley (City and Township), Maple Ridge (including Pitt Meadows), New Westminster, North Vancouver (City and District), Richmond, Surrey (including White
Rock), Vancouver, and West Vancouver-Bowen Island.
2The terms poverty line and low income here refer to the measure most commonly used as a proxy for poverty--Statistics Canada’s Low Income Cut-offs (LICOs). These define an income threshold, based on family expenditures,
below which families or individuals spend more than the average on basic necessities. The LICO figures cited here are based on income before tax.
Sources: Statistics Canada 2006 Census; BCStats, P.E.O.P.L.E. 32 Projection Run and 2006 Census, Socio-Economic Profiles and Profiles of Immigrants and of Diversity in BC 2006; and Information Services Vancouver, Red Book
Directory of Services (2008)
Report prepared by Mayling Stubbs for United Way of the Lower Mainland (2008)
United Way of the Lower Mainland / November 2008
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008– Page 4
Moving Towards Age-Friendly Communities.
SURREY / WHITE ROCK
Seniors and Seniors’ Services
Older adults age 65 and up will more than double in the Surrey Local Health Area1 over the
next two decades. The 140% increase in the seniors’ population in Surrey and White Rock
projected for 2027 is considerably higher than the %118 increase expected across the Lower
Mainland/Sea to Sky area.
Summary
The Census reminds us that the Surrey Local Health Area is made up of two very different municipalities. Surrey, with nearly 400,000 residents in 2006, accounted for 19% of the region’s
population, while White Rock, with 18,755 residents, represented a mere 1%.
This report, along with its companion, Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services, provides a summary of current and projected future population figures for
seniors, based on Canada’s 2006 Census and estimates by BCStats for Local Health Areas in
the region. It also offers a preliminary overview of seniors’ services, in terms of the approximate number, type and municipal location. For this data, the report draws upon Vancouver
Information Services’ Red Book as the most current region-wide source available. An Atlas
of Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services accompanies the two
reports. It is hoped that this material will prompt further analysis, discussion and planning for
the services required to meet the demands of an aging population.
Seniors
In 2007 the Surrey Local Health Area represented nearly one-fifth (19.4%) of all Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky residents, making it the second largest Local Health Area in the region. As
Table 1 shows, the total population will rise by almost 42% over the next two decades. This
growth rate is higher than the broader area’s expected increase of 30% over this period.
The area’s 2007 share of seniors as a portion of its total population in each of the age categories in Table 1 is currently lower than the distribution for the region. By 2027, however, it
will approximate more closely the situation in the region, with seniors 65 and up accounting
for one in five total residents, and the older age groups (75+ and 85+) making up around 9%
and 2% respectively. The current median age of 37.7 (half of the population is below this age
and half above) will rise to 43.9 by 2027. The median age at death is now 80.
The Surrey/White Rock area has the second largest number of seniors in the region after Vancouver. Nearly one in five
seniors in the Lower Mainland/Sea to
Sky area reside in the two communities.
Only Vancouver has more, with 27.6%
of the region’s total. Growth projections
for the communities’ 65+ population
in the next 20 years call for the largest
addition of seniors in the region – over
74,000 people. While White Rock has
long had a significant concentration
of older adults, Surrey’s population is
now aging too. The proportion of older
adults living in poverty is lower than the
regional average in both communities.
However, where Surrey has the lowest
percentage of live-alone seniors in the
Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area, White
Rock has the second highest, after
Langley City. A shortfall of seniors’ services currently exists in the area – when
combined, Surrey and White Rock have
a much smaller share of seniors’ services
than their share of the regional seniors’
population. The anticipated growth of
older adults in the area calls for more
services to meet the demands of an aging population.
Table 1: Surrey LHA Seniors’ Population
Total Pop.
2007
2017
2027
%
%
%
2007-2017
2007-2027
21.9
41.8
444,470
100.0
65+
52,747
75+
25,049
85+
7,053
% Change
541,749
100.0
630,356
100.0
11.9
83,083
15.3
127,026
20.2
57.5
140.8
5.6
34,583
6.4
55,904
8.9
38.1
123.2
1.6
10,748
2.0
14,731
2.3
52.4
108.9
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run, Surrey LHA
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 1
Table 2: Adults Age 55+ by Ten-Year Age Groups, 2007 and 2027
55-64
65-74
75-84
85+
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
Surrey
48,471
85,871
77.2%
27,698
71,122
156.8%
17,996
41,173
128.8%
7,053
14,731
108.9%
LM/SS
253,683
413,066
62.8%
144,074
348,151
141.6%
96,917
193,030
99.2%
39,313
69,205
76.0%
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run
Table 2 presents Surrey Local Health Area adults age 55 and up in ten-year age groups between 2007 and 2027. The aging of the baby boom
generation can be seen in the age 65-74 group, which will experience a significant increase of 142% in the region – and even more so in the
Surrey Local Health Area (157%) – over the next two decades.
Table 3: Seniors by Five-Year Age Groups, 2007
65-69
70-74
75-79
80-84
85-89
90+
Total
Surrey
15,337
12,361
10,258
7,738
4,578
2,475
52,747
LM/SS
78,722
65,352
55,706
41,211
25,411
13,902
280,304
Surrey’s Share
19.5%
18.9%
18.4%
18.8%
18.0%
17.8%
18.8%
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run
Table 3 and the pie chart below show seniors in the area by five-year age groups in 2007. Adults aged 65-74 make up just over half of all
seniors.
In Surrey, immigration patterns and affordable housing have resulted in
a relatively youthful population compared with other communities in the
region. White Rock, on the other hand, has long been home to a growing
seniors’ population. In 2006 the median age in the City of Surrey was 37,
compared with 51.3 for White Rock. Those aged 65 and up accounted
for 11% of Surrey’s total population, while making up more than double
that proportion – no less than one quarter (25%) – of all White Rock
residents.
Surrey / White Rock
LHA Seniors Age 65+, 2007
In 2006, the incidence of low income2 amongst adults 65+ was 16.4%
in Surrey and 12.7% in White Rock, lower in both cases than the 20.8%
average for the Lower Mainland. In the same year, 5.1% of Surrey LHA
seniors received the maximum Government Income Supplement (GIS) —
5.5% of female seniors and 4.6% of male seniors.
Older adults residing on their own are generally more vulnerable and
likely to be in need of more in-home support services. According to the
Census, just over one in five (20.7%, or 8,995) Surrey seniors and 42.4%
Source: BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E. 32 Projection Run, Surrey Local Health Area
(1,935) of White Rock seniors in private households lived alone in 2006.
These figures place Surrey amongst communities like Richmond (20%)
and Port Moody (22.2%) with the lowest percentages of live-alone
seniors in the region, and White Rock amongst those with the very highest, like Langley City (43%).
According to the 2006 Census, for which no data on immigrant seniors is yet available, immigrants made up 38% (over 150,000 individuals)
of the population in Surrey and 24% (4,430 individuals) in White Rock. Of these immigrants, the Census states, 11.5% in Surrey and 2% in
White Rock had knowledge of neither English nor French. One in five of the Surrey immigrants and one in eight White Rock immigrants were
newcomers, having arrived in their respective communities between 2001 and 2006. Over half of Surrey’s recent immigrants are from India
and the Philippines while the same proportion in White Rock come from a variety of Asian countries. After English, the languages spoken
most often at home by Surrey residents are Punjabi (15%), Chinese (3%) and Korean (2%). In White Rock, English accounts for 93% of home
languages, with small representations of Korean (2%) and Chinese (2%).
