While we often celebrate the green that imbues this part of the country, the defining color in coming decades might be gray.
As with most communities throughout the country — and, indeed, the world — Clark County is facing a graying population that will transform the services that governments provide and the manner in which those services are delivered. With the population growing older and with the trend destined to continue, Clark County officials wisely are taking a proactive approach.
In 2012, the Clark County Commission on Aging was formed to implement the county’s Aging Readiness Plan. As the commission’s 189-page report explains: “The task force was charged with assessing the county’s capacity to serve a growing number of older residents. They will face challenges to independence and quality of life that often come with aging.” And as Marjorie Ledell, chair of the commission, told The Columbian: “We expect the rate of increase to continue. We know that people are not only living longer, but they’re living healthier longer.”
That comes as no surprise, with the first wave of baby boomers having reached age 65 in 2011. But some statistics provide clarity. The U.S. Census Bureau reported last week that the number of Clark County residents 65 and older grew about 40 percent from 2010 to 2016. There are about 69,000 local residents at or beyond the traditional retirement age, and about 7,500 residents 85 and older.
That calls for attention to services such as assistance with navigating Social Security or Medicare, transportation, and caregiving. While all municipalities are facing the same issues, the headline on a column at HuffingtonPost.com by Jo Ann Jenkins, the CEO of AARP, cuts to the point of the matter: “World’s Aging Population: A Global Challenge That Benefits From A Local Approach.”
According to an Aging Readiness and Competitiveness Report from AARP, the United States ranks as a world leader in technological engagement for older citizens. But this nation lags behind in terms of health care and wellness — areas that are essential to quality of life for an aging population.
Notably, Jenkins highlights the need for local innovation and engagement in preparing for changing demographics. For example, she points out a “Here We Live” program in Israel that provides university students with tuition breaks and low-cost housing if they move into a spare room in an older person’s home and spend at least five hours each week with their host. The program addresses two disparate needs: Housing for college students who don’t have much money, and older residents who might otherwise be isolated. Such a program might or might not work in Washington, but it highlights the ability to form creative solutions to issues that previously did not need to be considered on such a wide scope.
Meanwhile, those issues will be even more pronounced in rural areas, which long have seen an inordinate number of young people leave for more urban locales. While Clark County’s median age of 38.2 is roughly the same as the median age of the state and U.S. populations, in Skamania County the median is 46.5 years of age.
Regardless of a county’s size and resources, it is essential that local governments plan ahead; demographics are changing with the inevitability of the tides. As Jenkins wrote, “The challenges presented by aging populations may be a global issue but … some of the very best approaches for addressing it starts in our own neighborhoods.”
