City Council Agenda - November 26, 2012 - City of Guelph

Attachment 1Similar analysis for older adult males shows a somewhat more even distribution of residents acrossthe 6 wards.2500Older Age Males by Ward2000150010005000Ward 1 Ward 2 Ward 3 Ward 4 Ward 5 Ward 655-6465-7475-8485+TotalThese tables demonstrate the differences in population characteristics from one neighbourhood inGuelph to the next and indicate the importance of obtaining and using population information at theneighbourhood level wherever possible in service planning.There are 15,848 adults over the age of 65 living in Guelph. Of these, 15,160 or 96% live in privatehouseholds. (Statistics Canada, 2011 Census).There are 5,125 individuals over the age of 65 who are not part of census-defined family units – i.e.,they are without partners or children. Of these, 76% are women and 24% are men. More significantfor the purpose of designing an Older Adult Strategy that is inclusive, 4,125 individuals, or 80% of thenon-family units of 65+ are living alone.According to the United Way Guelph Wellington, approximately 7.4% of residents over the age of 65are living below the Low Income Cut-off (Older Adults Living on a Low Income, Guelph and WellingtonTask Force for Poverty Elimination, August 2012). This is slightly above the national average of 6%.Further, the National Advisory Council on Aging (2005) indicated that an additional 19% of adultsover 65 live just above the LICO (Guelph and Wellington Task Force of Poverty Elimination, August2012).We were e very pleased to have had the cooperation of the Community Well-Being Initiative as weprepared our report. A scan of the preliminary Well-Being data confirmed some of our findings, andalso identified areas where the City could benefit from linking the two initiatives.Older Adult Strategy for the City of GuelphPrepared by The Osborne Group, October 201217