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 2
Table 4: Seniors’ Service Organizations by Local Health Area
Number of Listings
% Share of LM/SS Listings
Number of Seniors in 2007
% Share of Seniors’ Pop.
Vancouver
85
45.0
77,297
27.6
Surrey/White Rock
22
11.6
52,747
18.8
Burnaby
18
9.5
28,111
10.0
Richmond
9
4.8
23,132
8.3
Tri-Cities
7
3.7
20,214
7.2
North Vancouver
12
6.3
17,852
6.4
Langley
6
3.2
16,112
5.7
Delta
7
3.7
13,452
4.8
West Vancouver/Bowen Island
6
3.2
11,041
3.9
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows
7
3.7
10,153
3.6
New Westminster
5
2.6
8,010
2.9
Squamish/Whistler/Pemberton
5
2.6
2,183
0.8
Total
189
100.0
280,304
100.0
Information Services Vancouver, Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008) and BCStats
Services for seniors
In 2008 the Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower
Mainland, published by Information Services Vancouver, contained
the names of nearly 190 organizations in the Lower Mainland/Sea to
Sky area that currently offer services focusing on seniors. (Agencies
conducting such services from more than one location are listed more
than once in the Red Book, so an agency with a main office and
two branch locations has three listings, for example.)
Table 4 presents the Red Book listings of seniors’ organizations for
LHAs in the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area. Close to half of the listings (85, or 45%) are located in Vancouver, a sign of the city’s role as
seniors’ service hub for the region. The table also gives an indication
of the current match between the size of the seniors’ population and
the number of seniors’ agencies in the various communities. Only in
Vancouver does the share of seniors’ agencies significantly exceed
the city’s share of the region’s population over 65.
With 22 agency listings, or 11.6% of the total, the Surrey LHA’s
proportion of services is lower than its share of the region’s seniors’
population (18.8%). This puts it in the same category as Richmond,
the Tri-Cities, and Langley – communities with a shortage of seniors’
agencies given the size of the population they serve.
The seniors’ agencies and branch operations based in the Surrey LHA
each provide one or more types of service. Table 5 ranks the LHA’s
seniors’ services by type. For the classification of services used in this
research, see Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services.)
Like most communities, multi-activity programs are the most common
type of seniors’ service in the Surrey/White Rock area. There are
three listings for in-home support services, including one each for
social supports and personal care, and two for meal preparation and
delivery. In fact, most seniors’ services are available in the area. All
the ethno-cultural and language services for seniors in the area are
located in Surrey.
Some seniors’ organizations offer services in other communities,
across Metro Vancouver, the Lower Mainland/Southwestern BC or
province-wide. For the distribution of this full scope of services across
the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area, see Table 8 in the companion
report, Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’
Services.
As that table shows, because Surrey/White Rock seniors are served
by agencies in adjacent communities as well, the total number of
services available increases from 41 to 49. Even so, the number of seniors’ services remains well below the communities’ combined share
of the region’s seniors (18.8%).
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 3
Table 5: Seniors’ Service Listings by Type
LM/SS
Surrey
% of Surrey
% of LM/SS
Multi-Activity Programs
97
12
29.3
12.4
In-home Support Services
58
8
19.5
13.8
Information, Directories, Referral
37
4
9.8
10.8
Counseling and Assistance
46
3
7.3
6.5
Ethno-cultural Service Focus
38
3
7.3
7.9
Language Services
23
3
7.3
13.0
Advocacy
15
2
4.9
13.3
Education and Training
12
2
4.9
16.7
Health Support Services
50
2
4.9
4.0
Transportation (excluding HandyDart)
13
2
4.9
15.4
Financial Assistance
4
0
0.0
0.0
Total
393
41
100.0
10.4
Surrey and White Rock Red Book Listings
Multi-Activity Programs
Crescent Beach Community Services at Camp
Alexandra
DiverseCity Community Resources Society
Progressive Intercultural
Community Services Society
Surrey Delta Indo Canadian Seniors Society
Surrey Parks, Recreation and Culture Dept.
White Rock/Surrey Come Share Society
White Rock Leisure Services
In-Home Services: Personal Care
Fraser Health Authority
In-Home Services: Meal Prep & Delivery
Surrey-North Delta Meals on Wheels Society
White Rock Meals on Wheels
In-Home Services: Social Supports
Progressive Intercultural Community Services
Society
Information Services Vancouver, Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008)
White Rock/Surrey Come Share Society
Peace Arch Community Services
Counseling & Assistance
Fraser Health Authority
Peace Arch Community Services
Progressive Intercultural Community Services
Society
Surrey Delta Indo Canadian Seniors Society
Surrey Parks, Recreation and Culture Dept.
Information, Directories & Referral
DiverseCity Community Resources Society
Surrey Parks, Recreation and Culture Dept.
White Rock/Surrey Come Share Society
White Rock Leisure Services
Ethno-cultural & Language Services
Progressive Intercultural
Community Services Society
(Solely European Community; English as a second language, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu)
Surrey Delta Indo Canadian Seniors Society
(South Asian; Hindi, Punjabi)
DiverseCity Community Resources Society
English Classes – CAAPRI – (Solely European
Community; English as a second language)
Advocacy
Council of Senior Citizens’ Organizations of BC
Progressive Intercultural Community Services
Society
Education & Training
DiverseCity Community Resources Society
Surrey Crime Prevention Society
Health Support Services
Fraser Health Authority
Transportation
White Rock/Surrey Come Share Society
Endnotes
1The BCStats’ PEOPLE Population Projections in this report are based on Local Health Areas (LHAs) which form part of larger regional Health Service Delivery and Health Authority Areas. The Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area is
composed of Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health Authorities, and the following LHAs: Burnaby, Coquitlam (including the Tri-Cities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, as well as the Villages of Anmore and Belcarra),
Delta, Howe Sound (including Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton), Langley (City and Township), Maple Ridge (including Pitt Meadows), New Westminster, North Vancouver (City and District), Richmond, Surrey (including White
Rock), Vancouver, and West Vancouver-Bowen Island.
2The terms poverty line and low income here refer to the measure most commonly used as a proxy for poverty – Statistics Canada’s Low Income Cut-offs (LICOs). These define an income threshold, based on family expenditures,
below which families or individuals spend more than the average on basic necessities. The LICO figures cited here are based on income before tax.
Sources: Statistics Canada 2006 Census; BCStats, P.E.O.P.L.E. 32 Projection Run and 2006 Census, Socio-Economic Profiles and Profiles of Immigrants and of Diversity in BC 2006; and Information Services Vancouver, Red Book
Directory of Services (2008)
Report prepared by Mayling Stubbs for United Way of the Lower Mainland (2008)
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 4
Moving Towards Age-Friendly Communities.
