@prefix vivo: . @prefix edm: . @prefix ns0: . @prefix dcterms: . @prefix skos: . vivo:departmentOrSchool "Arts, Faculty of"@en, "Social Work, School of"@en ; edm:dataProvider "DSpace"@en ; ns0:degreeCampus "UBCV"@en ; dcterms:creator "MacKinnon, Dolina F."@en ; dcterms:issued "2012-02-14T17:42:34Z"@en, "1957"@en ; vivo:relatedDegree "Master of Social Work - MSW"@en ; ns0:degreeGrantor "University of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:description """Low-rent housing is only one item in the "welfare agenda" for the aged, but it is of fairly recent recognition compared with boarding homes, institutions, nursing care, et cetera. There are many causes of the heavy demand for self-contained accommodation for the able-bodied; but greater information on needs and preferences is also essential for wise planning. The present study is an exploratory sampling of the living arrangements and needs and preferences of able-bodied pensioners living in various types of accommodation in West Vancouver, a suburban community in which a small housing project has recently been built. For the purpose of this study, the individuals surveyed were divided into two groups: married couples, and single persons (women only, in the present instance). The survey was conducted by individual interviews, and some experimental questionnaires were developed. In the two main groups studied--married couples and "single" women--some significant differences were found between those who wished to remain in their present dwelling and those who wished to make a change which would be an improvement. The first group was composed mostly of homeowning couples, and single women living alone who had been in the same place for a number of years. The group who did not find their present living arrangements satisfactory was composed mostly of couples were were in rented accommodation, and single women who were living with married children. Within all groups there were many variations; but one problem which was common to all groups was insufficient financial resources. Most of those who rented accommodation were paying more than they could afford for rent. The homeowners, after paying taxes, had insufficient funds left for needed repairs and upkeep, and sometimes for necessities. Many older people were living apart from married children, although they wished to live close enough to permit visiting. Likewise, many single women who lived with married children, although their facilities were superior to those of single women living alone, nevertheless derived least satisfaction from their living arrangements. All of the older persons who wished to move regarded the accommodation in the West Vancouver Senior Citizens Housing Project as highly desirable. The main implications of the study include: the need for low-rental housing for older people; the possibilities for social work services in planning and to help the older person use the facilities when available; and the continuous relevance of public education and community organization."""@en ; edm:aggregatedCHO "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/40695?expand=metadata"@en ; skos:note "HOUSING- NEEDS AMD PREFERENCES AMONG SENIOR CITIZENS (WEST VANCOUVER) An E x p l o r a t o r y Survey of Married and Single Pensioners, L i v i n g i n Various Types of Accommodation, i n West Vancouver, 1 9 5 6 - 7 • by DOLINA P.vMacKINNON and JEROME H. ANGEL Thesis Submitted i n P a r t i a l F u l f i l m e n t of the Requirements f o r the Degree of MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK i n the School of S o c i a l Work Accepted as conforming to the standard required f o r the degree of Master of S o c i a l Work School of 19^7 The U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h S o c i a l Work Columbia - i i i -ABSTRACT Low-rent housing i s only one item i n the \"welfare agenda\" f o r the aged, .but i t i s of f a i r l y recent r e c o g n i -t i o n compared wi t h boarding homes, i n s t i t u t i o n s , n u r sing care, et c e t e r a . There are many causes of the heavy demand f o r s e l f - c o n t a i n e d accommodation f o r the able-bodied; but greater i n f o r m a t i o n on needs and preferences i s a l s o ess.ential f o r wise planning. The present study i s an e x p l o r a t o r y sampling of the l i v i n g arrangements and needs and preferences of able-bodied pensioners l i v i n g i n v a r i o u s types of accommodation i n West Vancouver, a suburban community i n which a small housing p r o j e c t has r e c e n t l y been b u i l t . For the purpose o f ' t h i s study, the i n d i v i d u a l s surveyed were d i v i d e d i n t o two groups: married couple's., and s i n g l e persons (women only, i n the present Instance). The survey was conducted by i n d i v i d u a l i n t e r v i e w s , and some experimental questionnaires were developed. In the two main groups s t u d i e d — m a r r i e d couples and \" s i n g l e \" ¥omen--some s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s were found be-tween those who wished to remain i n t h e i r present d w e l l i n g and those who wished to make a change which would be an improvement. The f i r s t group was composed mostly of homeowning couples, and s i n g l e women l i v i n g alone who had been i n the same place f o r a number of years. The group who d i d not f i n d t h e i r present l i v i n g arrangements s a t i s -f a c t o r y was composed mostly of couples were were i n rented accommodation, and s i n g l e women who were l i v i n g with married c h i l d r e n . W i t h i n a l l gr oups there were many va r -i a t i o n s ; but one problem whichras common to a l l groups was i n s u f f i c i e n t f i n a n c i a l resources. Most of those who rented accommodation were paying more than they could a f f o r d f o r r e n t . The homeowners, a f t e r paying taxes, had i n s u f f i c i e n t funds l e f t f o r needed r e p a i r s and upkeep, and sometimes f o r n e c e s s i t i e s . Many older people were l i v i n g apart from married c h i l d -ren, although they wished to l i v e close enough to permit v i s i t i n g . L i kewise, many s i n g l e women who l i v e d w i t h mar-r i e d c h i l d r e n , although t h e i r f a c i l i t i e s were s u p e r i o r to those of s i n g l e women l i v i n g alone, nevertheless derived l e a s t s a t i s f a c t i o n from t h e i r l i v i n g arrangements. A l l of - i v -the o l d e r persons who wished to. move regarded the accom-modation i n the West Vancouver Senior Citizens\"! Housing P r o j e c t as h i g h l y desirable-. The main i m p l i c a t i o n s of the study i n c l u d e : the need f o r l o w - r e n t a l housing f o r older people; the p o s s i b i l i t i e s f o r s o c i a l work s e r v i c e s i n planning and to help the older person use the f a c i l i t i e s when a v a i l a b l e ; and the continuous relevance of p u b l i c education and community o r g a n i z a t i o n . In presenting t h i s thesis i n p a r t i a l fulfilment of the requirements fo r an advanced degree at the University of B r i t i s h Columbia, -f agree that the Library s h a l l make i t f r e e l y available f o r reference and study. £. further agree that permission for extensive copying of t h i s thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my-Department or by h i s representative. It i s understood that copying or publication of t h i s thesis f o r f i n a n c i a l gain s h a l l not be allowed without »y written permission. The University of B r i t i s h Columbia, Vancouver 3, Canada. Date - v -ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would l i k e to express our sincere indebtedness to those who have been so thought-f u l and generous i n g i v i n g of t h e i r time and suggestions. I t i s only through t h e i r Invaluable a s s i s t a n c e and continued guidance that we are able to present t h i s study. To Dr. L.C. Marsh of the School of S o c i a l Work f o r h i s enduring encouragement and abiding p a t i e n c e ; to Mr. C.K. Toren of the West Vancouver S o c i a l Service Department f o r h i s k i n d cooperation; and to Mr. G.M. Stewart of the West Vancouver Senior C i t i z e n s ' Housing S o c i e t y do we g r a t e f u l l y record our a p p r e c i a t i o n f o r t h e i r genuine i n t e r e s t , c o n s i d e r a t i o n , and support. - i i -TABLE OF CONTENTS. Page Chapter 1 . Housing and the Senior C i t i z e n Today's senior c i t i z e n s . The West Vancouver community. Welfare aspects of housing. S o c i a l • work and housing. Low-rental housing. Method of the survey 1 Chapter 2. Housing Needs of Older Couples \"We'll stay here as long as we can.\" \"We've been i n this house a long time.\" The co'st of ownership. \"Taxes are going up a l l the time.\" Would they l i k e to l i v e i n the housing project? Conclusions 3 1 Chapter 3- Housing Needs of Older Women Physical accommodation. Housing experience-. Satisfa c t i o n s from accommodation. Budget con-siderations. Senior c i t i z e n s ' housing project. Preferred c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of housing. Conclusions. 54-Chapter l±. Needs and Preferences: A Review Applications f o r the West Vancouver project. Types of situations' and accommodation. D i f f e r -ences of s o c i a l and economic situations'. Some welfare implications f o r senior c i t i z e n s ' housing projects 86 Appendices: A. Regulations of the \"Elderly C i t i z e n s ' Housing Aid Act.\" B. Questionnaire-schedule used to implement the study. C. Questionnaire used at the meeting of the West Vancouver Senior C i t i z e n s ' Club. D. Copy of the l e t t e r sent to West Vancouver S o c i a l Service Department c l i e n t s who were interviewed. E. Bibliography. TABLES IN THE TEXT Table 1. Housing preferences expressed by older women.. 8 1 Table 2. Ages of the applicants who applied f o r residence i n the West Vancouver project 8 8 Table 3 . Number of years l i v e d In West Vancouver by the applicants 8 9 HOUSING. NEEDS AMD PREFERENCES AMONG SENIOR CITIZENS (WEST VANCOUVER) An E x p l o r a t o r y S u r v e y of M a r r i e d and S i n g l e P e n s i o n e r s , L i v i n g i n V a r i o u s Types, of Accommodation, I n West Vancouver, 1956-7. CHAPTER 1 HOUSING AND THE SENIOR C I T I Z E N D u r i n g t h e e a r l y p a r t o f t h i s , c e n t u r y , many h u n d r e d s o f t h o u s a n d s , o f w o r d s were w r i t t e n a b o u t i n f a n t m o r t a l i t y . T o d a y , j u s t as many w o r d s a r e b e i n g p u t f o r t h on t h e s u b j e c t o f o l d a g e . T h e s e two f i e l d s a r e n o t u n r e l a t e d , f o r , as. .a r e s u l t o f t h e l o w e r e d i n f a n t m o r t a l -i t y , t h e numbers o f o l d e r p e o p l e h a v e i n c r e a s e d . B e c a u s e o f s o c i e t y ' s c h a n g i n g p a t t e r n , many p r o b l e m s h a v e d e v e l o p e d I n t h e p a s t f e w d e c a d e s f o r t h e s e o l d e r p e o p l e , and i n a d e m o c r a c y i t i s f i t t i n g t h a t a t t e n t i o n be d i r e c t e d t o w a r d s r e s e a r c h , s t u d y , and u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e p r o b l e m s , i n o r d e r t o r e s t o r e t o d a y ' s s e n i o r c i t i z e n t o a p l a c e o f s e c u r i t y and d i g n i t y . P r o m p t i n g much o f t h e r e c e n t l i t e r a t u r e on t h e aged i s t h e f a c t t h a t so l i t t l e i s known a b o u t them, e s p e c i a l l y a b o u t a b l e - b o d i e d o l d e r p e o p l e and t h e i r l i v i n g a r r a n g e m e n t s . T h e r e i s n e e d f o r more i n f o r m a t i o n . P h y s i -c i a n s a r e s e e k i n g t o g a i n more k n o w l e d g e a b o u t d e g e n e r a -t i v e d i s e a s e s * s o c i o l o g i s t s w i s h t o r e v i e w t h e i r c u l t u r a l p a t t e r n s , and s o c i a l a g e n c i e s w i s h t o o f f e r more a d e q u a t e s e r v i c e s t o t h e o l d e r p e r s o n . A r e c e n t s u r v e y on t h e a g e i n g was u n d e r t a k e n i n New Y o r k t o d e t e r m i n e t h e f u n d a -m e n t a l n e e d s o f t h e o l d e r p e o p l e i n t h e d i s t r i c t s e r v i c e d - 2 -by the Kips B a y - Y o r k v i l l e Health Centre i n New York C i t y . The r e s u l t s of t h i s study have been published by the R u s s e l l Sage Foundation In a book e n t i t l e d , F i v e Hundred Over Sixty.