1. PRIAE www.priae.org Ageing & Ethnicity BME ELDERS’ HOUSING NEEDS HOUSING LIN MEETING 10.6.2004

2. Contents WHO are BME Elders? NEEDS and DETERMINANTS
‘RACE’ and HOUSING - ‘Special Needs’
POLICY CONTEXT - DIRECTION- BME HOUSING
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3. Not going back…….‘us and them’ – there is ‘us’ only’ - IRR
WHO ARE BME ELDERS?
ETHNICITY
DEMOGRAPHY
Yesterday’s young ‘migrant workers’ are today’s elders
PRIAE’s coverage of all BME groups through colonial, refugee, economic circumstances
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4. NEEDS and DETERMINANTS 1 Not going back…‘us and them’ – there is ‘us’ only’ - IRR
DEMOGRAPHY Facts: Rapid increase in ageing among BME Elders in this and next decade census
Share of population: in 1991 just over 1% at 65+ compared to whose share of BME population was 4.6% - hence doubling/quadrupling effect this and next decade
London & S.East population make up - projections
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6. NEEDS and DETERMINANTS 2
CULTURAL CONTEXT
EXTENDED FAMILY census BME Asian households larger than majority - but is this the same as not having ‘ housing needs’?
HEALTH NEEDS - BME elders are more likely to have long term illness than their majority peers, lack of social support
PRIAE MEC RESEARCH FINDINGS
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7. Average hsehld size by ethnic group April 2001 GB

9. ‘RACE’ and HOUSING ‘SPECIAL’ NEEDS?
Housing a basic necessity - why so ‘special’ for BME elders?
Conceptualisation of BME service needs
by BME
by Mainstream
by Policymakers/Politicians
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10. CULTURAL - POLICY CONTEXT
CULTURE of SOCIAL COHESION:
Cantle report for social harmony ‘equal access to services……….’
ODPM Select Committee chair Andrew Bennett MP told Community Care: “It is not an excuse for local authorities to cut grants, but they must make sure when making grant allocations that they serve all communities. “Providing aid to a religious organisation is acceptable, but providing grants for a separate luncheon club specifically for an ethnic minority elderly group, as an example, is not.”
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11. BME HOUSING PROVIDERS
Genesis in meeting needs of BME families and elders neglected by mainstream and related providers
Issue of strengthening and investing in them to meet rising demand
More than ‘hoteling’services - improvements needed but can only be made if such provision is sustained and not under attack
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12. CHANGES needed in CULTURE & COMMITMENT to implement ‘serving all communities’ where BME elders are a part of society, not apart ‘Some authortities are doing well, some are doing a little, some are doing nothing at all’ - PRIAE Royal Commission Report 1999
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13. Thank You
© PRIAE -2004