TRI-CITIES
Seniors and Seniors’ Services
The Coquitlam Local Health Area1, better known as the Tri-Cities, will see a dramatic rise in
the number of seniors over the next two decades. The population of adults 65 years of age
and over is projected to increase by nearly 190% over this period — far outpacing the gain of
118% expected across the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area as a whole.
The Tri-Cities’ nearly 210,000 residents represented 9.2% of the total Lower Mainland/Sea
to Sky area population in 2007. The City of Coquitlam accounted for 55% of this population,
Port Coquitlam 26%, Port Moody 13% and the Villages of Anmore and Belcarra much smaller
percentages. The Tri-Cities’ population is expected to increase by over 40% in the next 20
years — a growth rate higher than the 30% increase projected for the region as a whole.
This report, along with its companion, Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services, provides a summary of current and projected future population figures for
seniors, based on Canada’s 2006 Census and estimates by BCStats for Local Health Areas in
the region. It also offers a preliminary overview of seniors’ services, in terms of the approximate number, type and municipal location. For this data, the report draws upon Vancouver
Information Services’ Red Book as the most current region-wide source available. An Atlas
of Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services accompanies the two
reports. It is hoped that this material will prompt further analysis, discussion and planning for
the services required to meet the demands of an aging population.
Seniors
The Tri-Cities is a relatively youthful and rapidly growing community. The expected growth of
its seniors’ population is mirrored by the higher than average rate of expansion anticipated in
the area’s total population.
Summary
While the Tri-Cities area currently has
a lower-than-average share of seniors
amongst its population, within two
decades the number of older adults will
rise dramatically. In fact, the Tri-Cities
will see the second highest percentage
gains in the over 65 population in the
Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area, behind
the communities of Howe Sound. Its
growth in the oldest age groups is also
forecast to be very high compared to
other parts of the region. The Tri-Cities’
share of senior’s services is much lower
than its share of the region’s seniors’
population and the range of services
available to the community’s older
adults is quite limited. The growth projections for the 65+ and 85+ segments
of the population call for more services
to meet the demands of an aging population.
The share of older adults as a portion of the Tri-Cities total population is currently lower
in each of the age categories 65+, 75+ and 85+ than that found in the region (see Table
1). This will remain until 2027, when adults 65 and up will account for one in five Tri-Cities
residents, and the older age groups (75+ and 85+) will make up around 8% and 2% respectively.
The current median age in the TriCities is 38.7 (half of the population is below this age and
half is above), a figure expected to rise to 44.1 by 2027. The median age at death is now
76.7.
Table 1: Coquitlam LHA Seniors’ Population
2007
2017
2027
%
%
%
% Change
2007-2017
2007-2027
Total Pop.
209,907
100.0
257,536
100.0
298,887
100.0
22.7
42.4
65+
20,214
9.6
34,397
13.4
58,178
19.5
70.2
187.8
75+
8,740
4.2
13,482
5.2
23,081
7.7
54.3
164.1
85+
2,288
1.1
4,256
1.7
6,234
2.1
86.0
172.5
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run, Coquitlam LHA
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008– Page 1
Table 2: Adults Age 55+ by Ten-Year Age Groups, 2007 and 2027
55-64
65-74
75-84
85+
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
Coquitlam
22,171
42,387
91.2
11,474
35,097
205.9
6,452
16,847
161.1
2,288
6,234
172.5
LM/SS
253,683
413,066
62.8
144,074
348,151
141.6
96,917
193,030
99.2
39,313
69,205
76.0
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run
Table 2 presents Coquitlam LHA adults age 55 and up in ten-year age groups between 2007 and 2027. The aging of the baby boom generation can be seen in the 65-74 and 75-84 age groups, which will soar by more than 200% and 160% respectively over the next two decades.
The LHA will see lesser but equally significant increases in the number of seniors aged 75+ and 85+.
Table 3: Seniors by Five-Year Age Groups, 2007
65-69
70-74
75-79
80-84
85-89
90+
Total
Coquitlam
6,442
5,032
3,807
2,645
1,526
762
20,214
LM/SS
78,722
65,352
55,706
41,211
25,411
13,902
280,304
Coquitlam’s Share
8.2%
7.7%
6.8%
6.4%
6.0%
5.5%
7.2%
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run
Table 3 and the accompanying pie chart show seniors in the area by five-year age groups in
2007. Adults aged 65-74 make up just over half of all seniors.
Older adults residing on their own are generally more vulnerable and likely to be in need of more in-home support services.
According to the Census, one-quarter (24.9%, or 2,980) of
Coquitlam seniors, 24.1% (1,015) of Port Coquitlam’s, and 22.2%
(465) of Port Moody’s seniors in private households lived alone
in 2006. This places the LHA close to communities like Surrey and
Richmond that have the lowest proportion of live-alone seniors in
the region.
Tri-Cities LHA Seniors Age 65+, 2007
In 2006, the incidence of low income2 among adults age 65
and up was 21.6% in Coquitlam, 18.3% in Port Coquitlam, and
12.7% in Port Moody, compared with the average rate of 20.8%
for the region. In the same year, 1.9% of the LHA’s seniors
received the maximum Government Income Supplement (GIS)—
2.3% of female seniors and 1.3% of male seniors.
According to the 2006 Census, for which seniors’ data is not yet
available, immigrants made up 39.2% of the population of Coquitlam, 28% of Port Coquitlam, and 29.3% of Port Moody. Of
Source: BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E. 32 Projection Run, Coquitlam Local Health Area
these immigrants, the Census states, 8.4% in Coquitlam, 6.2%
in Port Coquitlam, and 3.7% in Port Moody had knowledge of
neither English nor French. Newcomers (immigrants arriving between 2001 and 2006) accounted for 20% of Coquitlam immigrant population, 14% of Port
Coquitlam’s, and 19% of Port Moody’s. The majority of recent immigrants in the Tri-Cities
are from Asia. After English, the languages most often spoken in the home in Coquitlam
are Chinese (11.5%), Korean (4.7%) and Persian (Farsi) (2.7%). In Port Coquitlam and Port
Moody, the non-English languages most often spoken in the home are Chinese (5.8% and
3.8% respectively) and Korean (2.1% and 3.6% respectively).
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008– Page 2
Table 4: Seniors’ Service Organizations by Local Health Area
Number of Listings
% Share of LM/SS Listings
Number of Seniors in 2007
% Share of Seniors’ Pop.
Vancouver
85
45.0
77,297
27.6
Surrey/White Rock
22
11.6
52,747
18.8
Burnaby
18
9.5
28,111
10.0
Richmond
9
4.8
23,132
8.3
Tri-Cities
7
3.7
20,214
7.2
North Vancouver
12
6.3
17,852
6.4
Langley
6
3.2
16,112
5.7
Delta
7
3.7
13,452
4.8
West Vancouver/Bowen Island
6
3.2
11,041
3.9
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows
7
3.7
10,153
3.6
New Westminster
5
2.6
8,010
2.9
Squamish/Whistler/Pemberton
5
2.6
2,183
0.8
Total
189
100.0
280,304
100.0
Information Services Vancouver, Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008) and BCStats
Services for seniors
In 2008 the Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland, published by Information Services Vancouver, contained the
names of nearly 190 organizations in the Lower Mainland and Sea to Sky area that offer services focusing on seniors. (Agencies conducting
services from more than one location are listed more than once in the Red Book, so an agency with a main office and two branch locations
has three listings, for example.)