\" 1' Although the study was confined to one small geographical area, the problems surveyed are those to be found i n almost any community i n Canada or the United Sta t e s . The authors of the New York study observe t h a t : For some persons, the p e r i o d of agedness has, brought w i t h i t u n p a r a l l e l e d p r e s t i g e , fame, and even f o r -tune. The eld e r statesman, the d i s t i n g u i s h e d pro-f e s s o r emeritus, the e l d e r l y tycoon, are examples. For others, age has meant unprecedented hardship, chronic degenerative i l l n e s s , mental d i s i n t e g r a t i o n , indigency, and i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z a t i o n . In modern times, age-determined e x c l u s i o n from employment, subsistence on p u b l i c f i n a n c i a l support, and residence i n c u s t o d i a l i n s t i t u t i o n s , have been some of the con-comitants of ageing. For the m a j o r i t y , however,who have n e i t h e r fame nor wealth,- on the one hand, nor 'second childhood' or p r o t r a c t e d t e r m i n a l i l l n e s s , on the other, o ld age ushers i n a p e r i o d of unique problems. Among these problems are counted the te r m i n a t i o n of g a i n f u l employment; reduced income; the onset or exacerbation of degenerative i l l n e s s ; i s o l a t i o n through death or removal of f a m i l y , f r i e n d s , and peers; increased periods of indolence; l o s s of p h y s i c a l and mental a b i l i t i e s ; widowhood; a decreas.-\" ing standard of l i v i n g ; and those f e e l i n g s , emotions, thoughts and a t t i t u d e s that attend the foregoing evidences of the d e c l i n e of l i f e i n our s o c i e t y . 2 These current accompaniments to old age: a d e c l i n e i n - status, and- income., and a l e s s e n i n g of s o c i a l s a t i s f a c t i o n s , -1 Russell- Sage Foundation, Kutner, Bernard, and others, ed., F i v e Hundred Over S i x t y , A Community Survey on Ageing, Wm. F. F e l l Company, p r i n t e r s , 195>6. I b i d . , p. 5>-- 3 -are discussed In much of the current l i t e r a t u r e on the problems of ageing. Lewis Mumford, f o r in s t a n c e , considers that mod-ern s o c i e t y has- r e j e c t e d t h e i r o l d e r c i t i z e n s and that much of t h i s r e j e c t i o n is. the r e s u l t of the three-generation f a m i l y g i v i n g way to a two-generation household. In an a r t i c l e w r i t t e n f o r the A r c h i t e c t u r a l Record, he sta t e s t h a t : Probably at no per i o d and i n no c u l t u r e have the old ever been so completely r e j e c t e d as i n our own country during the l a s t generation. As t h e i r num-. bers have Increased, t h e i r p o s i t i o n has worsened. The breakup of the three-generation f a m i l y coincided here w i t h the curtailment of l i v i n g space i n the i n d i v i d u a l household; and from t h i s p h y s i c a l con-s t r i c t i o n has. come s o c i a l d e s t i t u t i o n as w e l l . Unwanted i n the cramped small home, even when they are loved, and too often unloved because they are unwanted, the aged f i n d t h e i r l i v e s p r o g r e s s i v e l y meaningless and empty, while t h e i r days i r o n i c a l l y lengthen. The years that have been added to t h e i r p o r t i o n have come, u n f o r t u n a t e l y , atthe wrong end of t h e i r l i v e s . 1 In recent years, i n t e r e s t i n understanding the i m p l i c a t i o n s of the growth of the aged p o p u l a t i o n has become widespread. This awareness has l e d to the formul-a t i o n of committees and groups to study the problem's of the older person. S i g n i f i c a n t l e a d e r s h i p In t h i s f i e l d 2 came,--.from a. C a l i f o r n i a confer once on. the : problems of .... .; Mumford, Lewis,.,, \"Ror.: Older,. People—Not Segreation but I n t e g r a t i o n . \" A r c h i t e c t u r a l Record, May, 195>5>> V o l . 119, No. 5, p. 191. State of C a l i f o r n i a , Governor's Conference on the Problems of the Aging. Conference Report, October, 19^1, Sacramento, C a l i f o r n i a . - k -the ageing,' which was held i n 195>1 and was headed by Governor E a r l Warren. The conference included a s t a t e -wide r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of c i t i z e n s from the f i e l d s of man-agement, labour, the p r o f e s s i o n s , c i v i c groups, s e r v i c e clubs., and senior c i t i z e n s themselves. In a l l , over two thousand r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s attended the. conference, when a comprehensive e x p l o r a t i o n was made of the problems' and needs, of the older people i n the s t a t e . The wide scope of these problems was recognized and i s shown i n the extent of the agenda. In t h i s agenda, the broad range of areas to be considered w i t h reference to the ageing,, is. amply i n d i c a t e d : Community Organization; Education; Employment Opp o r t u n i t i e s ; Housing and L i v i n g Arrangements; Income Maintenance; Mental H e a l t h ; P h y s i c a l H e a l t h ; R e c r e a t i o n ; S o c i a l Welfare S e r v i c e s ; and Research. Although many of these areas have been recognized i n the past as r e l e v a n t to the needs of the ageing, \"Hous-i n g \" i s somewhat of a newcomer to the group i n North America, though a long f a m i l i a r one In B r i t a i n and some coun t r i e s of western Europe. Housing has f r e q u e n t l y been i n t e r p r e t e d to mean i n s t i t u t i o n a l care, n u r s i n g homes, et c e t e r a ; but the c o n s t r u c t i o n of s p e c i f i c u n i t s f o r old people as such i s r e l a t i v e l y new: i t i s now widely advo-cated as an Important part of \"the welfare of the aged.\" The need has become i n t e n s i f i e d because older people tend more and more to l i v e apart from t h e i r married c h i l d r e n ; the l a r g e house wi t h room f o r three generations i s no longer a v a i l a b l e ; and indeed i t i s a l l that some younger couples can do to secure housing f o r themselves and t h e i r c h i l d r e n . Senior c i t i z e n s ' h o u s i n g p r o j e c t s , which u s u a l l y include i n d i v i d u a l s e l f - c o n t a i n e d u n i t s , are one of the newer trends. In housing f o r old people today. L o c a l l y , i n the Vancouver area, s e v e r a l housing developments, have been constructed over the past few years, s p e c i f i c a l l y f o r o l d e r f o l k . These have been eagerly sought a f t e r and so f a r the numbers constructed have not n e a r l y met the demand. T h i s , too, i s the case i n West Vancouver where the f i r s t housing p r o j e c t was inaugurated only,.a year or so ago. This i s not to say that a l l the older people of West Vancouver are i n need of accommodation, f o r many of them l i v e comfortably w i t h married c h i l d r e n , who are i n a p o s i t i o n to provide f o r them. There i s s t i l l another group of older people who are able to l i v e w i t h f r i e n d s or other r e l a t i v e s . However, there seem to be p o i n t s needing i n v e s t i g a t i o n , f o r the records of s o c i a l agencies, and the experience of p r o f e s s i o n a l and v o l u n t e e r workers both i n d i c a t e that the l i v i n g arrangements f o r many o l d e r people are q u i t e u n s a t i s f a c t o r y . Not only are these arrangements. - 6 -poor because of inadequate p h y s i c a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , but als o because severe f a m i l y tensions sometimes a r i s e from c o n f l i c t s between the three generations. In b u i l d i n g housing p r o j e c t s f o r older people, the question a r i s e s as to how f a r does t h i s meet t h e i r needs? The e n t i r e area of housing f o r s e n i o r c i t i z e n s i s a complex Issue and many aspects, have to be considered. The purpose of th i s , study is. to survey the needs of a sample group of older persons i n West Vancouver w i t h s p e c i f i c reference to housing and the sen i o r c i t i z e n s ' -housing p r o j e c t i n that area. Because t h i s study i s prim-a r i l y concerned with West Vancouver, a short d e s c r i p t i o n of that community w i l l be of help to the reader i n under-standing the f i n d i n g s of t h i s survey. The West Vancouver Community West Vancouver, today, i s a l a r g e and growing r e s i d e n t i a l area having s p e c i a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and a t t r a c t i o n s . E s s e n t i a l l y , throughout the years, i t has remained a r e s i d e n t i a l community w i t h the residents, depending mainly on the trade .and commerce of Vancouver f o r t h e i r employment. In a d d i t i o n to employment, the M u n i c i p a l i t y i s also dependent on. Vancouver f o r many other s e r v i c e s and amenities of urban l i f e . Those r e s i d e n t s who do not work i n the c i t y , however, often f i n d i t necessary - 7 -to make p e r i o d i c v i s i t s to s p e c i a l shops, to doctors, or to attend various c u l t u r a l events In Vancouver. For most of the community, the added t r a n s p o r t a t i o n costs do not Impose r e s t r i c t i o n s on t h e i r t r a v e l l i n g ; but f o r older r e s i d e n t s w i t h a l i m i t e d income, i t does. The r e p o r t , L i v i n g and Working i n West Vancouver, published i n 19$l\\., s t a t e s that West Vancouver i s c l e a r l y a \"dormitory\" suburb and that .an estimated 80 per cent of 2 the employed residents, work outside the m u n i c i p a l i t y . The report also p o i n t s out c l e a r l y that West Vancouver has. a hi g h p r o p o r t i o n of business and p r o f e s s i o n a l people i n i t s la b o r f o r c e , i n comparison w i t h greater Vancouver. In a d d i t i o n , the p r o p o r t i o n of t h e i r p o p u l a t i o n i n the labour f o r c e i s s i g n i f i c a n t because, \" ... i t i n d i c a t e s r e l a t i v e l y few women work, a l a r g e number of old people, and longer years of schooling on the p a r t of the c h i l d r e n . These are t y p i c a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of a community w i t h f a i r l y h i g h Incomes.\" The t a x revenue on r e s i d e n t i a l property i n most communities i s , on the average, between one-third and Oberlander, H. Peter, and Robinson, I r a M., L i v i n g and Working i n West Vancouver, B r i t i s h Columbia; An Economic A n a l y s i s . Corporation of the M u n i c i p a l D i s t r i c t of West Vancouver, M u n i c i p a l H a l l , West Vancouver, B.C. 2 I b i d . , p. 17. 3 l b i d . , p. 16. - 8 -one-half of the taxable property.\"'\" In West Vancouver, where there Is no i n d u s t r y , t h i s \"average\" does not hold t r u e , as almost nine-tenths of the revenue from property taxes i s derived from r e s i d e n t i a l land and improvements.^ This f a c t i s s i g n i f i c a n t i n determining land use p o l i c y and was commented upon i n the r e p o r t . The authors stated t h a t : ... i f West Vancouver i s to remain p r i m a r i l y a r e s i d e n t i a l suburb, I t s r e s i d e n t i a l r e a l estate should be of the most va l u a b l e type, b r i n g i n g i n the greatest amount of revenue. To meet t h i s c r i t e r i o n , the m u n i c i p a l i t y should attempt, through whatever means i t has at i t s d i s p o s a l , to a t t r a c t to the community as many r e s i d e n t s as p o s s i b l e who can 'pay t h e i r own way' i n terms'of the costs required to s e r v i c e them.-' Although the M u n i c i p a l i t y i s twelve miles long, the major p o r t i o n of the present p o p u l a t i o n of 17,000 i s concentrated between Capilano R i v e r and 28th S t r e e t , a distance of three m i l e s . This was not always the case, f o r when t h i s North Shore settlement was incorporated i n 1912, seven years a f t e r i t s founding, there were s e v e r a l small \"pockets\" of^ people l i v i n g a few m i l e s apart from each other. By 1938, when the Lions' Gate Bridge was opened, the population was of the order of 6,000. I b i d . , p. 7• Lbid•> P • ^ . 