Saltspring – A changing community
Like many rural communities on the south coast of British Columbia, Salt Spring Island is a haven for retired and retiring adults. The median age of Saltspring today is 47.6 years, more than nine years older than the BC average. Recent arrivals sometimes bring their aging parents. Often they bring pensions, annuities and occasional work opportunities to keep them going well into their late 70s. Others – particularly those who have a long history on the island – have fewer options. Some have only the family home and a small pension to sustain them.
This latter group of ‘oldtimers’ is who Ruby Alton was thinking of when she set aside $100,000 for an Abbeyfield on Salt Spring’s southend. More importantly, Ruby seems to have anticipated the boomer bulge – the sudden and sustained exit of millions of Canadians from the workforce. On Salt Spring this will create profound pressure on available housing options for Seniors. Escalating land values, large numbers of Seniors seeking housing and limited availability of Senior’s spaces may very well squeeze those in the greatest need off the island and away from the community that they made and served for so many years.
|