Table 4 presents the Red Book listings of seniors’ organizations for LHAs in the region. Close to half of the listings (85, or 45%) are located in
Vancouver, a sign of the city’s role as seniors’ service hub for the region. The table also gives an indication of the current match between the
size of the seniors’ population and the number of seniors’ agencies in the various communities. Only in Vancouver does the share of seniors’
agencies significantly exceed the city’s share of the region’s population over 65.
With seven listings, or 3.7% of the total, Tri-City seniors’ service agencies represent approximately half of the Local Health Area’s share of the
region’s seniors’ population (7.2%). This puts it in the same category as Surrey and White Rock, Richmond, and Langley – communities with a
shortage of seniors’ services given the size of the population they serve.
The seniors’ agencies and branch operations based in the Tri-Cities each provide one or more types of service. Table 5 ranks the number of
seniors’ services by type. (For the classification of services used in this research, see Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’
Services.
Like most communities, multi-activity programs are the most common type of seniors’ service in the Tri-Cities (just over one-third of its listings). In-home support services combined account for one-fifth of its listings. This category includes household services (for which there are no
listings in the Tri-Cities), as well as meal preparation and delivery, social supports, and personal care (for which there is one listing each).
Some seniors’ organizations offer services in other communities, across Metro Vancouver, the Lower Mainland/Southwestern BC or provincewide. The distribution of this full scope of services across Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky municipalities is presented in Table 8 of the companion
report, Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008– Page 3
Table 5: Seniors’ Service Listings by Type
LM/SS
Coquitlam
% of Coquitlam
% of LM/SS
Multi-Activity Programs
97
5
35.7
5.2
In-home Support Services
58
3
21.4
5.2
Health Support Services
50
2
14.3
4.0
Counselling and Assistance
46
1
7.1
2.2
Information, Directories, Referral
37
1
7.1
2.7
Ethnocultural Service Focus
38
1
7.1
2.6
Language Services
23
1
7.1
4.3
Advocacy
15
0
0.0
0.0
Education and Training
12
0
0.0
0.0
Financial Assistance
4
0
0.0
0.0
Transportation (excluding HandyDart)
13
0
0.0
0.0
Total
393
14
100.0
3.6
Information Services Vancouver, Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008)
Tri-Cities Red Book Listings
Multi-Activity Programs
Coquitlam Leisure and Parks Services
Fraser Health Authority
Pinetree 50plus Society
Port Coquitlam Parks and Recreation Dept.
In-Home Services: Personal Care
Fraser Health Authority
In-Home Services: Meal Prep & Delivery
PoCoMo Meals on Wheels Society
In-Home Services: Social Supports
Port Coquitlam Parks and Recreation Dept.
Counseling & Assistance
Coquitlam Leisure and Parks Services
Ethno-cultural & Language Services
Coquitlam Leisure and Parks Services
Tri-Cities Seniors Peer Counseling (East and
South Asian; Cantonese, Mandarin
Health Support Services
Fraser Health Authority
Information, Directories & Referral
Port Coquitlam Parks and Recreation Dept.
Endnotes
1The BCStats’ PEOPLE Population Projections in this report are based on Local Health Areas (LHAs) which form part of larger regional Health Service Delivery and Health Authority Areas. The Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area is
composed of Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health Authorities, and the following LHAs: Burnaby, Coquitlam (including the Tri-Cities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, as well as the Villages of Anmore and Belcarra),
Delta, Howe Sound (including Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton), Langley (City and Township), Maple Ridge (including Pitt Meadows), New Westminster, North Vancouver (City and District), Richmond, Surrey (including White
Rock), Vancouver, and West Vancouver-Bowen Island.
2The terms poverty line and low income here refer to the measure most commonly used as a proxy for poverty--Statistics Canada’s Low Income Cut-offs (LICOs). These define an income threshold, based on family expenditures,
below which families or individuals spend more than the average on basic necessities. The LICO figures cited here are based on income before tax.
Sources: Statistics Canada 2006 Census; BCStats, P.E.O.P.L.E. 32 Projection Run and 2006 Census, Socio-Economic Profiles and Profiles of Immigrants and of Diversity in BC 2006; and Information Services Vancouver, Red Book
Directory of Services (2008)
Report prepared by Mayling Stubbs for United Way of the Lower Mainland (2008)
United Way of the Lower Mainland / November 2008
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008– Page 4
Moving Towards Age-Friendly Communities.
VANCOUVER
Seniors and Seniors’ Services
The Vancouver Local Health Area1 is home to over one in four older adults in the Lower
Mainland/Sea to Sky area, making it the largest concentration of seniors in the region. Over
the next two decades, the number of adults 65 and over in Vancouver (77,000) is expected to
increase by 82%. Dramatic as this rise is, the growth rate for the older population across the
region as a whole is much higher, at 118%.
This report, along with its companion, Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services, provides a summary of current and projected future population figures for
seniors, based on Canada’s 2006 Census and estimates by BCStats for Local Health Areas in
the region. It also offers a preliminary overview of seniors’ services, in terms of the approximate number, type and municipal location. For this data, the report draws upon Vancouver
Information Services’ Red Book as the most current region-wide source available. An Atlas
of Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services accompanies the two
reports. It is hoped that this material will prompt further analysis, discussion and planning for
the services required to meet the demands of an aging population.
Seniors
The total population of Vancouver, which now accounts for just over one-quarter of all Lower
Mainland/Sea to Sky residents, is expected to rise by 16% over the next two decades – an
increase much lower than the 30% lift forecast for the region. This compares to the 82%
increase projected for the city’s seniors’ population over the same period.
Vancouver’s share of seniors as a portion of its total population in 2007 is slightly higher in
each of the age categories than the region’s share – a situation that reverses by 2027, when
the city’s share is slightly lower than that of the region.
For the ten-year period 2007 to 2017, the number of Vancouver adults age 65 and up is
expected to rise by almost 30%, from 77,300 to 100,300, while the city’s share of the region’s older adult population will fall slightly, from 27.6% to 24.5%. Similarly, the number of
Vancouver adults age 80+ will increase by 18.6%, from 23,000 to 27,300, while its share of
seniors in this category will decline slightly, from 28.6% to 26.2%.
Summary
While the general population in Vancouver is expected to increase by 16% over
the next two decades, the number of
older adults in the city will rise by more
than 80% to total over 140,000. While
the growth of the seniors’ population
in Vancouver is lower than the regional
average of 118%, the number of people
moving into the 65 and over age group
is the second largest in the Lower
Mainland/Sea to Sky area after Surrey/
White Rock. Vancouver currently has the
second highest proportion of low-income seniors in the region – more than
a quarter live below the poverty line.
The city clearly functions as the regional
hub for seniors’ services. It has nearly
half the region’s listings and these cover
the full spectrum of service types. The
city has the majority of multi-activity
programs in the region, half the region’s
health support services, nearly half of
its counseling and assistance services,
and the majority of seniors’ services
related to financial assistance, education
and training, and advocacy. In short,
Vancouver’s share of seniors’ service listings is far greater than its share of the
regional seniors’ population. The growth
forecast for its population 65 and over
calls for yet more services to meet the
demands of its aging population.