3 I b i d . , p. 1 0 . - 9 -There have been two waves of s e t t l e r s In West Vancouver. The f i r s t were the s e t t l e r s who came, s t a r t -ing about 1 9 0 6 , c h i e f l y to l i v e i n r u r a l surroundings; the second were the suburban home b u i l d e r s who began to move i n when the Lions' Gate Bridge was completed i n 1 9 3 8 ? and a new era of expansion began. The f i r s t were of r a t h e r modest means and s t i l l remain so; the second, on the other hand, are i n the higher income b r a c k e t s . Prom the time the Lions' Gate Bridge was opened the community grew continu-ously, though not according to any p l a n . A considerable number of summer cottages were b u i l t on the waterfront and many were to be found on the slopes of the mountain. As the p o p u l a t i o n increased, many of these dwellings became year-round residences. A great many of these became the homes of older people because they were small and f i n a n -c i a l l y w i t h i n t h e i r means. However, w i t h i n the past few years, land taxes have been Increased to a p o i n t where many of the senior c i t i z e n s have found i t necessary to move, not only from a rented room or t h e i r own home, but a l s o from West Vancouver i t s e l f , f o r they were unable to f i n d s u i t a b l e accommodation i n the m u n i c i p a l i t y . Older people i n the lower Income group who wish to remain i n the com-munity have done so, but not always without a c q u i r i n g a lower standard of l i v i n g . - 10 -Welfare Aspects of Housing The problem of p r o v i d i n g s h e l t e r f o r man i s as old as man hi m s e l f . Although through the years many problems have been solved, d i f f e r e n t ones have a r i s e n to keep s o c i e t y ever aware of the p r e s s i n g needs i n t h i s area. Throughout the ages, t r i b e s and s o c i e t i e s have b u i l t to pro t e c t themselves and t h e i r f a m i l i e s from the elements. There have been many experiments i n p r o v i d i n g housing, but the subject of p r o v i d i n g housing f o r the aged i s s t i l l new and there are many aspects yet to be explored. In Vancouver, the lead i n t h i s d i r e c t i o n has been given by the Vancouver Housing A s s o c i a t i o n . The A s s o c i a t i o n has kept the needs of a l l groups i n :the com-munity under survey f o r s e v e r a l years. Although i t has been eig h t years, since they published one of t h e i r sur-veys, Housing f o r Our Older C i t i z e n s , many of t h e i r f i n d -ings i n t h i s area are s t i l l p e r t i n e n t today. R e f e r r i n g to a survey of n i n e t y - f o u r , o l d e r people, mostly s i n g l e women, the r e p o r t (p. $) s t a t e s : Old people are l i v i n g i n a l l manner of dark crowded qua r t e r s , l a c k i n g many of the or d i n a r y conveniences; and, i n the great m a j o r i t y of cases, p r o v i s i o n f o r heating i s e n t i r e l y inadequate. In t h i n k i n g of the problem one must r e a l i z e , too, that i n most cases the aged lodger i s only t o l e r a t e d . There has been l i t t l e i n d i c a t i o n that t h i s p i c -ture has changed over the years, and i t would seem to be equall y true that older couples are f i n d i n g i t d i f f i c u l t - 11 -f i n a n c i a l l y to keep up t h e i r own homes. Of t h i s , the report says: I t might be assumed at f i r s t s i g h t that these old people who are l i v i n g i n t h e i r own homes should not be a source of concern from the housing stand-p o i n t : but f r e q u e n t l y they, too, present a problem. In very many cases, they have not s u f f i c i e n t income to keep t h e i r homes up p r o p e r l y , to heat them ade-quately, or to pay the taxes, without going short on other e s s e n t i a l s . Secondly, the house i s o f t e n too large and inconvenient f o r them to run without excessive e f f o r t . I n such i n s t a n c e s , i t would be f a r more s a t i s f a c t o r y f o r a l l concerned, i f they could move i n t o a s mall labour-saving s u i t e or cottage and release t h e i r house f o r a l a r g e r f a m i l y . These f a c t s have been known f o r a long time but l i t t l e has been done to meet the needs of older people f o r proper l i v i n g quarters. In Canada, p u b l i c housing r e c e i v e d it's f i r s t impetus a f t e r the close of World War II\" when veterans' housing p r o j e c t s were constructed. In the Vancouver area, s e v e r a l developments took shape under the guidance of the F e d e r a l Government, but none of these p r o j e c t s provided accommodation f o r e l d e r l y c i t i z e n s . The . only p r o v i s i o n made f o r l o w - r e n t a l f a m i l i e s i n a p u b l i c housing development i s In the L i t t l e Mountain housing p r o j e c t e s t a b l i s h e d , a f t e r much e f f o r t , i n 1195>3 • Under present arrangements, f i v e per cent of the residences are set aside s p e c i f i c a l l y f o r e l d e r l y couples. However, because of Housing Act p r o v i s i o n s , no accommodation at - - Vancouver Housing A s s o c i a t i o n , Housing f o r Our Older C i t i z e n s , March, 191+93 p. 6. - 12 -a l l can be made a v a i l a b l e f o r s i n g l e persons. As thus f a r i n d i c a t e d , because so l i t t l e has been done to provide accommodation f o r older people, many are l i v i n g under adverse circumstances. The conc l u s i o n of the \" C a l i f o r n i a Conference,\" mentioned e a r l i e r , was that most older people who are i n u n s a t i s f a c t o r y l i v i n g accommodation, are probably housed In one of three ways: (1) In a house or apartment i n no way designed or b u i l t f o r t h e i r needs, but which they happen to own or occupy; (2) w i t h the f a m i l y of a married c h i l d or occas-i o n a l l y someone e l s e , u s u a l l y i n quarters p o o r l y su i t e d f o r such arrangements; (3) i n a rooming or boarding house or a t h i r d - r a t e h o t e l , often i n d e t e r i o r a t i n g neighbourhoods.1 In conducting the present study, these three c a t e g o r i e s were kept i n mind, and i n many instances the l i v i n g arrangements of the groups surveyed coincided w i t h these three c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s . Although older people, r e g a r d l e s s of f i n a n c i a l s t a t u s , are i n need of help to acquire s u i t a b l e accommo-da t i o n , those who are \" f i n a n c i a l l y secure\" have l e s s of a problem securing proper housing than those on government as s i s t a n c e or on a marginal income. I t i s because of these people i n the l a t t e r two groups that l o w - r e n t a l housing asbecome such-an i s s u e . I t would seem that i f pensions - State of C a l i f o r n i a , Governor's Conference on the Problems of the Aging. Conference Report, October, 19^1, Sacramento, C a l i f o r n i a , p. 66. - 13 - . were adequate the pensioners would be able to a f f o r d s u i t -able accommodation. However, t h i s i s not the case and, as a r e s u l t , low-cost housing must be provided f o r them. In West Vancouver, i t i s considered t h a t there are s e v e r a l hundred persons e i t h e r on Old Age A s s i s t a n c e or Old Age S e c u r i t y and Bonus. 1 This f i g u r e , of course, does not Include the people w i t h marginal incomes which are not much higher than these w i t h f u l l a s s i s t a n c e . . Not only i n West Vancouver, but also throughout Canada, many older people are i n r e c e i p t of low f i x e d incomes such as a n n u i t i e s , war pensions, or some form of superannuation. These people i n the low income group can i l l a f f o r d to pay one-half t h e i r income or more f o r accommodation, but many do, because there i s nothing e l s e a v a i l a b l e f o r them. Sometimes, a p e n s i o n - r e c i p i e n t secures a basement room or an a t t i c s u i t e that i s w i t h i n h i s means but r a r e l y i s t h i s \"home\" adequate f o r h i s needs. In such cases as these, a person's p h y s i c a l h e a l t h as w e l l as h i s mental h e a l t h can e a s i l y be impaired, thus r a i s i n g the cost of medical expense to himself and to the govern-ment- as well-. ^ Old Age A s s i s t a n c e i s paid to those between 6$ and 70 who have passed a means t e s t . The maximum amount payable i s $60 a month. This i s p a i d by the P r o v i n c i a l Government and p a r t i c i p a t e d i n by the F e d e r a l Government. Old Age S e c u r i t y i s paid to persons 70 and over, without a means t e s t , a f t e r 20 years' residence i n Canada. This i s paid by the F e d e r a l Government. There Is a bonus of $20 a month paid i n B r i t i s h Columbia w i t h a means t e s t . - Ik -S o c i a l Work and Housing Throughout the years, s o c i a l workers have come to r e a l i z e the importance of housing and i t s effects, on e n t i r e f a m i l y s i t u a t i o n s . This concept of housing i n r e l a t i o n to the \"mental and p h y s i c a l h e a l t h \" of older people i s summed up by the C a l i f o r n i a Study i n the s t a t e -ment : The b a s i c r e l a t i o n s h i p of housing to mental and p h y s i c a l h e a l t h and s o c i a l adjustment, that holds f o r the general p o p u l a t i o n , i s i n t e n s i f i e d w i t h advancing years. Since t h i s i s a p e r i o d of i n c r e a s i n g s e n s i t i v i t y to emotional f a c t o r s and conservation of p h y s i c a l s t r e n g t h , environmental f a c t o r s loom l a r g e i n the scale of s a t i s f a c t o r y l i v i n g arrangements. As income decreases, housing w i t h i n f i n a n c i a l reach grows l e s s d e s i r a b l e and l e s s s u i t e d to the a c t u a l needs of i n c r e a s i n g age. 1 S o c i a l agencies throughout Canada and the United States r e c e i v e numerous p l e a s f o r help i n f i n d i n g s u i t a b l e accommodation f o r older people. Most of these requests are from people who are r e c e i v i n g a s s i s t a n c e i n one form or another. There are a l s o many who are i n a marginal c l a s s . As noted e a r l i e r , there are people who have an income j u s t above the minimum which would e n t i t l e them to - f i n a n c i a l a i d . In B r i t i s h Columbia, the people i n the Governor's Conference on the Problems of the Aging, op. c i t . , p. 277-- 15 -b o r d e r l i n e group are often worse o f f than those r e c e i v i n g government a i d . Because of the r e g u l a t i o n s regarding e l i g i b i l i t y f o r low-rent housing as set down i n the 'E l d e r l y C i t i z e n s ! Housing A i d Act,\"\"'\" they are sometimes not e l i g i b l e f o r low-cost housing p r o j e c t s . To s a t i s f y this, need f o r accommodation, many agencies have set up a housing r e g i s t r y so t h a t , when someone i s i n need of a pl a c e to stay, a search through the l i s t of places a v a i l a b l e i s made to s u i t t h i s p a r t i -c u l a r persons needs. However, haying a l i s t of p o s s i b l e places to l i v e does not often solve the problem f o r older people. .In many cases, the rent i s too h i g h f o r t h e i r meagre income. Because the rent i s lower there, older people, as mentioned before, tend to l i v e i n o l d e r b u i l d -ings and d i l a p i d a t e d neighbourhoods. However, many of these o l d b u i l d i n g s are now being demolished and expensive apartment blocks are being put up on the s i t e s . In one recent year ( 1 9 5 6 ) > i n the Vancouver area, over 1|00 older 2 homes were demolished. Many of these were dwelling's i n the West. End. area wh.ere,:hundreds., of o l d e r people were . .. 1, Regulations s t i p u l a t e that occupancy, s h a l l be l i m i t e d to e l d e r l y persons whose t o t a l f i x e d income from a l l sources does not exceed the equivalent of - ll+O per cent of the Old Age A s s i s t a n c e allowance p l u s the B r i t i s h Columbia c o s t - o f - l i v i n g bonus. 2 Annual Report, Committee on Welfare of the Aged, Community Chest and C o u n c i l of Greater Vancouver, Report of the Sub-committee on Housing, January, 1 9 5 7 ? p. 3 -- 16 -housed. To a l e s s e r degree t h i s has happened i n West Vancouver. In many of the numerous a p p l i c a t i o n l e t t e r s received by the West Vancouver Senior C i t i z e n s ' Housing S o c i e t y p r i o r to the opening of t h e i r housing p r o j e c t , the applicants, stated that the owners of the homes or rooms which they rented had given them n o t i c e as the property had been sold f o r redevelopment. The p r o f e s s i o n of s o c i a l work i s deeply con-cerned not only about senior c i t i z e n s ' housing, but. a l s o about adequate and proper housing f o r the e n t i r e popul-a t i o n . The i m p l i c a t i o n s of poor housing c o n d i t i o n s and i t s . e f f e c t on f a m i l y l i f e i s discussed f r e q u e n t l y , \"how-ever, I t i s only r e c e n t l y that some studies are beginning to be made l o c a l l y by s o c i a l workers. With reference to the Vancouver area, one of the f i r s t of such stud i e s was that undertaken i n 19$$ by Warren Andrew Wilson, who des-cribed \"Housing Conditions .Among. S o c i a l A s s i s t a n c e Fami-l i e s . 