Live Long, Live Well - A New Report on the Status of Older Adults In Marin

On April 12, I was fortunate to be able to attend the first monthly public Commission on Aging meeting I had been able to attend in over a year due to my busy schedule. The meeting featured Marin County’s Area Agency on Aging’s quadrennial report on life for older adults in Marin called “Live Long, Live Well,” focusing on the years 2012-2016.

The report is chock full of fascinating demographics gathered from public and government statistics as well as a local survey answered by 891 Marin citizens. For instance, while the overall population of Marin County is fairly static, the number of people ages 60 and over increased by 40 percent between 2000 and 2010. It is projected to increase another 27 percent between 2010 and 2020. The number of citizens 60 years and older in 2010 was 61,454.

Marin’s population is the oldest in the Bay Area. The oldest community in Marin is Dillon Beach, while 30 percent of Marin’s 65-and-over population lives alone. Seventy-three percent of renters live alone. More than half of all senior renters living alone in Marin are trying to survive on incomes below the Elder Index. The Elder Index is an adjusted Federal Poverty Level Index that takes into account the actual cost of living in any particular locality.

The slides outline information on many topics in an easy to read and understand format. Topics include overall health and specific medical conditions in our older population, employment and retirement statistics, gender differences in labor force distribution (more older women are working), the race/ethnicity of the 891 survey respondents, nutritional health, top activities, mobility, use of technology, access to caregivers and perceptions of quality of life.

Respondents' top three issues and concerns were unemployment (27 percent), getting services (25 percent) and Abuse (23 percent). The top 5 sources of information when searching for services are word of mouth, the Marin Independent Journal, the Internet, senior centers and Whistlestop. One out of every 4 respondents are caregivers. The priority areas of concern moving forward are to improve access to services, resources and information; to find local and community-based solutions to address needs; and to improve the effectiveness of the existing services system. The Division of Aging and Adult Services is doing its best to stretch the budget dollars it has to address these issues along with other aging services agencies in the county.

The slides from the presentation are presented in a wonderfully clear and easy to understand format. To view the entire presentation, simply click here.