Table 1: Vancouver LHA Seniors’ Population
2007
2017
%
2027
%
2007-2017
2007-2027
628,286
100.0
688,723
100.0
729,969
100.0
9.6
16.2
65+
77,297
12.3
100,356
14.6
140,406
19.2
29.8
81.6
75+
38,964
6.2
43,001
6.2
59,556
8.2
10.4
52.8
85+
11,640
1.9
14,818
2.2
16,099
2.2
27.3
38.3
Total Pop.
%
% Change
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run, Vancouver LHA
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 1
Table 2: Adults Age 55+ by Ten-Year Age Groups, 2007 and 2027
55-64
2007
2027
% Chg
65-74
2007
2027
% Chg
75-84
2007
2027
% Chg
85+
2007
2027
% Chg
Vancouver
65,465
101,613
55.2
38,333
80,850
110.9
27,324
43,457
59.0
11,640
16,099
38.3
LM/SS
253,683
413,066
62.8
144,074
348,151
141.6
96,917
193,030
99.2
39,313
69,205
76.0
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run
Table 2 presents Vancouver adults age 55 and up in ten-year age groups between 2007 and 2027. The aging of the baby boom generation
can be seen in the age 65-74 group, which will experience the greatest increase both in Vancouver (111%) and region-wide (142%) over the
next two decades.
Table 3: Seniors by Five-Year Age Groups, 2007
65-69
70-74
75-79
80-84
85-89
90+
Total
Vancouver
20,484
17,849
15,936
11,388
7,122
4,518
77,297
LM/SS
78,722
65,352
55,706
41,211
25,411
13,902
280,304
Vancouver’s Share
26.0%
27.3%
28.6%
27.6%
28.0%
32.5%
27.6%
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run
Table 3 and the accompanying pie chart show older adults in Vancouver by five-year age
groups in 2007. Adults aged 65-74 make up exactly half of all seniors.
The current median age in Vancouver of 37.8 (half of the population is
below this age and half above) will rise to 40.5 by 2017 and to 44.3 by
2027. The corresponding figures for the median age at death are 79.8,
80.3 and 79.3.
Vancouver LHA Seniors Age 65+, 2007
Older adults residing on their own are generally more vulnerable and
likely to be in need of more in-home support services. According to the
Census, over one quarter (29%, or 10,605) of City of Vancouver seniors
in private households lived alone in 2006. This is roughly average for
the region where the range is from a low of 20% senior live-alones in
Richmond to a high of 43% in Langley City.
In 2006, the incidence of low income2 among adults age 65 and up in
Vancouver was 26.7%, compared with 20.8% for the Lower Mainland.
In the same year, 8.3% of Vancouver seniors received the maximum
Government Income Supplement (GIS) — 9.6% of female seniors and
6.6% of male seniors.
According to the 2006 Census, for which immigrant seniors’ data is
Source: BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E. 32 Projection Run, Vancouver Local Health Area
not yet available, 45% of Vancouver’s total population is immigrants.
Nearly 17% of the city’s immigrant population (or 43,470 individuals) are
newcomers, having arrived between 2001 and 2006. The majority (60%)
of recent immigrants are from Mainland China, the Philippines, Southern Asia and India.
After English, the languages spoken most often at home by Vancouver residents are Chinese
(20.4%), Punjabi (2%), Vietnamese (1.5%), Filipino (1.5%), and Korean (1.1%).3 The Census
states that 15% of all immigrants in Vancouver have knowledge of neither English nor French.
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 2
Table 4: Seniors’ Service Organizations by Local Health Area
Number of Listings % Share of LM/SS Listings
Number of Seniors in 2007
% Share of Seniors’ Pop.
Vancouver
85
45.0
77,297
27.6%
Surrey/White Rock
22
11.6
52,747
18.8
Burnaby
18
9.5
28,111
10.0
Richmond
9
4.8
23,132
8.3
Tri-Cities
7
3.7
20,214
7.2
North Vancouver
12
6.3
17,852
6.4
Langley
6
3.2
16,112
5.7
Delta
7
3.7
13,452
4.8
West Vancouver/Bowen Island
6
3.2
11,041
3.9
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows
7
3.7
10,153
3.6
New Westminster
5
2.6
8,010
2.9
Squamish/Whistler/Pemberton
5
2.6
2,183
0.8
Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky
189
100.0
280,304
100.0
Information Services Vancouver, Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008) and BCStats
Services for Seniors
In 2008 the Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower
Mainland, published by Information Services Vancouver, contained
the names of nearly 190 listings organizations in the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area that currently offer services focusing on seniors.
(Agencies conducting services from more than one location are listed
more than once in the Red Book, so an agency with a main office
and two branch locations has three listings, for example).
of Vancouver’s seniors’ service by type. (For the classification of
services used in this research, see Lower Mainland/ Sea to Sky
Seniors and Seniors’ Services.)
Table 4 presents the Red Book listings of seniors’ organizations
for LHAs in the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area. Close to half the
listings are located in Vancouver, a sign of the city’s role as seniors’
service hub for the region.
Like most communities, multi-activity groups are the most numerous
seniors’ service in Vancouver (just over one-quarter of its listings).
The city also has several locations devoted to health support services
such as adult day programs and mental health centres, in fact half
of all such services in the region. The third most numerous service
category is counseling and assistance, where once again Vancouver
has nearly half of the regions’ services of this type. The city also provides the majority of seniors’ services related to financial assistance,
education and training, and advocacy in the Lower Mainland/Sea to
Sky area.
The table also gives an indication of the current match between the
size of the seniors’ population and the number of seniors’ agencies
in the various communities. Only in Vancouver does the share of
seniors’ agencies significantly exceed the city’s share of the region’s
population over 65.
With 85 agency listings, or 45% of the total, Vancouver’s proportion
of services is considerably higher than its current share of the region’s
seniors’ population.
The seniors’ agencies and branch operations based in Vancouver
each provide one or more types of service. Table 5 ranks the number
Vancouver is clearly the major hub for seniors’ services in the Lower
Mainland/Sea to Sky area. It has nearly half the region’s listings and
representation across the full spectrum of service types.
Some seniors’ organizations also offer services in other communities, across Metro Vancouver, the Lower Mainland/Southwestern BC
or province-wide. For the distribution of this full scope of services
across Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky municipalities, see Table 8 in the
companion report, Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and
Seniors’ Services.