1 , 1 This was a study of a group of 3i+7 f a m i l i e s who are r e c e i v i n g s o c i a l .allowance i n Vancouver. The study revealed that s o c i a l a s s i s t a n c e r e c i p i e n t s were not .only s u f f e r i n g from poor housing c o n d i t i o n s and high r e n t s , but also from a: serious housing shortage. .1 Wilson,. Warren Andrew, Housing Conditions Among S o c i a l A s s i s t a n c e F a m i l i e s f'J^ffll'IT'fr^^ MaW-t^ r of S o c i a l Work thesis., U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia, 19$$. - 17 -Not a l l housing inadequacies are found i n slums, although i t i s r e a d i l y acknowledged that these areas have t h e i r share. The s o c i a l worker i s e s p e c i a l l y concerned because housing problems are encountered i n many cases which come to h i s a t t e n t i o n . I t has been said \"There i s har d l y any phase of human endeavour that i s not a f f e c t e d by the con d i t i o n s under which people l i v e . \" 1 Budget, and the type and convenience of the s h e l t e r , d i r e c t l y i n f l u e n c e people, i n c l u d i n g the older person, i n h i s d a i l y outlook and general w e l l - b e i n g . L a t e l y , the emphasis onvrwelfare s e r v i c e s f o r the aged has increased, but at the same time i t i s recognized that no s e r v i c e can be f u l l y e f f e c t i v e unless p r o v i s i o n Is made f o r the b a s i c n e c e s s i t i e s of l i f e . Inherent among basic s o c i a l work p r i n c i p l e s i s the r i g h t of the i n d i v i d u a l to f i n a n c i a l help when he Is not able to secure the neces-s i t i e s of l i f e . I t i s t h i s p r i n c i p l e which b r i n g s p r o f e s -s i o n a l s o c i a l work i n t o d i r e c t contact w i t h the problems of budgeting, income, and housing. The American P u b l i c Welfare A s s o c i a t i o n , i n deal i n g w i t h the problem of housing•for older people,-1 Abbott, E d i t h , The Tenements of Chicago 1 9 0 8 - 1 9 3 5 , The U n i v e r s i t y of Chicago Press, Chicago, I l l i n o i s , 1 9 3 6 , c i t i n g statement of Senator Wag-ner of New York before Senate Committee on Education and Labor, 74-th Congress, 2 n d session (Hearings) on S. 4J+23, A p r i l 2 0 - 2 9 , 1 9 3 6 , when Housing Act f o r 1 9 3 6 was under c o n s i d e r a t i o n . - 18 -b e l i e v e s that p u b l i c welfare agencies can h e l p . i n at l e a s t f i v e d i f f e r e n t ways. These are: (1) They help those older people who come to them f o r a i d f i n d the best p o s s i b l e housing arrange-ments i n terms of what is. a v a i l a b l e , t h e i r own needs and t h e i r own resources; (2) They help the i n d i v i d u a l or h i s f a m i l y with the encouragement, advice, and a i d needed to b r i n g about necessary adjustments i n l i v i n g arrange-ment s; (3) they provide the f i n a n c i a l b a s i s f o r meeting s h e l t e r needs through a s s i s t a n c e ; (k) i n some in s t a n c e s , they s t i m u l a t e and encour-age the development of needed s p e c i a l i z e d hous-ing arrangements; and (5) i n some instances they e s t a b l i s h and maintain standards of group housing f o r older people through t h e i r l i c e n s i n g a u t h o r i t y . 1 (The l i c e n s i n g a u t h o r i t y r e f e r r e d to i s the p r o v i s i o n by l e g i s l a t i o n , f o r i n s p e c t i o n and l i c e n s i n g of group homes f o r o l d e r people whether or not the inmates are i n r e c e i p t of p u b l i c assistance.) The West Vancouver S o c i a l S ervice Department p a r t i c i p a t e s a c t i v e l y i n the f i r s t three areas mentioned. The department has also been a c t i v e i n h e l p i n g p l a n s p e c i a l i z e d housing arrangements and. in. some i n s t a n c e s , through d e l e g a t i o n of a u t h o r i t y , they do maintain standards through l i c e n s i n g a u t h o r i t y . In some cases, when the S o c i a l Service A d m i n i s t r a t o r has no d i r e c t a u t h o r i t y but - American P u b l i c Welfare A s s o c i a t i o n , The Needs of Older People. Prepared by E l i z a b e t h Wickenden f o r the Committee on Aging, An A n a l y s i s and D e s c r i p t i o n of P u b l i c Welfare Experience, p. 91. - 19 -where the s i t u a t i o n i s one i n which the welfare of the aged i s at stake he often p a r t i c i p a t e s i n an i n d i r e c t manner, through h i s knowledge of resources i n the com-munity. Low-Rental Housing S u i t a b l e housing, f o r o l d e r people i s q u i t e scarce, and even serious c o n s i d e r a t i o n of t h i s matter i s very recent. In the past few years, there has been considerable a t t e n t i o n given to t h i s subject, as w e l l as experimentation. Many communities have surveyed the needs of t h e i r o l d e r people and placed h i g h p r i o r i t y on housing, but a c t u a l experience i n handling the problems i s e v i d e n t l y s c a t t e r e d . In p r o v i d i n g housing f o r the aged, there i s no s i n g l e a l l - i n c l u s i v e answer and var i o u s experiments are being undertaken i n order to f i n d a s o l u t i o n t o the problem. An example of t h i s i s the U p h o l s t e r e r s ' I n t e r -n a t i o n a l Union's c o n s t r u c t i o n of a \"retirement v i l l a g e . \"\"^ This v i l l a g e Is a new concept i n t h i s f i e l d as i t i s an \"ol d people's town,\" complete w i t h houses, apartments, h o s p i t a l , c r a f t shops,- s t o r e s , and a great v a r i e t y of r e c r e a t i o n a l and therapeutic f a c i l i t i e s . This p l a n f o r 1 This \"retirement v i l l a g e \" i s s i t u a t e d at S.alhaven, F l o r i d a , and i s described In \"Some Current Attempts at Bet t e r B u i l d i n g s , \" A r c h i t e c t u r a l Record, May, ±9$6, V o l . 119, No. 5, p. 200. - 20 -older people w i l l be much studied f o r i t provides a l i v e l y t e s t f o r the thought that the aged should have t h e i r own town planned e x c l u s i v e l y f o r t h e i r own needs. Other, less, i n d u s t r i o u s forms of housing are to be found throughout the United States and Canada. These incl u d e the i n d i v i d u a l s m a l l house, s i t u a t e d l i k e any other house i n a normal community and the s o - c a l l e d \"mother-in-law house.\" Though many older people d e s i r e a small house, few of these have so f a r been b u i l t . The major d i f f i c u l t y here i s that of favourable f i n a n c i n g f o r a one-bedroom house which i s a l s o s a i d to have small r e s a l e value. Perhaps f u r t h e r experience may prove t h a t t h i s type of housing i s p r a c t i c a l . The small independent u n i t attached to the house of a married son or daughter has a l s o been used but as yet there has been l i t t l e • research i n t o the meri t s of such p l a n s . In a d d i t i o n t o the retirement v i l l a g e or the small i n d i v i d u a l house, there are three other main types of l i v i n g accommodation which can be constructed f o r o l d people. These are: ( l ) small s i n g l e housing u n i t s w i t h i n the l a r g e r community; (2) apartment houses; and (3) semi-I n s t i t u t i o n a l housing. The small s i n g l e u n i t s idea seems to be the most e x t e n s i v e l y used i n p r o v i d i n g homes f o r the aged. Many communities have found r e c e n t l y that the m a j o r i t y of e l d e r l y people i n need of housing are s i n g l e persons. Therefore, apartment houses, w i t h f o u r or e i g h t - 21 -small s u i t e s , have been constructed along w i t h the s i n g l e housing u n i t s . S e m i - i n s t i t u t i o n a l housing has been undertaken, i n a few c i t i e s , by some r e l i g i o u s and f r a t -e r n a l groups who formerly l i m i t e d t h e i r endeavours to i n s t i t u t i o n a l care. The p l a n c a l l s f o r a wider range of l i v i n g arrangements from cottages to an i n f i r m a r y . These f a c i l i t i e s a l l o w the residents, to t r a n s f e r from one type of accommodation to another as. the need a r i s e s . In B r i t i s h Columbia and p a r t i c u l a r l y i n the Greater Vancouver area, the main type of l i v i n g accomod-a t i o n provided f o r senior c i t i z e n s has been i n the nature of small s i n g l e u n i t s f o r married couples and apartments f o r s i n g l e persons, grouped together i n one area to form a \" p r o j e c t . \" The s i z e of these v a r i o u s p r o j e c t s ranges from accommodation f o r twenty-four persons to accommodation f o r over one hundred and f i f t y persons. T r a d i t i o n a l l y , r e l i g i o u s , f r a t e r n a l , s e r v i c e , and p h i l a n t h r o p i c s o c i e -t i e s have provided most of the s p e c i a l i z e d housing f o r older people. Today, t h i s t r a d i t i o n s t i l l e x i s t s , except f o r the added p r o v i s i o n that government often p a r t i c i p a t e s , through f i n a n c i a l a i d . In a report on the b u i l d i n g of low r e n t a l housing f o r senior c i t i z e n s , the Vancouver Housing A s s o c i a t i o n considers that there are two means by which housing can be provided. - 22 -The senior l e v e l s of government, a c t i n g at the request of a m u n i c i p a l i t y , may construct subsid-ized housing p r o j e c t s under Section 36 of the N a t i o n a l Housing Act. Under t h i s s e c t i o n , the F e d e r a l and P r o v i n c i a l Governments put up 75 % and 2.$% of the c a p i t a l r e s p e c t i v e l y , while i n B r i t i s h Columbia, the annual subsidy represented by the operating l o s s i s borne i n the f o l l o w i n g p r o p o r t i o n s : F e d e r a l 75$ > P r o v i n c i a l l2|-$, M u n i c i p a l 12j#. The report continues: The F e d e r a l Government i s at present, however, not prepared to p a r t i c i p a t e i n the c o n s t r u c t i o n of housing f o r senior c i t i z e n s , except as p a r t of a p r o j e c t f o r f a m i l i e s with c h i l d r e n , and d i f f i c u l t y may be experienced i n i n t e r e s t i n g m u n i c i p a l i t i e s i n i n i t i a t i n g p u b l i c housing p r o j e c t s f o r working f a m i l i e s . A l t e r n a t i v e l y , a m u n i c i p a l i t y may provide the c a p i t a l required f o r a n o n - p r o f i t s o c i e t y or c o r p o r a t i o n (norm-a l l y 10$) to q u a l i f y f o r a P r o v i n c i a l grant and C.M.H.C. f i n a n c i n g . The report s t a t e s f u r t h e r : In the l a r g e r c i t i e s , owing to the magnitude of the problem, p u b l i c housing f o r s e n i o r c i t i z e n s w i l l c e r t a i n l y be r e q u i r e d . In smaller communities, however, i t i s p o s s i b l e that the need may be met i n many cases by s o c i e t i e s or corporations sponsored by p r i v a t e groups of c i t i z e n s . 1 The p r o v i n c i a l grant r e f e r r e d to i n t h i s r e p o r t i s the r e s u l t of the \" E l d e r l y C i t i z e n s ' Housing A i d Act\" passed i n 1955. Under t h e terms of t h i s a c t , the Government of B r i t i s h Columbia w i l l pay up to o n e - t h i r d \" B u i l d i n g f o r Senior C i t i z e n s , \" , an unpublished r e p o r t of the Vancouver Housing A s s o c i a t i o n , January, 1956. - 23 -of the c a p i t a l cost provided that the scheme meets the required standards as o u t l i n e d w i t h i n the act and i t s r e g u l a t i ons. 1 Although the P r o v i n c i a l Government has set out r e g u l a t i o n s , the a c t u a l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n and maintenance of the i n d i v i d u a l developments i s taken care of by the v a r i o u s sponsoring groups. In the Greater Vancouver area, there are se v e r a l p r i v a t e groups who have taken advantage of the P r o v i n c i a l Government's o f f e r of one-third of c a p i t a l c o s t s , and by g a i n i n g some c o n s i d e r a t i o n from the c i t y or m u n i c i p a l i t y concerned, they have succeeded i n p r o v i d i n g low-cost housing f o r many older people. Recently, a p r i v a t e group i n West Vancouver received such a grant and was able to provide t h e i r community wi t h a senior c i t i z e n s ' housing p r o j e c t which accommodates twenty-four persons. The o r g a n i z a t i o n r e s -p o n s i b l e f o r i n i t i a t i n g and maintaining the p r o j e c t i s known as the West Vancouver Senior C i t i z e n s ' Housing S o c i e t y . Although t h i s group was formed w i t h i n the past few years, the need f o r low-cost housing was recognized s e v e r a l years ago by the West Vancouver Welfare Association.