Peninsula Community Foundation and Agency on Aging present study showing sharp growth in older residents

Adelia Thompson, chief executive officer of the Peninsula Community Foundation, and Bill Massey of the Peninsula Agency on Aging presented a regional demographic study and service review to the Hampton City Council work session on Oct. 26, saying the Peninsula’s population is aging rapidly and local governments should plan for increased health, transportation and caregiving needs.

Thompson summarized the study’s top-line finding: during the study period the population aged 60–80 increased by about 133% while the 30–60 cohort grew by roughly 20% — trends that the foundation said will increase demand for health care, long-term supports and emergency medical services. “There are going to be more and more of us while there are going to be fewer of them,” she said.

The study covered six municipalities on the Virginia Peninsula (Hampton, Newport News, York County, James City County, Williamsburg and one other) and identified neighborhoods forecast to have the largest concentrations of residents aged 80 and older by 2050. Among operational findings, the presenters noted that a majority of older residents live in housing built before 2000, a factor that reduces home accessibility, and that shifts in spending and mobility will have tax and service-delivery implications for city budgets.

Massey described Peninsula Agency on Aging programs and supports. He noted longstanding federal authorization for area agencies on aging under the Older Americans Act of 1965 and summarized services available locally: meals-on-wheels, transportation (including a veterans transportation program), care coordination, caregiver supports such as support groups and respite, and a new Medicare program called “GUIDE” (a care coordination model for people living with dementia). Massey said Peninsula Agency on Aging serves thousands regionally and that in Hampton roughly 30,000 of the roughly 130,000 home-delivered meals served regionally went to Hampton residents in the past year.

Council members and staff discussed next steps, including neighborhood-level pilot work (the Fox Hill event was cited as an example), expanding volunteer programs, consideration of older-worker employment opportunities and inclusion of aging-related items in the city’s state and federal legislative packages. The foundation said the six municipalities jointly funded the research and that the organization will follow up with materials and community conversations to support local planning.