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 3
Table 5: Seniors’ Service Listings by Type
LM/SS
Vancouver
% of Vancouver
% of LM/SS
Multi-Activity Programs
97
47
27.8
48.5
Health Support Services
50
26
15.4
52.0
Counseling and Assistance
46
22
13.0
47.8
In-home Support Services
58
17
10.1
29.3
Information, Directories, Referral
37
14
8.3
37.8
Ethno-cultural Service Focus
38
10
5.9
26.3
Language Services
23
10
5.9
43.5
Advocacy
15
9
5.3
60.0
Education and Training
12
8
4.7
66.7
Financial Assistance
4
3
1.8
75.0
Transportation (excluding HandyDart)
13
3
1.8
23.1
Total
393
169
100.0
43.0
Information Services Vancouver, Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008)
Vancouver Red Book Listings
Multi-Activity Programs
411 Seniors Centre
ASK Friendship Society
Britannia Community Services Centre Society
Brock House Seniors Citizens Activity Centre
Cedar Cottage Neighbourhood House
Centre, The (LGTB Community Centre)
Chown Adult Day Centre
Continental Seniors Centre
Crossreach Seniors’ Day Centre
Downtown Eastside Residents’ Assn
Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre
Gordon Neighbourhood House
Health and Home Care Society of BC
Italian Cultural Centre Society
Japanese Community Volunteers’ Assn
Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver
Jewish Seniors Alliance of Greater Vancouver
Kiwassa Neighbourhood House
Lions Den Recreation Centre
Little Mountain Senior Live Wires
Marpole Oakridge Area Council Society
Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House
Native Courtworker and Counselling Assn of BC
New Leaf Friends
Oakridge Seniors Centre
Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture
Renfrew-Collingwood Seniors’ Society
Salvation Army
South Granville Seniors Centre
South Vancouver Neighbourhood House
SUCCESS Multi-Level Care Society
Sunset Indo-Canadian Seniors Society
Taoist Tai Chi Society of Canada
Vancouver (City)
Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre Society
Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation
Vancouver Second Mile Society
West End Seniors’ Network
Health Support Services
411 Seniors Centre
Health and Home Care Society of BC
Holy Family Hospital
Kitsilano Neighbourhood House
Native Courtworker and Counselling Assn of BC
New Roots Centre
Renfrew-Collingwood Seniors’ Society
Seniors Well Aware Program
SUCCESS Multi-Level Care Society
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority - Vancouver
Vancouver Community Mental Health Services
Vancouver General Hospital
Counseling & Assistance
BC Coalition to Eliminate Abuse of Seniors
Centre, The (LGTB Community Centre)
Downtown Eastside Residents’ Assn
Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre
Fedsinfo
Gordon Neighbourhood House
Holy Family Hospital
Japanese Community Volunteers’ Assn
Jewish Family Service Agency
Ken Lagasse Chartered Accounting
Kitsilano Neighbourhood House
Llowyn’s Legacy Foundation
Ministry of Attorney General and Minister Responsible
for Multiculturalism
Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House
Native Courtworker and Counselling Association of BC
Saint James Community Service Society
Seniors Well Aware Program
South Granville Seniors Centre
South Vancouver Neighbourhood House
Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority - Vancouver
West End Seniors’ Network
In-Home Services: Personal Care
Holy Family Hospital
Jewish Family Service Agency
South Vancouver Neighbourhood House
SUCCESS Multi-Level Care Society
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority - Vancouver
Vancouver General Hospital
In-Home Services: Meal Prep & Delivery
Health and Home Care Society of BC
Jewish Family Service Agency
In-Home Services: Social Supports
Britannia Community Services Centre Society
Chalmers Lodge
Japanese Community Volunteers’ Association
Jewish Family Service Agency
Information, Directories & Referral
411 Seniors Centre
BC Coalition to Eliminate Abuse of Seniors
Britannia Community Services Centre Society
Fedsinfo
Japanese Community Volunteers’ Assn
Little Mountain Senior Live Wires
Llowyn’s Legacy Foundation
South Granville Seniors Centre
South Vancouver Neighbourhood House
Vancouver (City)
Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority – Vancouver
Vancouver Second Mile Society
West End Seniors’ Network
Ethno-cultural & Language Services
411 Seniors Centre
Multicultural Resource Center (ESL, MAN, SPA)
Downtown Eastside Residents’ Assn
Senior Citizens’ Club (ESA, CHI)
Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre (ESA)
Health and Home Care Society of BC
Meals on Wheels (ESA)
Italian Cultural Centre Society
Drop-in Center for Seniors (EUR)
Japanese Community Volunteers’ Assn
Tonari Gumi – Social/Community Services
(ESA, PEC, JAP)
Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver
Jewish Seniors Program Dept. (ME, PEC)
L’Chaim Adult Day Center (ME)
Jewish Family Service Agency (JFSA) (ME, PEC)
Jewish Seniors Alliance of Greater Vancouver (JSA)
(ME, SEC)
Kiwassa Neighbourhood House
(AB, IM, PEC)
Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House
Seniors Services (ESL)
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 4
Moving Towards Age-Friendly Communities.
WEST VANCOUVER AND BOWEN ISLAND
Seniors and Seniors’ Services
Older adults in the West Vancouver-Bowen Island Local Health Area1 represent less than 4%
of all seniors in the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area. Their numbers are expected to increase
by half (from 11,000 to over 17,000) in the next two decades — a rate of increase much
lower than the regional growth rate for seniors of 118%. In 2027, older West Vancouverites will account for a smaller portion of the region’s seniors’ population than they do today
(2.8%). However, West Vancouver currently has the highest concentration of older adults in
the region – one in five residents are 65 plus. The projection for 20 years from now is that
almost one in three (30.4%) residents will fall in this age group.
This report, along with its companion, Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services, provides a summary of current and projected future population figures for
seniors, based on Canada’s 2006 Census and estimates by BCStats for Local Health Areas in
the region. It also offers a preliminary overview of seniors’ services, in terms of the approximate number, type and municipal location. For this data, the report draws upon Vancouver
Information Services’ Red Book as the most current region-wide source available. An Atlas
of Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services accompanies the two
reports. It is hoped that this material will prompt further analysis, discussion and planning for
the services required to meet the demands of an aging population.
Seniors
The West Vancouver Local Health Area is now home to 2.3% of all residents in the region,
making it one of the smallest areas by population size. The area includes Bowen Island, with
6.5% of the area’s total population, and Lions Bay, with 2.6%. As Table 1 shows, the Local
Health Area population is expected to rise by 9% over the next two decades. a much lower
growth rate than the broader region’s 30% increase.
West Vancouver’s share of seniors as a portion of its total population in 2007 is much higher
in each of the age categories in Table 1 than the distribution across the region, a situation
that intensifies by 2027. At that time older adults age 65 and up will account for 30.4% of all
ages in the area (compared with 20.5% for the region), those age 75 and up for 15% (compared with 9%), and those age 85 and up for 4% (compared with 2.3%).
Summary
West Vancouver-Bowen Island currently
has the highest concentration of seniors
in the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area
– one in five residents is 65 years of
age or older. This ratio is expected to
increase over the next two decades – by
2027, almost one in three will fall in this
age group. Because of its relatively small
population, however, the community’s
older adults account for less than 4%
of the region’s seniors. The median age
and median age at death make West
Vancouverites the oldest in the region,
the proportion of low-income seniors is
the region’s lowest, while the percentage of older adults living alone in West
Van is close to average. The number
of seniors’ services in West Vancouver
roughly corresponds with its share of the
regional seniors’ population. While a full
range of seniors’ services is not available
in the community, seniors’ services
elsewhere on the North Shore appear
to make up for this. Unless growth in
services keeps pace with growth in the
seniors’ population, a shortfall in both
the number and range of services can be
expected in the future.