£ 1 See Appendix A f o r the r e g u l a t i o n s under t h i s A c t . p The West Vancouver Welfare A s s o c i a t i o n i s a p r i v a t e o r g a n i z a t i o n which provides g e n e r a l ' a s s i s t a n c e and advi s -ory s e r v i c e s to persons i n need. I t i s a f i n a n c i a l l y p a r t i c i p a t i n g memberc-of the Community Chestaand C o u n c i l . - zk -However, despite the Welfare A s s o c i a t i o n ' s e f f o r t s to meet t h i s need, no plan could be formulated that would s a t i s f y a l l the groups concerned. I t was not u n t i l e a r l y i n 1953, that the Kiwanis of West Vancouver formed the West Vancouver Senior C i t i z e n s ' ' Housing S o c i e t y , and set about to p l a n , c o n s t r u c t , and maintain s i n g l e and married low-rent quarters f o r e l d e r l y people. Because of the former r e s t r i c t i o n s placed on housing developments f o r S:enior c i t i z e n s by the C e n t r a l Mortgage and Housing Corporation, i t was not p o s s i b l e to construct more u n i t s f o r s i n g l e people than f o r married couples. This mortgage requirement d i d not take i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n the f a c t that there are more older s i n g l e people than there are married couples needing accommodation, and t h e r e f o r e , i n the housing p r o j e c t s throughout the Greater Vancouver area, considerably more accommodation has been provided f o r married couples than f o r s i n g l e persons. The o r i g i n a l p r oposal of the West Vancouver group i n 1953 was that the p r o j e c t , when completed, would accommodate 126 p e r s o n s — n i n e t y - t w o i n couple u n i t s and t h i r t y - f o u r i n s i n g l e s u i t e s . The f i r s t u n i t s to be developed were s i x duplex cottages which would house twenty-four persons. However, a f t e r some c o n s i d e r a t i o n - 2$ -of the need, these plans were a l t e r e d to reduce the number of duplexes i n order to provide bachelor type s u i t e s which appeared to be i n f a r greater demand. When the f i r s t stage of development was completed l a s t year i n A p r i l , housing was a v a i l a b l e f o r twenty-four persons — e i g h t married couples and eight s i n g l e women. Future plans i n d i c a t e t h a t the a s s o c i a t i o n i s i n t e r e s t e d . i n f u r t h e r developing the e x i s t i n g p r o j e c t to accommodate more s i n g l e persons. At present, the rent f o r a s i n g l e u n i t is. f i f t e e n d o l l a r s a month. In a d d i t i o n to t h i s amount, the r e s i d e n t i s r e q u i r e d to pay an a d d i t i o n a l eleven d o l l a r s which covers the costs i n c u r r e d i n heating and the use of the u t i l i t i e s . The t o t a l charge f o r couples i s t h i r t y - s e v e n d o l l a r s which i n c l u d e s a twelve d o l l a r charge f o r e l e c t r i -c i t y . Method of the. Survey This survey of housing requirements seeks to describe v a r i o u s s i t u a t i o n s i n which married couples and s i n g l e women are p r e s e n t l y l i v i n g . 1 The term \" s i n g l e \" , 1 P a r a l l e l w ith t h i s , a study has been s t a r t e d of a few senior c i t i z e n p r o j e c t s , i n c l u d i n g the West Vancouver scheme. The study focuses on the a t t i t u d e s and f e e l i n g s of the people l i v i n g i n these u n i t s as w e l l as the admin-i s t r a t i o n and type of accommodation provided by the sponsoring groups. Sharp, P a t r i c i a , Housing P r o j e c t s f o r Old People ( P r o v i s i o n a l T i t l e ) , Master of S o c i a l Work t h e s i s , U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia, 19^7• - 26 -women as used throughout t h i s study, not only includes unmarried women, but also widows, divorcees., and those separated from t h e i r husbands. With reference to the si n g l e o l d e r people, i n the l i g h t of i n f o r m a t i o n gained while t h i s t h e s i s was i n a preparatory stage, i t was decided to confine the study of s i n g l e people to s i n g l e women only, instead of i n c l u d i n g the s i n g l e men. The reason f o r t h i s d e c i s i o n l a y i n the f i n d i n g t h a t more than ten times as many requests f o r housing came from women than from men. 1 In a d d i t i o n , there seemed to be f a r fewer s i n g l e men r e a d i l y a v a i l a b l e to interview.. Another important c o n s i d e r a t i o n was the f a c t t h a t i n general, men seek out boarding homes as t h e i r p r e f e r r e d residence. Apparently t h i s preference i s due to the f a c t that few men have been used to cooking t h e i r own meals or cleaning t h e i r own rooms. In an address to the C a l i f o r n i a Conference on the problems of the aging, Governor E a r l Warren spoke to the e f f e c t that planning f o r older people e n t a i l e d planning more f o r women than f o r men. He s a i d , \"we know, f o r example, that i n c r e a s i n g l y , as we t a l k about older people,- we - are t a l k i n g about the problem of aging women. 1 P r i o r to the opening of the Senior C i t i z e n s ' Housing P r o j e c t i n West Vancouver, i n 19^6, ten times as many a p p l i c a t i o n s were received from s i n g l e women as. from s i n g l e men. - 27 -By 1 9 0 0 , men who were 65 years of age or older outnumbered women by f a r , but today, there are 1 0 0 women over 65 f o r every 9 0 men.\"1 Although t h i s f i g u r e - o f ten women f o r 2 every nine men does not hold true f o r the Vancouver area, the p r o p o r t i o n of widowed women to widowed men over age s i x t y - f i v e , i s s l i g h t l y over 2 : 1 ; by adding to t h i s , the pr o p o r t i o n of men and women who have never married (the percentage is. about the same), i t can be seen that there are almost twice as many women i n need of s i n g l e accom-3 modation as men. The f a c t of the preponderance of s i n g l e women over s i n g l e men, i n the over s i x t y - f i v e age group, W a s also stressed as s i g n i f i c a n t i n planning by the U n i v e r s i t y of Michigan's Annual Conference on the Ageing, when i t was stated t h a t : In 1 9 ^ 0 ... s l i g h t l y more than one t h i r d of the women, but almost two t h i r d s of the men, (over 6 5 ) were married; and more than one-half of the women, but about one f o u r t h of the men, were widowed. The la r g e p r o p o r t i o n of widows among women aged . .-• , s i x t y - f i v e and-over, which, r e f lect.s . the higher S t a t e of C a l i f o r n i a , Governor ?s Conference on the Problems of the Aging. Conference Report, October, 1 9 5 l , Sacramento, C a l i f o r n i a , p. 1 6 . In 193>1 there were 2 3 , 2 3 1 men over the age of s i x t y -f i v e as. compared w i t h 2 0 , 9 7 5 women i n the Vancouver area. Canada Census, 1 9 5 l -J Page, H.G., \"Our Older P o p u l a t i on, Canadian Welfare, Volume XXXI, No. 1 , May, 1 9 5 5 , p. 5 -- 28 -m o r t a l i t y of males, the greater tendency of widowers to remarry,, and the lower average age of women at marriage, i s , from the p o i n t of view of planning f o r the welfare of e l d e r l y persons, the most s i g n i f i c a n t f a c t to emerge from the s t a t i s t i c s of m a r i t a l s t a t u s . 1 Although these f i n d i n g s are c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of the American scene, very l i t t l e d i f f e r e n c e i s to be found i n the Canad-ia n p a t t e r n . This does not n e c e s s a r i l y mean that there i s no need to provide housing f o r men as w e l l as f o r o l d e r women. However, i t does seem that t h e i r needs and circumstances tend to be d i f f e r e n t . I t might w e l l be that the housing needs of men are of s u f f i c i e n t magnitude as to warrant a complete study by I t s e l f . Having decided to survey married couples' and s i n g l e women, i t was necessary to devise a means whereby a sample of the o l d e r p o p u l a t i o n could be interviewed. However, before this, was done, i t was necessary to draw up a sample questionnaire and have a few p r e l i m i n a r y i n t e r v i e w s to ensure the v a l i d i t y and r e l i a b i l i t y of the study. Two s i n g l e and two married couples' names were taken from the f i l e s of the West Vancouver S o c i a l Service Department and these people were seen. From t h i s sample study, the obvious f a u l t s i n the. q uestionnaire came i n t o focus and were corrected-Donahue, Wilma, ed., Housing the Ageing, U n i v e r s i t y of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 195k* P* & -- 29 -(see Appendix B..) . The most Important f e a t u r e learned from t h i s p r e l i m i n a r y survey was tha t the people were r a t h e r apprehensive i n answering the questions. Regard-l e s s of how. much c o n f i d e n t i a l i t y was st r e s s e d , they s t i l l seemed somewhat taken aback by the nature of the Interview. This pointed out the n e c e s s i t y of acquainting those to be seen w i t h some informat i o n p r i o r to the i n t e r v i e w w i t h them. A second attempt was made to improve the i n t e r -viewing techniques' when the w r i t e r s were I n v i t e d to attend a r e g u l a r meeting of the West Vancouver Senior C i t i z e n s ' Club. For t h i s group, a supplementary q u e s t i o n -n a i r e (Appendix C) was designed so that the members of the group could f i l l I t i n by themselves, a f t e r a small prepar-atory explanation. In s p i t e of w r i t t e n and v e r b a l explan-a t i o n s , many of the questions were m i s i n t e r p r e t e d and answered i n c o r r e c t l y . These people were a l s o asked to sign t h e i r names and addresses i f they d i d not mind having i n d i v i d u a l i n t e r v i e w s at a l a t e r date. Of the twenty-one people i n attendance, only about h a l f were w i l l i n g to have an i n d i v i d u a l i n t e r v i e w . Those who did not wish to be interviewed were e i t h e r somewhat apprehensive i n g i v i n g i n f o r m a t i o n or d i d not f e e l they had problems w i t h regard to housing. - 3 0 -Although the names obtained from the West Van-couver Senior C i t i z e n s ' Club represented a \" c r o s s - s e c t i o n \" of the older f o l k i n West Vancouver, they were not s u f f i c -i e n t i n number f o r the purposes\" of t h i s study. As- the major concern of t h i s survey i s w i t h people i n the lower income group, i t was decided that a sample of people taken from the m u n i c i p a l i t y ' s s o c i a l s e r v i c e records would be s u f f i c i e n t to complete the study. In a l l , a t o t a l of f i f t y people were interviewed i n t h e i r homes. To prepare the s e l e c t e d people f o r i n t e r v i e w s , the S o c i a l Service Department's A d m i n i s t r a t o r sent l e t t e r s (Appendix D) to the people chosen from h i s f i l e s . This a s s i s t a n c e was i n v a l u a b l e because the l e t t e r s introduced the o l d people, i n advance, to the subject of the survey and prepared them f o r the v i s i t of the canvassers. The importance of an i n t r o d u c t i o n , such as these l e t t e r s ^ c a n n o t be over emphasized. CHAPTER 2 HOUSING- NEEDS OF OLDER COUPLES The house was o l d . The o l d man got up from h i s c h a i r and answered the door. He was su r p r i s e d when the canvasser s a i d she would l i k e to speak to him and to his. wife about t h e i r house and housing f o r o l d e r people i n the d i s t r i c t . He d i d not hear very w e l l and was not q u i t e sure what the canvasser was t a l k i n g about, but asked her to come.In anyway. He c a l l e d h i s w i f e , and the o l d lady j o i n e d her husband. She too was confused and apprehensive when she heard a survey of housing f o r the aged was being made. \"Why are you asking us?\" We want your o p i n i o n , was the r e p l y . \" I t ' s notuse asking us, we can't do anything about i t , we're too old.\". Of only one t h i n g they were sure: \"There's nothing l i k e having your-own home—and we wouldn^t want to l i v e w i t h our grown-up c h i l d r e n . \" The old man said i f h i s wife died before he d i d , he would c a r r y on here as long as he could. He would not go to an old men's home before he had t o , as \"you have to give up some of your freedom.\" This Is a f a i r l y t y p i c a l example of the couples v i s i t e d . However, the survey soon showed that there was a d e f i n i t e d i v i s i o n i n circumstances and i n f e e l i n g s about their\"homes,\" between the homeowners and those who were r e n t i n g accommodation. How many older couple's-'.in - 32 -West Vancouver do own t h e i r own homes; on the other hand, how many are r e n t i n g accommodation? What i s t h e i r s i t u -a t i o n ? What are t h e i r problems? These questions cannot be f u l l y answered without much more comprehensive canvassing than was p o s s i b l e f o r t h i s study, but some r e p r e s e n t a t i v e impressions were secured which permit the wider l i n e s of d i v i s i o n to be discerned. A trend that became evident as the study proceeded was the higher p r o p o r t i o n of homeowners, compared w i t h the couples who occupy rented accommodation, and t h e i r r e a c t i o n s are described f i r s t . A. Homeowners Of the fou r t e e n couples included i n the study, ten couples ( 7 0 per cent) are homeowners. 