Demographic Profile of Senior in Wayne County, Michigan

all. Region 11 had a larger percentage – 28.6 percent – speaking another language and 9
percent speaking English less than well or not at all. This region contains Hamtramck,
which, in addition to having remnants of the older Polish-speaking population still in the
area, experienced population growth for the first time in decades during the 1990’s due to
large numbers of recent immigrants. These immigrants – from Bangladesh, India,
Pakistan, Yemen, Bosnia, Serbia, and numerous other countries – have brought back the
flavor the city had in the early 20 th Century.
Conclusions and Recommendations
The cumulative effects of a decreasing senior population and decreasing statewide shares
of minority and poor seniors necessitate that the Detroit Area Agency on Aging will be
required to provide services to a needier population with fewer resources. Such a fact
makes it critical that services are provided in a targeted, efficient manner.
While providing the context for viewing seniors in PSA 1-A, demographic analysis can
only go so far. Additional secondary and primary data collection are necessary to fill out
this context. Fortunately, such data collection has been performed. Health status
indicators have been compiled for the region and for sectors, and agency program
participation data have been analyzed as well. The Institute of Gerontology at Wayne
State University conducted a large-scale survey of seniors in Detroit and has produced a
citywide analysis, as well as limited sector analyses. It is recommended that the survey
responses be further analyzed at the sector level so as to provide the greatest amount of
information possible for these important, and diverse, sub-areas of the city.
While each of these studies stands alone as an important component of the “picture” of
seniors in PSA 1-A, it is strongly recommended that they be brought together at both the
region and sector level so that the picture contains a “depth of field.” To the extent
possible, sector-based profiles of seniors should be compiled. These profiles could then
be used as the basis for program planning in the region.
In summary, the Center for Urban Studies hopes that this work marks the beginning of a
continuing relationship with DAAA as the agency works to understand the needs of its
seniors in order to strategically plan its services.
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