The latest census data shows senior populations are growing more quickly in some vulnerable neighbourhoods in Windsor-Essex.
Officials at the United Way Windsor-Essex have looked closely at the data and say it shows the senior population is growing faster in some of their priority neighbourhoods, like Ford and Glengarry. Since the last census, they've seen a jump from 9.6% of seniors to 14.4% in 2016.
"Within these neighbourhoods, we're seeing a faster transformation and they are aging faster than other parts of the community and they are not replacing the population with as many young people as other parts of the community," says Frazier Fathers with United Way Windsor-Essex.
He says this data will help them shape their programming for years to come.
"We knew the aging was coming but now it's about ensuring that those people who are already the most vulnerable don't become more vulnerable moving forward," says Fathers.
According to Statistics Canada, the population of seniors is larger than the population of youth under the age of 14 for the first time in Canada's history. In Windsor-Essex seniors make up 17.2% of the population while youth under the age of 14 make up 16.7%.