1 The age d i s t r i -b u t i o n i n the group of homeowners i s as f o l l o w s : three i n the age group 6 f>-69, eight i n the age group 7 0 - 7 4 , and nine i n the age group 7$-QL\\.. In the owning group the average age of men i s 7 6 . 7 and of women i t i s 7 0 . 8 . Most of the homes seen have f o u r rooms and are-of frame c o n s t r u c t i o n . One house has s i x rooms but the u p s t a i r s was closed o f f , l e a v i n g the owners three rooms downstairs. One house i s a three-roomed cottage w i t h no basement.. 1 Included in. the \"own home\" group Is one couple who had l i v e d w i t h a r e l a t i v e f o r oyer twenty years and consider the residence an \"own home\"; and a l s o included is. one couple who l i v e i n a home owned by a r e l a t i v e although the home i s i n a l l other respects the same as t h e i r own home. - 33 -\"We've Been i n This. House a. Long Time\" The couples who own t h e i r homes, have a l l l i v e d i n West Vancouver f o r over ten years, and each has .been i n the same house a l l of t h i s time. Length of time i n present house v a r i e s from ten to f o r t y years, the average stay being 21.8 years.. Seven couples are l i v i n g i n the same house as when they f i r s t came to West Vancouver. Three couples had p r e v i o u s l y l i v e d i n a l a r g e r house i n West Vancouver, and moved to t h e i r present smaller house when t h e i r f a m i l i e s le\\..t home. A l l but one of the homeowning couples were born i n the B r i t i s h I s l e s . A l s o , a l l but one of the homeowners have resided i n B r i t i s h Columbia f o r over f o r t y years. The longest residence i n B r i t i s h Columbia, is. s i x t y - f i v e , years and the shortest Is eleven years.. . Repairs pose a r e a l problem f o r the age.d home-owner. The longer they have l i v e d i n the house, the older the house i s , and the o l d e r the house i s the more I t needs r e p a i r s . E s p e c i a l l y f o r those who are no longer able to do the repairs, themselves, p a i n t i n g , and general upkeep presents d i f f i c u l t i e s . Who w i l l do i t now? Or perhaps i t must be l e f t undone. The new.er homes,, th a t i s , the ones l e s s than twenty years o l d , are In the b e t t e r s t a t e of r e p a i r s . The owners of these homes, of which there are only three, are mostly able to keep up w i t h r e p a i r s - 3k -and upkeep because they can s t i l l do them themselves and because the r e p a i r s are not so great as f o r an older house. Mr. A., i s a t y p i c a l owner i n t h i s group. He said \" I t costs me three hundred d o l l a r s a year f o r r e p a i r s and upkeep ( i n c l u d i n g taxes) and we are j u s t able to scrape by.\"- He Indicated they had given, some thought to s e l l i n g but i f they sold t h e i r home they would be cut o f f the pension bonus and would have to pay more f o r rent. He said \" i f you s e l l , you're l o s t , they would cut you o f f . \" Mr. A. i s s e v e n t y - f i v e years of age and has. l i v e d i n West Vancouver since he was a young man. His wife is. seventy. Their bungalow appeared to be i n good c o n d i t i o n and Mr. A. said he i s s t i l l able to do the upkeep h i m s e l f . He added that i n order to maintain t h e i r p lace they \"just have to l i v e down to the d o l l a r a l l the time.\" He r e a l i z e s , how-ever, t h a t because h i s house is. not o l d , he is. i n a more favourable p o s i t i o n than some. Seven out of ten homeowners were i n houses twenty years ol d or o l d e r , and a l l of these couples i n d i c a t e d there are r e p a i r s and upkeep needed which they are unable to pay f o r . Thus., a higher percentage of homeowners l i v e i n o l d e r houses where more r e p a i r s are needed. There i s a l s o a higher percentage of t h i s group who are no longer able to make t h e i r own r e p a i r s . Some of the reasons given f o r not being able to do r e p a i r s were: \"he .can!-t reach up now\" and \"not able to climb now.\" These people are s t i l l - 35 -able to get around and to continue gardening but are not able to get up on ladders or to do any overhead work. For most of the homeowners., i t i s d i f f i c u l t to give any approximation of the amount i t would cost to \" f i x up the house.\" However, the B.'s seemed to be an average couple i n the twenty to f o r t y year o l d houses. T h e i r main problem i s l a c k of funds f o r r e p a i r s to the house. Mr. B.. s a i d : the house needs a new r o o f , p a i n t i n g outside, and i n , new pipes throughout and d r a i n s i n the basement. He estim-ated t h i s would cost at l e a s t one thousand d o l l a r s which they cannot a f f o r d . Mrs. B. added, \"we daren't t h i n k of these t h i n g s . \" In a l l the older homes, the commonest items needed which were mentioned were: new r o o f , r e d e c o r a t i n g outside and i n , new steps, new d r a i n s . The same s t o r y was repeated over and over. One couple, where the man was unable to do any heavy outside work, had to pay out f i f t y d o l l a r s r e c e n t l y f o r an es.sential outside job on t h e i r property. They were overwhelmed by the h i g h cost but had no a l t e r n a t i v e . The o l d woman s a i d w i t h a s i g h \"that got me.\" Another old homeowner when asked about r e p a i r s and upkeep, summed up h i s s i t u a t i o n by saying \"there i s l o t s we could do but when you don't have the money you have to stay without, that-'s a l l . \" Another couple, when asked i f r e p a i r s were needed, s a i d q u i e t l y : \"There are, but we won'-t be having them done.\" - 36 -Why have they stayed so long In the same house? Th e i r answers were simple: \"There's an I n s t i n c t i v e f e e l i n g that i t ' s ours\"; and \"we l i k e i t here, because we l i k e l i v i n g i n West Vancouver.\" Some added that they t h i n k West Vancouver a \"healthy p l a c e \" to l i v e and they enjoy the semi - r u r a l s e t t i n g . These couples l i v e alone and share household d u t i e s , the wife u s u a l l y doing the housework and the husband l o o k i n g a f t e r the garden and the furnace and u s u a l l y having a workshop i n the basement. There i s only one of these \"own homes\" which does not have a basement and the owners wish i t had, e s p e c i a l l y as they have no way of heating the place s a t i s f a c t o r i l y . These couples who owned t h e i r homes appear to f i n d a sense of s e c u r i t y i n owing t h e i r homes and i n hav-in g l i v e d i n the same house f o r a decade or more. I t could be sai d they have \"put down r o o t s . \" The house seemed to take on a p e r s o n i f i c a t i o n , as i f i t were i n i t s e l f a r e f l e c t i o n of former days. The m a j o r i t y had. r a i s e d t h e i r c h i l d r e n i n t h i s home, i t s surroundings are f a m i l i a r and they are content there. In t h e i r f e e l i n g s toward the house there seemed to be a k i n s h i p w i t h the c a p t a i n Is pledge to '.go down w i t h the s h i p . •'- They seemed to be saying, not only, \"This house belongs to me,\" but also \" I belong to t h i s house.\" An example i s Mr. and Mrs. B. who have l i v e d i n t h e i r present house, which they now own, f o r over t h i r t y - 37 -years. They are both In t h e i r seventies and i n apparent good h e a l t h . Both e x h i b i t e d v i t a l i t y and exuberance and i n t e r e s t i n l i f e . When speaking about how long they had l i v e d i n t h i s house, Mrs. B. added \"and I want to die here.\" The house was neat and cozy, having a good s i z e d k i t c h e n where they take a l l t h e i r meals, a small l i v i n g room which was a r t i s t i c a l l y arranged, and two small bed-rooms. Mr. B. i s very fond of h i s garden, c a l l i n g i t \"h i s l i f e , \" and Mrs. B. keeps busy i n the house, her hobbies being baking and sewing. Mrs.. B. does not get out much, other than down the road to shop and to church. She \"cannot a f f o r d the bus f a r e , \" she s a i d , t o be able to go i n t o Vancouver very o f t e n . The Cost of Ownership \"The other side of the c o i n \" f o r the homeowners and t h e i r precious possession i s the cost of keeping i t going. Are costs of u t i l i t i e s and taxes l e a v i n g the homeowners w i t h l e s s than a marginal budget f o r food and c l o t h i n g ? The l i s t which f o l l o w s shows what the home-owners use f o r cooking and the monthly average cost.'*' This i s the only item on which there i s considerable v a r i a t i o n . Two couples who shared w i t h r e l a t i v e s are not i n c l u d e d . - 38 -No. u s i n g • t h i s Average - cost Cook by: commodity per month O i l 3 $lk.00 E l e c t r i c i t y 3 10.00 1 Wood 1 6.00 Sawdust 1 4.00 The t o t a l average monthly u t i l i t y costs f o r those couples using o i l f o r cooking, and c o a l and wood i n the furnace, i s l i s t e d below. Average - cost per month Cooking ( o i l ) &I4..OO Heating ( c o a l and wood) 9-5>0 E l e c t r i c i t y 3.^0 Telephone k-k-l Water 2.20 O i l stoves are the most common type of f a c i l i t y f o r cooking which i s used by the group st u d i e d . O i l f o r cooking also gives some heat i n the k i t c h e n . F r e q u e n t l y , old stoves have been converted to o i l to save buying a new stove. Heat i s oft e n the l i f e l i n e of the aged person. Mrs. C., f o r example, i n v i t e d the w r i t e r i n t o the k i t c h e n where she pointed to the- o i l stove and said \" t h i s has kept 1 This amount includes a l l e l e c t r i c i t y used i n the home, not f o r cooking only. Likewise, the cost of o i l i n c l u d e s some heating-. - 39 -us. a l i v e a l l w i n t e r . \" Asked i f they had a furnace, Mr. C. s a i d they had, but i t i s very old and needs to be r e p a i r e d , so they had l i v e d i n the k i t c h e n most of the w i n t e r . They would l i k e an o i l stove but i t was u s e l e s s evan to t h i n k of i t . S e v e r a l couples mentioned the cost of having the o i l stove cleaned. These stoves are .usually quite o l d , two or three owners i n d i c a t i n g they had had t h e i r s f o r over twenty years. They said the cost of having the o i l stove cleaned was three d o l l a r s and f i f t y cents, and w i t h the o i l they are using now, i t was necessary to have the stove cleaned every two or three months, otherwise i t would not work. A l l but one of the couples used coa l and wood i n the furnace. S e v e r a l who were i n the older group (over se v e n t y - f i v e years) mentioned that they found i t was a l l they could manage at times to keep the furnace operating, and they would have l i k e d to convert to gas or o i l i f they could have afforded i t . One had no .furnace and r e l i e d , f o r heating s o l e l y on the k i t c h e n stove and a f i r e p l a c e i n the l i v i n g -room. A l l but one of the couples had telephones and s e v e r a l mentioned that they thought i t \"an extravagance\" but that they needed i t \" i n case of an emergency.!': Some mentioned the h e a l t h c o n d i t i o n of the husband or wife as the reason they had the phone. Several mentioned that they used the phone \"seldom\" and thought the $i(..i+l charge per - 40 -month was r e a l l y more than they could a f f o r d . Water r a t e s were an item f o r which most of the aged couples thought they were paying more, than t h e i r f a i r share. They pointed out that because of the f l a t r a t e , they were paying the same water rates, as l a r g e r households, who used much more water. Most d i d t h e i r laundry i n the k i t c h e n sink and s a i d they had much l e s s laundry than f a m i l i e s . Several stated t h a t t h e i r bathrooms are so cold t h a t they are c u r t a i l e d i n u s i n g the bath during the winter. One owner, who had no furnace and whose bathroom w,as b u i l t on to the back of the house, described the bathroom as \"an icebox.