Demographic Profile of Seniors in PSA 1-A - Detroit Area Agency on ...

immigrants, the lack <strong>of</strong> education becomes more understandable. Unfortunately, the
issue <strong>of</strong> dropp<strong>in</strong>g out <strong>of</strong> high school and not go<strong>in</strong>g on to college cont<strong>in</strong>ues to be a
problem <strong>in</strong> the Lat<strong>in</strong>o community – even with American-born youth. Lower levels <strong>of</strong>
education are also evident <strong>in</strong> those sectors where poverty is highest – 2 and 11.
The last variable we will look at is the language that the elderly speak at home and, if it is
other than English, their perceived ability to speak English.
Table 30. Language Spoken by the Population 65+ by Sector, 2000
Sectors
Persons 65
years and
over
Only
English
Percent
<strong>of</strong> total
Spanish
Indo
European
Asian and
Pacific
Other
Speak
English
not well,
not at all
1 9,988 8,821 88.3 41 812 39 275 4.7
2 6,018 5,429 90.2 21 455 91 22 2.2
3 14,081 13,485 95.8 55 495 25 21 0.6
4 9,822 9,349 95.2 191 157 72 53 1.0
5 8,208 6,064 73.9 1,134 778 24 208 8.2
6 13,630 13,374 98.1 94 122 32 8 0.3
7 10,897 9,441 86.6 242 1,040 32 142 1.6
8 6,925 6,548 94.6 69 240 6 62 0.8
9 10,149 9,925 97.8 83 89 26 26 0.2
10 9,940 9,670 97.3 127 83 33 27 0.4
11 5,237 3,737 71.4 110 1,267 5 118 9.1
12 10,529 9,274 88.1 100 1,035 11 109 2.0
It is the general rule that at least 90 percent <strong>of</strong> the residents <strong>of</strong> each sector speak English
at home. This is the case <strong>in</strong> all sectors with the exception <strong>of</strong> 5 and 11. As discussed <strong>in</strong>
the section on education, Sector 5’s elderly population conta<strong>in</strong>s a large number <strong>of</strong> Lat<strong>in</strong>o
immigrants with little education. In addition, southwest <strong>Detroit</strong> also conta<strong>in</strong>s older
eastern European immigrants and residents from the Middle East. These factors
comb<strong>in</strong>ed to produce 26 percent <strong>of</strong> the elderly speak<strong>in</strong>g a language other than English
and 8 percent <strong>of</strong> the total 65 years admitt<strong>in</strong>g to speak<strong>in</strong>g English less than well or not at
all. Region 11 had a larger percentage – 28.6 percent – speak<strong>in</strong>g another language and 9
percent speak<strong>in</strong>g English less than well or not at all. This region conta<strong>in</strong>s Hamtramck,
which, <strong>in</strong> addition to hav<strong>in</strong>g remnants <strong>of</strong> the older Polish-speak<strong>in</strong>g population still <strong>in</strong> the
area, experienced population growth for the first time <strong>in</strong> decades dur<strong>in</strong>g the 1990’s due to
large numbers <strong>of</strong> recent immigrants. These immigrants – from Bangladesh, India,
Pakistan, Yemen, Bosnia, Serbia, and numerous other countries – have brought back the
flavor the city had <strong>in</strong> the early 20 th Century.
The <strong>Detroit</strong> <strong>Area</strong> <strong>Agency</strong> on Ag<strong>in</strong>g will need to be aware <strong>of</strong> all the characteristics that
have been documented <strong>in</strong> this section to prioritize and plan the services that they deliver.
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