News from the Noteworthy from Opportunities from Otsego Inc.

Sept. Release Planned for Updated Needs Assessment

Opportunities for Otsego Inc. is required by the Community Services Block Grant to complete a Community Needs Assessment every three years. And while the last fully completed document was submitted in 2017, no one could predict that we would be knee deep in a global pandemic by 2020.

All of our plans, including being involved in the 2020 Census Complete Count initiative, were cancelled. Being ever creative, our planning and research director, Megan Martin, produced an appendix to the 2017 Community Needs Assessment gathering data on the impacts of the pandemic on our community in Otsego County.

We then set our sights on 2021, but the census data was slow to trickle in, so we produced a document with as much census data as was available, as well as data from federal and state resources and organizations. Now, in 2023, we are confident that we have enough census data and, with other sources, can produce a full-fledged Community Needs Assessment to be published at the end of September.

We also discussed making one change of strategy, in that we will not wait until every three years to complete the Community Needs Assessment, but rather update the document on an ongoing basis for the purpose of providing as much current information as possible for all sectors of the community to use as a resource. With that in mind, I thought that—over the course of the next few months—I’d write about portions of the Community Needs Assessment in this column. Since I’m a senior citizen myself, let’s start with the topic of aging.

On June 22, 2023, the “New York Times” posted a column titled “The U.S. Population is Older Than It Has Ever Been.” It says that the median age in the United States reached a record high of 38.9 in 2022 (up from 30 in 1980) according to the data released by the Census Bureau. However, for Otsego County, the U.S. Census tells us the average age is 42. The Census Bureau goes on to say that the largest percentage, by population groups, is people aged 65 or over, at 21.1 percent (the second highest age group is 16 to 24 year olds, at 16.9 percent).

Aging populations can be challenging to healthcare services, housing, transportation, and the provision of assisted living and home care services. Aging communities are also more vulnerable to higher costs of healthcare including healthcare premiums.

The reasons are complex, including fallout from the pandemic and a general population decline due to limited economic opportunities for younger people. However and hopefully, by recognizing and addressing the unique needs of older residents, our community can embrace the potential of its aging population and create an inclusive and thriving community for people of all ages.

In the meantime, the 2021 Community Needs Assessment is available by clicking on the Resources link on the Opportunities for Otsego, Inc. website at www.ofoinc.org.

As the song goes . . . “See You in September.”

Dan Maskin is chief executive officer of Opportunities for Otsego Inc.