\" This e i g h t y - y e a r - o l d couple s a i d they d i d not t h i n k the o l d people should have to pay the same h i g h water r a t e s as other users and added that the old people \"didn't get any breaks,\" The o l d lady said \"when everything i s p a i d , there's nothing l e f t f o r c l o t h e s . \" I t was noted that the couples seen were a l l meticulous about \"paying a l l the b i l l s . \" \"Taxes Are Going Up A l l the. Time\" A l l of the aged homeowners v i s i t e d mentioned \"taxes going up each year\" as a source of r e a l concern to them. This was mentioned more oft e n than r i s i n g costs of any other item and seemed to be not only a source of worry but also a source of annoyance. Food and f u e l costs had - kl -gone up, too; but these were expenditures oyer which they had a l i t t l e c o n t r o l - - t h e y could put l e s s c o a l on the furnace or t u r n down the o i l i n the ki t c h e n stove. Taxes had to be met i n f u l l . One couple mentioned that t h e i r taxes had gone up 1 0 0 per cent i n the. l a s t ten years, while i n the meantime the house was i n need of r e p a i r s . When they had complained to the assessor's o f f i c e , they had been t o l d t h a t t h e i r land had increased i n value. The approximate tax ra t e s ( 1 9 5 5 ) of the couples seen were as. f o l l o w s : ten to twenty-year-old houses $ 1 3 8 . 3 3 , f o r the twenty to f o r t y -y e a r - o l d houses $ 1 1 7 . 0 0 . One aged couple sai d they were already one year behind i n payment of t h e i r taxes and added \"and we'.ve no more bonds to cash.\" The wife i s handicapped and they f e e l q u i t e b i t t e r about t h e i r f r u g a l l i v i n g c o n d i t i o n s . Another couple brought out the p o i n t that before they were s i x t y -f i v e years o l d , they had required f i n a n c i a l a s s i s t a n c e because of the i l l n e s s of the husband and i n order to get help t h i s couple had to reduce t h e i r assets to one hundred dollars,- which meant s e l l i n g a few bonds ;they had accumul-ated. When they became s i x t y - f i v e years of age and were e l i g i b l e f o r o l d age a s s i s t a n c e , the r e g u l a t i o n s allowed that the a p p l i c a n t s r e t a i n one thousand d o l l a r s i n as s e t s . However, at that time they had no way of accumulating assets and the p r o v i s i o n f o r r e t a i n i n g one thousand d o l l a r s i n - lV2 -assets was t h e r e f o r e of no use to them. They said, i f they had been able to r e t a i n .a small amount i n assets, t h i s would have helped considerably now. w i t h taxes and unforeseen expenses which a r i s e from month to month. Real hardship was observed i n a number of homes where the aged homeowner i s c o n t i n u i n g to meet Increased c o s t s , often at the expense of h i s own personal comfort. Mr. and Mrs. C. are both over seventy and have l i v e d i n West Vancouver f o r over t h i r t y years. They have continued to l i v e i n the same home a l l of t h i s time. The house which i s of frame con-s t r u c t i o n i s now badly i n need of r e p a i r s which, the C ' s are unable to have done because of t h e i r l a c k of funds. They are both i n poor h e a l t h and unable to do outside- work. The C ' s are q u i t e a. s t a t e l y l o o k i n g couple. Mrs. C. looked out the window at the grounds which are now unkept and said to the w r i t e r \"we used to have such a b e a u t i f u l garden.\" She i s now handicapped and needs help from her husband i n d r e s s i n g and attending to- the household. The C ' s presented a. p i t i a b l e s i g h t as. they struggled v a l i a n t l y w i t h the day to day business of l i v i n g . The house smelled damp and musty. The rooms were dreary and badly i n need of r e d e c o r a t i n g . The furnace was out of order. In s p i t e of t h e i r impoverished surroundings, threadbare c l o t h i n g and poor health,, both Mr. and Mrs. G. were f r i e n d l y and t a l k e d w i l l i n g l y about the questions put to them. When the 43 -w r i t e r asked Mr. C. how h i s h e a l t h was, he r e p l i e d thought-f u l l y \" I manage to keep going,\" and then added \"we w i l l j u s t hold on here as long as we can.\" Would They Like to Live i n the Housing P r o j e c t ? Each of the homeowners v i s i t e d was asked during the study what h i s or her opinion was w i t h reference to the West Vancouver Kiwanis' housing p r o j e c t f o r senior c i t i z e n s . Of the eleven homeowners who had seen the p r o j e c t , a l l r e p l i e d that they would l i k e to l i v e i n such a p l a c e . This was not to i n d i c a t e that they wished to move i n t o the p r o j e c t , however: ra t h e r that they thought i t would be a pleasant place to l i v e i f they d i d have to move. One couple who had not seen the p r o j e c t a l s o s a i d they would l i k e to l i v e i n such a p l a c e . Two couples who had not seen the p r o j e c t said they would not l i k e to l i v e i n such a p l a c e . In speaking about the p r o j e c t , most of the aged couples were spontaneous i n t h e i r p r a i s e of t h i s l o w - r e n t a l housing accommodation f o r older persons. One man described the p r o j e c t as \"a very, very good t h i n g f o r the people.\" Another remarked that the i n d i v i d u a l u n i t s were a. f i n e i d e a and helped to r e t a i n one's p r i v a c y , i n which way they were \"more l i k e your own home.\" I t seemed evident to the w r i t e r that the housing p r o j e c t had i n some way r a i s e d the morale of the couples seen, - kk -even though they l i v e d i n t h e i r own homes and had not a p p l i e d f o r the housing p r o j e c t . There seemed to be a keen aware-ness of what was happening to other older people i n the d i s t r i c t and a f e e l i n g of \" t h i s could happen to us next.\" Perhaps they were t h i n k i n g of the time when one of them might be alone, though no questions were put about t h i s . Even though the couples seen were not themselves b e n e f i t t i n g from the housing p r o j e c t , they were glad that other older people were. One man s.aid \" i f they didn't have these homes, these people would be i n some l i t t l e dingy basement room with h i g h r e n t . \" They were able to share the sense of d i g n i t y which had come to others i n t h e i r age group who had secured adequate and a t t r a c t i v e housing through the p r o j e c t . They were aware of the circum-stances of other aged persons i n West Vancouver whom they knew, and others they had heard about. Some mentioned o l d e r neighbors and what had happened to them. One couple r e l a t e d that an aged neighbour, a widow, had been \"taken to Van-couver\" by .her daughter and that she i s now \" j u s t a servant\" i n her daughter's home. They would not care to l i v e that way w i t h t h e i r c h i l d r e n . Several of the homeowners had taken a r e a l i n t -r e s t in;-.watching the planning and c o n s t r u c t i o n of . the housing p r o j e c t . One mentioned that she had attended the f i r s t meet-ing when the housing p r o j e c t was discussed. She went on to - 4-55 -describe suggestions, that were made at the meeting. Although most of the aged homeowners appeared keenly i n t - : erested i n the housing p r o j e c t , a l l s a i d d e f i n i t e l y t h a t they intended to remain i n t h e i r own homes \"as long as we are able.\"- One man said that he did not t h i n k anyone \"with any sense\" would give up t h e i r home and move to the p r o j e c t i f they were s t i l l able to c a r r y on i n t h e i r own home. \"There would have to be a reason f o r moving.\" Although each decided that remaining i n \"own homes\" was best, on the other hand, each was g l a d to know the housing p r o j e c t e x i s t e d as a p o s s i b l e resource should they not be able to carry on as at present. A few of t h e i r r e p l i e s , when questioned about the p r o j e c t , were: \"As long as. we. can manage we w i l l stay on our own.\" \" I would ra t h e r have t h i s as long as we. can hold i t . \" \"We would only g i v e up our home as a l a s t r e s o r t . \" ''If we had to go, we would.\" \"We would p r e f e r to be on our own and have our own garden as long as p o s s i b l e . \" A d e t a i l e d study of the aged homeowner's budget was not included i n t h i s study, but a few observations can be mentioned. The l a r g e s t s i n g l e problem mentioned by a l l couples was the problem of f i n a n c e s . Very few of the homeowners are r e c e i v i n g the maximum bonus. A h i g h per-centage have deductions f o r assets such as property. One i s - ^6 -s t i l l earning a small amount at casual labour which d i s -q u a l i f i e s him f o r the bonus, although he and h i s wife who i s handicapped are having a d i f f i c u l t time. I t is. apparent that the budget of aged homeowners would be a. s u i t a b l e subject f o r a separate study. Casual observation seems to i n d i c a t e that the higher taxes go, through increased assess-ments, the smaller the bonus received by the homeowner would be. This i s one among se v e r a l conundrums for the aged home-owner which include r i s i n g p r i c e s and the smaller r e a l value of pensions and retirement income. Yet one t h i n g that stands out, c e r t a i n l y i n West Vancouver, i s the homeowners'-determination to \" c a r r y on i n my own p l a c e \" under a l l kinds of adverse circumstances. I t may well, be asked, however, i s the aged home-owner being r e a l i s t i c i n t h i n k i n g of the housing p r o j e c t as a place of refuge should he be unable to ca r r y on i n h i s own home? Perhaps, r a t h e r than \" r e a l i s t i c \" i t should be asked: \" i s he c o r r e c t l y informed?\" This p o i n t bears exam-i n a t i o n . F i r s t l y , i f he should s e l l h i s home, the home-owner would thereby accumulate assets which may put him In an income bracket which would d i s q u a l i f y him f o r admission to the l o w - r e n t a l housing, p r o j e c t f o r senior c i t i z e n s . Secondly, should he q u a l i f y on income', h i s h e a l t h may not be good enough f o r him to care f o r himself i n the p r o j e c t without some form of supplementary a i d . Therefore, i t remains .a moot p o i n t whether the ideas that the homeowners - kl -h o l d — t h a t they may e v e n t u a l l y move to the housing p r o j e c t -could In f a c t be c a r r i e d out under present r e g u l a t i o n s . I t could be asked, too, when does the aged home-owner reach the p o i n t when he considers he i s unable to carry on i n h i s own home.? Prom the couples seen i n t h i s sample, i t would appear that as long as both partners are a l i v e and able to get around, they wish to remain i n t h e i r home; moreover, they would do so i n s p i t e of inconvenience and even hardship. The C.'s mentioned above would be an example. When asked i f they had heard of the housing pro-j e c t f o r senior c i t i z e n s , the C.'s s a i d they had heard of the Klwanis'- housing p r o j e c t but n e i t h e r of them had. seen i t . They d i d not seem to see i t as a p o s s i b i l i t y f o r housing f o r themselves. I t appears that when th i n g s have become as d i f f i c u l t f o r anyone as i t has. f o r the C.'s, they can only f e e l secure w i t h what they know. When asked i f they would consider moving to the Senior C i t i z e n s ' housing p r o j e c t , Mr. C. s a i d , \"we w i l l j u s t h old on here as long as we can.\" b. Rented Housing There are some Important c o n t r a s t s i n the prob-lems and the a t t i t u d e s of the aged couples who are r e n t i n g t h e i r accommodation, judging from those who were interviewed i n West Vancouver.