During the ten-year period to 2017, the number of West Vancouver seniors age 65 and up
is expected to rise by over one-quarter, from 11,000 to 14,000. Over the decade the area’s
share of seniors in the region will fall slightly, from 3.9% to 3.4%. Adults age 80+ will
increase by 8%, from 3,700 to 4,000, with the Local Health Area’s share of all seniors in this
category declining from 4.6% to 3.9%.
Table 1: West Vancouver-Bowen Island LHA Seniors’ Population
2007
2017
%
2027
%
% Change
%
2007-2017
2007-2027
Total Pop.
51,984
100.0
54,145
100.0
56,572
100.0
4.2
8.8
65+
11,041
21.2
14,081
26.0
17,187
30.4
27.5
55.7
75+
5,982
11.5
6,381
11.8
8,422
14.9
6.7
40.8
85+
1,882
3.6
2,365
4.4
2,262
4.0
25.7
20.2
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run, West Vancouver Local Health Area
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 1
Table 2: Adults Age 55+ by Ten-Year Age Groups, 2007 and 2027
55-64
65-74
75-84
85+
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
2007
2027
% Chg
West
Van
8,162
7,934
-2.8
5,059
8,765
73.3
4,100
6,160
50.2
1,882
2,262
20.2
LM/SS
253,683
413,066
62.8
144,074
348,151
141.6
96,917
193,030
99.2
39,313
69,205
76.0
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run
Table 2 presents West Vancouver adults age 55 and up in ten-year age groups between 2007 and 2027. The aging of the baby boom generation can be seen
in the age group 65-74, which will experience the greatest increase in the West Vancouver Local Health Area (73%) over the next two decades, although to
a much lesser degree than region-wide (142%).
Table 3: Seniors by Five-Year Age Groups, 2007
65-69
70-74
75-79
80-84
85-89
90+
Total
West Van
2,825
2,234
2,245
1,855
1,208
674
11,041
LM/SS
78,722
65,352
55,706
41,211
25,411
13,902
280,304
West Van’s
Share
3.6%
3.4%
4.0%
4.5%
4.8%
4.8%
3.9%
BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E 32 Projection Run
Table 3 and the accompanying pie chart show seniors in the West Vancouver area by five-year
age groups in 2007. Adults aged 65-74 make up just under half of all seniors.
The elderly nature of the area’s population is reflected in its median age
(the age at which half of the population is below and half above). Currently at 47.9, the West Vancouver-Bowen Island LHA’s median age is the
highest in the region, followed by Delta (at 41.4) and North Vancouver
(40.9). By 2017 it is expected to rise to 50.6, and then slip back to 49.3
by 2027. At both these times it will again be the highest in the region.
The corresponding figures for the median age at death in the LHA are
84.3, 85.7 and 84.1—also representing the peak within the region.
West Vancouver /
Bowen Island LHA Seniors Age 65+, 2007
Older adults living on their own are generally more vulnerable and likely
in need of more in-home support services. According to the Census,
29.2% of seniors (2,690 individuals) in West Vancouver District Municipality who resided in private households lived alone in 2006.
West Vancouver seniors fare relatively well in terms of income compared
with those in other communities. In 2006, the incidence of low income2
among adults age 65 and up in the City of West Vancouver was 11.5%
– the lowest in the region. The comparable rate for the Lower Mainland was 20.8%. An equally small portion of seniors in the LHA (1.6%)
received the maximum Government Income Supplement (GIS) in 2006.
Source: BCStats P.E.O.P.L.E. 32 Projection Run,West Vancouver Local Health Area
According to the 2006 Census, for which immigrant seniors’ data is not
yet available, immigrants made up 36.7% (15,455) of West Vancouver District Municipality’s
population. Of these immigrants, 2.7% have knowledge of neither English nor French. Nearly
15% of the district’s immigrant population (or 2,295 individuals) are newcomers, having
arrived between 2001 and 2006. The majority of recent immigrants are from Asia and the
Middle East. After English, the top three languages spoken most often at home by West Vancouver District residents are Persian (Farsi) (4.8%), Chinese (4.3%) and Korean (2.2%).3
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 2
Table 4: Seniors’ Service Organizations by Local Health Area
Number of Seniors in 2007
% Share of Seniors’ Population
Vancouver
Number of Listings % Share of LM/SS Listings
85
45.0
77,297
27.6
Surrey/White Rock
22
11.6
52,747
18.8
Burnaby
18
9.5
28,111
10.0
Richmond
9
4.8
23,132
8.3
Tri-Cities
7
3.7
20,214
7.2
North Vancouver
12
6.3
17,852
6.4
Langley
6
3.2
16,112
5.7
Delta
7
3.7
13,452
4.8
West Vancouver/Bowen Island
6
3.2
11,041
3.9
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows
7
3.7
10,153
3.6
New Westminster
5
2.6
8,010
2.9
Squamish/Whistler/Pemberton
5
2.6
2,183
0.8
Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky
189
100.0
280,304
100.0
Information Services Vancouver, Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008) and BCStats
Services for seniors
In 2008 the Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower
Mainland, published by Information Services Vancouver, contained
the names of nearly 190 organizations in the Lower Mainland/Sea to
Sky area that currently offer services focusing on seniors. (Agencies
conducting such services from more than one location are listed more
than once in the Red Book, so an agency with a main office and
two branch locations has three listings, for example.)
Table 4 presents the Red Book listings of seniors’ organizations for
LHAs in the Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area. Close to half of the listings (85, or 45%) are located in Vancouver, a sign of the city’s role as
seniors’ service hub for the region. The table also gives a rough indication of the current match between the size of the seniors’ population and the number of seniors’ agencies in the various communities.
Only in Vancouver does the share of seniors’ agencies significantly
exceed the city’s share of the region’s population over 65.
With six agency listings, or 3.2% of the total, West Vancouver’s
proportion of services is relatively close to its share of the region’s
seniors’ population (3.9%). This puts it in the same category as
Burnaby, North Vancouver, Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, and New
Westminster – communities where a rough match seems to exist
between the number of seniors’ agencies and the size of the population they serve.
The seniors’ agencies and branch operations based in West Vancouver provide a relatively meager array of services. (For a classification
of the seniors’ services used in this research, see Lower Mainland/
Sea to Sky Seniors and Seniors’ Services.)
The most common type of seniors’ service in West Vancouver-Bowen
Island is in-home supports (three social support services and one
meal preparation and delivery). Multi-activity programs, the most
frequently listed seniors’ service in most communities, come second
in this LHA. According to the Red Book, six types of seniors’ services
are not provided by local agencies in West Vancouver (see Table 5).
Some seniors’ organizations offer services in other communities,
across Metro Vancouver, the Lower Mainland/Southwestern BC,
or province-wide. For the distribution of the full scope of services
across Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky municipalities, see Table 8 in the
companion report, Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky Seniors and
Seniors’ Services. As West Vancouver residents are served by
several organizations with a service catchment area of the North
Shore, the services available to seniors in West Vancouver-Bowen
Island increases from 13 to 24. This translates to 5.3% of the region’s
total listings—slightly above West Vancouver’s share of the regional
seniors’ population. However, the transportation difficulties many
seniors experience in accessing services also need to be taken into
account.
