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CHRISTMAS IN JULY PIANO S JULY 25 PAY NO TAX Large selection of quality pianos New and Used grand & upright pianos Adagio, Kurzweil and Suzuki digital pianos Professional piano moving 5205 Harvester Rd., Unit 2, Burlington 1-888-PIANO-81 Store Hours: Monday Friday 10am-6pm, Saturday 10am- 5pm www.pianos.ca FREE Bench FREE ocal DeliveryL FREE First Tuning WarrantySUZUKI w w w .in si d eH A LT O N .c o m O A K V IL LE B E A V E R W ed n es d ay , J u ly 2 7, 2 01 1 1 2 Seniors' needs not being met Older women in our communities are quite often spending way more than 30 per cent of whatever little income theyre getting on housing costs, said Brown. Theyre having to sacrifice healthy diets, medicine, transit and other issues in terms of mobility because so much of their budget is going into their housing. There are 3,626 units of affordable housing in Halton as of last December, which arent targeted towards specific client groups, with 1,679 in Oakville. Of the Oakville units, 679 are senior units with a centralized waiting list or housing providers with its own waiting lists. At the end of 2010, there were 2,140 eligible applicants on the wait list, of which 529 were for senior communi- ties. In 2009, it was 468. The demand for senior housing has gone up 13 per cent in Halton. I was staggered by the number of seniors advocacy groups, as well as active groups who are providing support to people (aged) 50 and over. When it comes down to it, seniors' needs quite often (are) not being attended to and services in the community (have) fallen short of what seniors need to live a comfortable life throughout retire- ment, said Brown. As they age, they've got so much to offer and we seem to be either cutting them short or they end up living in the silo of their homes. As high as 80 per cent of the applicants drop off the list when they are not housed within three years. If all applicants remained on the list until they are housed, it would take up to 27 years to house them all, based on the 2010 unit turnover rate, according to the report from CDH. One of the housing options in Oakville includes a life lease concept developed by the Rotary Club of Oakville (RCO), Brown said. Chartwell Classic Oakville Retirement Residence, on Oak Park Boulevard, allows residents to purchase the right to reside in the property at market rate and pay nominal maintenance fees. Brown said they can sell their right when they move on, but the success of this plan is reflected by a waiting list of over 100 people. The last bungalow was auctioned off in 2008 between 4 prospective buyers and sold for $280,000, which is a housing model that some can afford, but most cannot, he added. Seniors just dont have that kind of equity to be able to invest. Even if someone did have the cash or was able to sell the property they might have, there really is nowhere for them to go, said Brown. Its a great idea and concept, but maybe there could be a smaller scale concept that would allow people to move forward in that direction in a more eco- nomical fashion with existing properties. Halton provides a variety of housing and spe- cial care services for seniors, and a full list of directories, reports and programs can be found at www.halton.ca. Another issue brought up at last weeks meet- ing was a lack of access to transportation that would make it easier for seniors to get around, Brown said. Moving within Oakville, the transit tradition- ally has been a way to get to the GO station. The next challenge is getting from Burlington to Oakville or (vice versa) or Milton to Oakville or Burlington, said Brown. The effort to get from Burloak to Hopedale Mall requires three transfers and over an hour of travel, and youre looking at probably about a 5 km journey. He said transportation provided to those with accessibility issues isnt just about cost; its a tim- ing issue as well. Oakville Transit (OT) offers a discounted rate for people ages 65 and older, on a pack of 10 bus tickets for $17.50 and a monthly bus pass for $50. Although no new group was established at the meeting, Brown suggested people can contact him if they were interested in learning more. There is a lot of disparity, angst and concern built up in the minds of a lot of seniors who may not have the pensions that they hoped for and theyre sitting on the equity of their home, said Brown. For those interested in attending a CASH meeting, the next is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 12 at 2 p.m. at 760 Brant St., Suite 405A, in Burlington. Contact Brown at garthbrown@ sympatico.ca. Continued from page 3