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2005 Older Adults Needs Assessment
Executive Summary
One of the key findings from the City of Upper Arlington’s 2005 Older Adults Needs Assessment is that older residents (i.e., those aged 50 and over) are very happy living in Upper Arlington. They place a high value on the community, the municipal services they receive, and the opportunities available to them. Because of this, there is a great desire to “age-in-place,” to stay in their Arlington residence for as long as possible. This key finding was also observed during Upper Arlington’s 2003 Community Survey, and to a certain extent in the City’s 1994 Older Adults Needs Assessment. These community strengths – such as the City’s perceived safety, the quality of its neighborhoods, its sociable and friendly neighborhoods – are important attributes to maintain into the future.
However, from the perspective of some older residents and key community stakeholders there are some major challenges or perceived barriers to this goal. In spite of their relative affluence (on average, compared to residents in other communities around Central Ohio), many older adults in Upper Arlington are concerned about financial stressors. These stressors include rising property taxes (of which approximately 10% goes to the City), rising energy costs, and incomes that are steady if not declining. Compounding these concerns is a perceived lack of housing that is appropriate – space and cost-wise – for older adults.
The 2005 Older Adults Needs Assessment also identified a number of informational awareness gaps regarding the services and opportunities available to the City’s older residents. Awareness of services such as Kind Call and Northwest Counseling’s Older Adults Program is good but may not be high enough. And awareness of other services – such as on whom to call when there is a need for inside or outside home maintenance – is lacking for a significant portion of the population. This need for “more information” was mentioned or indicated not only by older adults and the key stakeholders but also adult caretakers as well.
Some of these critical need areas (i.e., economic concerns, availability of housing stock) were also identified in the City’s 1994 Older Adults Needs Assessment. In the eleven years since this assessment, these concerns appear to have grown in the minds and emotions of the older adult population. With this in mind, some serious policy questions may face City Council and staff, such as: How active a role should City government play in addressing these various concerns? And what actions can the City realistically take, either on its own or in coordination with non-profit or private sector partners? These questions are beyond the scope of this research report. What this report can and does offer, however, is the following: an accurate and reliable gauge of the issues and concerns facing Upper Arlington’s older adult population, and; possible ways to address these issues and concerns, as suggested by those who took part in the research.
Updated 4/06
City Manager's Office
City of Upper Arlington
3600 Tremont Road
Upper Arlington, Ohio 43221
Phone: 614-583-5040
www.ua-ohio.net
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