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 3
Table 5: Seniors’ Service Listings by Type
LM/SS
West Van
% of
West Van
% of
LM/SS
In-home Support Services
58
4
30.8
6.9
Multi-Activity Programs
97
3
23.1
3.1
Counseling and Assistance
46
2
15.4
4.3
Health Support Services
50
2
15.4
4.0
Transportation (excluding HandyDart)
13
2
15.4
15.4
Advocacy
15
0
0.0
0.0
Education and Training
12
0
0.0
0.0
Financial Assistance
4
0
0.0
0.0
Information, Directories, Referral
37
0
0.0
0.0
Ethno-cultural Service Focus
38
0
0.0
0.0
Language Services
23
0
0.0
0.0
Total
393
13
100.0
3.3
Information Services Vancouver, Red Book: Directory of Services for the Lower Mainland (2008)
West Vancouver and Bowen Island Red Book Listings
In-Home Services: Meal Prep & Delivery
North Shore Meals on Wheels Society
In-Home Services: Social Supports
North Shore Volunteers for Seniors
Senior Citizens’ Special Services Society
West Vancouver Parks and Community Services Div.
Multi-Activity Programs
North Shore Volunteers for Seniors
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority - North Shore/Coast Garibaldi
West Vancouver Parks and Community Services Div.
Counseling & Assistance
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority - North Shore/Coast Garibaldi
West Vancouver Parks and Community Services Div.
Health Support Services
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority - North Shore/Coast Garibaldi
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority - North Shore/Coast Garibaldi
Transportation
Senior Citizens’ Special Services Society
West Vancouver Parks and Community Services Div.
Endnotes
1The BCStats’ PEOPLE Population Projections in this report are based on Local Health Areas (LHAs) which form part of larger regional Health Service Delivery and Health Authority Areas. The Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area is
composed of Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health Authorities, and the following LHAs: Burnaby, Coquitlam (including the Tri-Cities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, as well as the Villages of Anmore and Belcarra),
Delta, Howe Sound (including Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton), Langley (City and Township), Maple Ridge (including Pitt Meadows), New Westminster, North Vancouver (City and District), Richmond, Surrey (including White
Rock), Vancouver, and West Vancouver-Bowen Island.
2The terms poverty line and low income here refer to the measure most commonly used as a proxy for poverty--Statistics Canada’s Low Income Cut-offs (LICOs). These define an income threshold, based on family expenditures,
below which families or individuals spend more than the average on basic necessities. The LICO figures cited here are based on income before tax.
3The percentages cited here represent single responses to the 2006 Census question on the language spoken most often or on a regular basis at home by the individual at the time of the census.
Sources: Statistics Canada 2006 Census; BCStats, P.E.O.P.L.E. 32 Projection Run and 2006 Census, Socio-Economic Profiles and Profiles of Immigrants and of Diversity in BC 2006; and Information Services Vancouver, Red Book
Directory of Services (2008)
Report prepared by Mayling Stubbs for the United Way of the Lower Mainland (2008)
United Way of the Lower Mainland / November 2008
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 4
Native Courtworker and
Counselling Assn of BC
Aboriginal Elders Support
Program(AB)
Peretz Centre for
Secular Jewish Culture
Solem Aleichem Seniors (ME)
South Granville Seniors Centre
South Granville Seniors Friendship
Center Society(GEC)
South Vancouver Neighbourhood
House
SUCCESS Multi-Level Care Society
Chieng’s Adult Day Center (ESA,
SEC, CHI)
Harmony House Assisted Living
(ESA, SEC, CHI)
Sunset Indo-Canadian Seniors
Society
(SA, SEC, HIN, PUN)
Taoist Tai Chi Society of Canada
Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship
Centre Society
(AB, SEC)
Vancouver Board of Parks and
Recreation
Ray-Cam Cooperative Center (AB,
ESA, GEC)
Vancouver (City) (AB, GEC)
Vancouver Coastal Health
Authority - Vancouver
Aboriginal Wellness Program (AB)
Home Support Program (SA)
Advocacy
411 Seniors Centre
BC Assn of Community Response
Networks
BC Coalition to Eliminate
Abuse of Seniors
Downtown Eastside
Residents’ Assn
Downtown Eastside
Women’s Centre
Jewish Seniors Alliance of
Greater Vancouver
Llowyn’s Legacy Foundation
Ministry of Attorney General and
Minister Responsible for
Multiculturalism
Vancouver Second Mile Society
Education & Training
411 Seniors Centre
BC Assn of Community Response
Networks
BC Coalition to Eliminate Abuse
of Seniors
Llowyn’s Legacy Foundation
National Academy of Older
Canadians
Seniors Well Aware Program
Vancouver Second Mile Society
Financial Assistance/Income
Support
Canada Mortgage and Housing
Corporation
Columbia Housing Advisory
Association
Vancouver (City)
Financial Services
Columbia Housing Advisory
Association
Canada Mortgage and Housing
Corporation
Vancouver (City)
Transportation
Chown Adult Day Centre
Crossreach Seniors’ Day Centre
Vancouver Coastal Health
Authority – Vancouver
Abbreviations used:
Ethno-cultural
AB
Aboriginal
AF
African
SEC
Solely European Community
PEC
Primarily European Community
GEC
General Community and
European Community
IM
Immigrants
CB
Caribbean
ESA
East and South Asian
EU
European
LCSA
Latin, Central and South American
SA
South Asian
WA
West Asian
ME
Middle East
RF
Refugees
Language
HIN
Hindi
PUN
Punjabi
CHI
Chinese
CAN
Cantonese
MAN
Mandarin
SPA
Spanish
URD
Urdu
KOR
Korean
VIE
Vietnamese
ESL
English as a second language
JAP
Japanese
Endnotes
1The BCStats’ PEOPLE Population Projections in this report are based on Local Health Areas (LHAs) which form a part of larger regional Health Service Delivery and Health Authority Areas. The Lower Mainland/Sea to Sky area is
composed of Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health Authorities, and the following LHAs: Burnaby, Coquitlam (including the Tri-Cities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, as well as the Villages of Anmore and Belcarra),
Delta, Howe Sound (including Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton), Langley (City and Township), Maple Ridge (including Pitt Meadows), New Westminster, North Vancouver (City and Township), Richmond, Surrey (including White
Rock), Vancouver, and West Vancouver-Bowen Island. Within the Vancouver LHA, the City of Vancouver represents 94% of the total population.
2The terms poverty line and low income here refer to the measure most commonly used as a proxy for poverty--Statistics Canada’s Low Income Cut-offs (LICOs). These define an income threshold, based on family expenditures,
below which families or individuals spend more than the average on basic necessities. The LICO figures cited here are based on income before tax.
3The percentages cited here represent single responses to the 2006 Census question on the language spoken most often or on a regular basis at home by the individual at the time of the census.
Sources: Statistics Canada 2006 Census; BCStats, P.E.O.P.L.E. 32 Projection Run and 2006 Census, Socio-Economic Profiles and Profiles of Immigrants and of Diversity in BC 2006; and Information Services Vancouver, Red Book
Directory of Services (2008)
Report prepared by Mayling Stubbs for the United Way of the Lower Mainland (2008)
United Way of the Lower Mainland / November 2008
United Way of the Lower Mainland/November 2008 – Page 5