- Of the f o u r t e e n couples included i n the - 48 -study, f o u r couples (30 per cent) were r e n t i n g accommod-a t i o n . Included i n the \" r e n t i n g \" group is. one couple who has been l i v i n g w i t h a r e l a t i v e f o r three years and who had p r e v i o u s l y rented accommodation. The age d i s t r i b u t i o n i n the \" r e n t i n g \" group i s as f o l l o w s : one i n the age group 6^ -69, two In the age group 70-74-, and f i v e i n the age group 7^ -84. In the r e n t i n g group, the average age of the men i s 77 »4 and of the women, 72.3. Each of the couples who i s r e n t i n g t h e i r present accommodation has r e s i d e d i n West Vancouver f o r a s h o r t e r p e r i o d of time than those who own t h e i r homes. Of the four couples who are r e n t i n g , two have l i v e d i n West Van-couver between one to f o u r years and two have- l i v e d i n West Vancouver between f i v e and n i n e years. A l l but one of the couples r e n t i n g accommodation and included i n t h i s study were born in. the B r i t i s h I s l e s . A l l had resided i n Canada f o r over f o r t y - f i v e , years. The average residence i n B r i t i s h Columbia was twenty-eight years, the longest being f i f t y - f i v e years and the s h o r t e s t f i v e years. The approximate age of the s t r u c t u r e occupied by the r e n t i n g couples, and the type of accommodation, i s as f o l l o w s : - 4 9 -Type of Accommodation Approximate • age. of s t r u c t u r e One room and bathroom i n basement of converted house 10 years One room i n basement and use of remainder of house 10 years S u i t e i n commercial b u i l d i n g 2$ years Cottage ( 4 rooms) 4 0 years Most of the tenants r e f e r r e d to t h e i r accommod-a t i o n as \"the only t h i n g they could f i n d . \" Mr. and Mrs. D. are both over seventy years of age and came to West Vancouver to r e s i d e f i v e years ago. They rent one room and a bathroom i n the basement of a. converted house. Their rent i s f o r t y - f i v e d o l l a r s .a month which they f i n d q u i t e a hardship to pay out of t h e i r small pensions. They pay four d o l l a r s toward e l e c t r i c i t y . They have a c o a l and wood stove f o r cooking, which also keeps t h e i r quarters warm. Mr. D. gets t h e i r firewood from the beach, otherwise they s a i d they would be unable to pay the h i g h r e n t . Mrs. D. j o k i n g l y r e f e r r e d to t h e i r present abode as \"the three i n one\" because the k i t c h e n , bedroom, and l i v i n g - r o o m are a l l i n one. The b u i l d i n g appears In good c o n d i t i o n . The D.'s painted t h e i r room when they moved i n l a s t year, the l a n d -lady supplying the p a i n t . Another couple are Mr. and Mrs. H., who rent accommodation i n a commercial block, having r e s i d e d i n West - 5o -Vancouver f o r seven years and i n t h e i r present s u i t e f o r over one year. Both are over s e v e n t y - f i v e years of age. The s u i t e c o n s i s t s of k i t c h e n , l i v i n g - r o o m and two small \"bedrooms. The b u i l d i n g i s i n a good s t a t e of r e p a i r and i s w e l l heate'd. The heat is. automatic and I s included i n the r e n t a l of s i x t y - f i v e d o l l a r s per month. E l e c t r i c i t y which i s used f o r cooking i s e x t r a . Mrs. H. f i g u r e s u t i l i t i e s come to approximately ten d o l l a r s a month. She i s very c a r e f u l . The H.'s t h i n k the rent i s \"very h i g h \" and much more than they can a f f o r d . The H.'s s o l d t h e i r home because i t was too b i g and they couldn't look a f t e r i t . Mr. H.'s h e a l t h i s not too good. They are hoping f o r an increase i n old age pensions. The couple who rent a house have more problems.; I t would seem, than those who rent rooms or s u i t e s . This i s the s i t u a t i o n of Mr. and Mrs. E. Both are over seventy years of age and came to West Vancouver two years ago to be near a married daughter, as Mr. E.'-s h e a l t h was not good enough to c a r r y on In the i s o l a t e d d i s t r i c t where they were l i v i n g . They now rent a four-roomed cottage which i s very o l d and has. no basement. The rent i s s i x t y d o l l a r s a month, which the E.'-s say i s ' a r e a l hardship to pay. The house i s dingy, damp and u n a t t r a c t i v e , but Mrs. E. s a i d \" i t was the only place we could f i n d a f t e r three weeks of l o o k i n g . \" The only .heating i s an o i l cook stove i n the - 5 1 -k i t c h e n which the E.'s keep turned down as much as p o s s i b l e i n order to conserve o i l . O i l costs approximately twelve d o l l a r s per month. The bathroom has been b u i l t on to the back of the house and i s very cold i n winter. The house appears to be one which was formerly used as a summer cot-tage, perhaps f o r t y years ago. Mrs. E. s a i d that the roof i n the u t i l i t y room and over the verandah leaks very badly. A new roof i s needed, and p a i n t i n g outside and i n , although i t i s d o u b t f u l i f I t i s worth r e p a i r i n g . The whole house presented a dreary, desolate p i c t u r e . The greatest problem f o r a l l the r e n t e r s who were included i n t h i s study was that the rent was higher than t h e i r budget would a l l o w . The f a c t that they had to pay the rent each month gave them a f e e l i n g of i n s e c u r i t y . I f they could not pay they would have to move. Two of the renters f e l t the place they were i n was only temporary u n t i l they could f i n d something at l e s s r e n t . They did not f e e l s e t t l e d . A l l were emphatic i n t h e i r wish to remain i n West Vancouver i f at a l l p o s s i b l e , however. One s u i t e had a long f l i g h t of s t a i r s l e a d i n g up to i t which the couple found to be a great burden. Garbage d i s p o s a l was al s o a d i f f i c u l t task i n t h i s p l a c e . A l l garbage had to be taken down the steps and around the b u i l d i n g to a garbage can In the back a l l e y . Poor v e n t i l -a t i o n owing to a very low c e i l i n g and no i s y c h i l d r e n - $2 -overhead were f u r t h e r problems to the couple who l i v e d i n the basement s u i t e of a converted house. Reactions to Housing P r o j e c t Three of the couples who are r e n t i n g accommodation said they were i n t e r e s t e d i n o b t a i n i n g accommodation i n the housing p r o j e c t (two of them had submitted a p p l i c a t i o n s ) . Mr. and Mrs. D. t h i n k they would be very f o r t u n a t e indeed to get i n , but mentioned that \"we r e a l i z e that people who have l i v e d i n the d i s t r i c t longer than we have would have p r i o r i t y . \" The D.'s s a i d i t would make •\"all^the d i f f e r e n c e i n the world\" to them i f they could get one of the Senior C i t i z e n homes. Mr. and Mrs. D. appeared a l e r t and w e l l able to take care of themselves p h y s i c a l l y . Another couple, the W.'s, sai d they had submitted an a p p l i c a t i o n sometime ago but presumed that the w a i t i n g l i s t of a p p l i c a n t s was long and that they would have l i t t l e chance of g e t t i n g i n . They have now more or l e s s given up the i d e a and f e e l \" s e t t l e d \" i n t h e i r present s u i t e , although the rent i s too h i g h f o r them. They t h i n k the housing p r o j e c t i s \"a wonderful t h i n g \" and wish they could have something l i k e t h a t . Conclusions The aged couples i n West Vancouver who were seen during t h i s study formed two d i s t i n c t groups. The m a j o r i t y - $3 -were homeowners, who wished to remain i n t h e i r own home; they were, ne v e r t h e l e s s , i n t e r e s t e d i n the housing p r o j e c t and thought i t was a very d e s i r a b l e and h e l p f u l scheme f o r older persons who had housing problems. So strong was the homeowner's de s i r e to remain i n h i s own home, however, that i t appeared he would go to almost any ends to remain there. The other group, which was s m a l l e r , but no l e s s s i g n i f i c a n t , was composed of couples who occupied r e n t a l accommodation. A l l i n . . a l l , the people who are r e n t i n g do not have the same f e e l i n g of s e c u r i t y i n t h e i r accommod-a t i o n , nor Is i t , i n most cases, s a t i s f a c t o r y or w i t h i n t h e i r budget. P o t e n t i a l l y , t h e r e f o r e , they are more a v a i l -able f o r u n i t s In the housing p r o j e c t . A l l of the r e n t i n g couples, when asked, thought of the accommodation i n the housing p r o j e c t as I d e a l f o r t h e i r needs. The couples who occupied t h i s r e n t a l accommodation appeared to be f a i r l y mobile. This may have been l a r g e l y due to t h e i r search f o r s a t i s f a c t o r y accommodation w i t h i n t h e i r budget, which so f a r had not been a v a i l a b l e to them; and they were continuing t h e i r search. CHAPTER 3 HOUSING NEEDS. OP SINGLE WOMEN The rented s u i t e of Mrs. S. i s by f a r the l e a s t a t t r a c t i v e when compared to the p h y s i c a l standards of the other rooms v i s i t e d . The wood frame s t r u c t u r e , b u i l t p r i o r to 1925, contains s e v e r a l small two. and three room s e l f -contained suites,, each w i t h a separate entrance. L i k e so many of the older b u i l d i n g s i n West Vancouver,, this , p l ace was intended f o r summer occupancy only. Perhaps t h i s i s one of the reasons why no hot water Is a v a i l a b l e . In a d d i t i o n to t h i s , there are no bathing f a c i l i t i e s and the t o i l e t , s i t u a t e d on the back porch, i s shared w i t h two other persons. Mrs. P., i n wishing f o r her own rooms, suggested that f o r her, the i d e a l set up would be a s e l f - c o n t a i n e d s u i t e a d j o i n i n g her daughter's home. I n ' t h i s way she would acquire the p r i v a c y she valued, yet be c l o s e enough, to her daughter and son-in-law so as not to f e e l l o n e l y . These examples are. not i s o l a t e d , and they serve to I l l u s t r a t e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s i t u a t i o n s of women l i v i n g alone who have to f i n d t h e i r own housing accommodation. In considering•the sampled group of s i n g l e women,1 i t 1 The term \" s i n g l e women\" as used throughout t h i s study includes not only unmarried' women, but a l s o widows, and women-separated or div o r c e d , Le., women who r e q u i r e s i n g l e accommodation. - $$ -' became c l e a r t h a t , i n terms of housing, these women could be i d e n t i f i e d w i t h one of three groups: (G) those l i v i n g i n t h e i r own home; (D) those r e s i d i n g w i t h other.people; and .(E) persons who l i v e alone i n a rented room or s u i t e . To be designated as \" i n t h e i r own homes\" i t d i d not matter whether the mortgage was beginning, ending, or p a i d i n f u l l . Nor was. d i s t i n c t i o n a p p l i e d to the means- by which the home was obtained. . In some in s t a n c e s , however, sons or daughters have contributed towards the purchase of the home f o r people i n t h i s category. The m a j o r i t y of the women interviewed are not l i v i n g alone, but are r e s i d i n g w i t h f r i e n d s or r e l a t i v e s . In most of these cases i t Is. a mother who i s l i v i n g w i t h a married son or daughter; u s u a l l y she occupies a bedroom by h e r s e l f , and eats her meals w i t h the f a m i l y . Those who l i v e w i t h friend.s or r e l a t i v e s other than t h e i r own grown-up c h i l d r e n however, seem to be no l e s s a p a r t of the f a m i l y c o n s t e l l a t i o n . Some of the women who are l i v i n g alone i n rented rooms are accorded the p r i v i l e g e of being able to share other rooms In the house, whereas others are confined to the one room i n which they s i t , sleep, and cook t h e i r meals. Most of the r e n t i n g group are i n unfurnished rooms and own t h e i r own f u r n i s h i n g s . A smaller percentage e i t h e r own t h e i r f u r n i t u r e i n p a r t , or rent a complete room. ' - 56 -The d i f f e r e n c e i n the standard of l i v i n g a t t a i n e d by the women i s q u i t e n o t i c e a b l e . The reasons f o r t h i s , as revealed i n the f i n d i n g s obtained from the three groups, are to be found throughout t h i s chapter. While t h i s three-f o l d d i v i s i o n i s important, i t seemed most e f f e c t i v e to present the informat i o n gained from the in t e r v i e w s under the f o l l o w i n g headings: p h y s i c a l c o n d i t i o n s of accommoda-t i o n , housing experience, s a t i s f a c t i o n s from accommodation, budget c o n s i d e r a t i o n s , and r e a c t i o n s to other housing pos-s i b i l i t i e s . The.presentation under each of these headings d i s t i n g u i s h e s the three accommodation groups p r e v i o u s l y mentioned. P h y s i c a l Accommodation Homeowners. (Group C ) . 1 The c o n d i t i o n , s i z e , and type of home v a r i e d considerably, as did the ages of the houses. For example, one place i s a two-storey s t r u c t u r e b u i l t over t h i r t y years ago. There i s a, l a r g e l i v i n g -room, k i t c h e n , bathroom, and small storage space on the main f l o o r , and two small bedrooms u p s t a i r s . Mrs. A. l i v e s there alone despite the problems i n v o l v e d . The i n t e r i o r , although o l d , lias been kept reasonably c l e a n and i n order; however, the outside of the house i s f a s t 1 For convenience, Group A and Group B r e f e r to the categories (of married couples) d i s t i n g u i s h e d i n Chapter 2 , Groups C-E, the three categories of s i n g l e persons i n d i c a t e d on the preceding page. - 57 -becoming run-down, as t h i s woman cannot keep up the necessary r e p a i r s . A small o i l stove i n the l i v i n g - r o o m i s the main source of heat, but t h i s combined w i t h the o i l cook stove i n the k i t c h e n , i s s t i l l inadequate to heat the premises. Mrs. A. has few e l e c t r i c a l appliances and her p e r i s h a b l e food i s kept i n an ice-box. In c o n t r a s t to t h i s , another woman r e s i d e s i n a three-and-a-half roomed home which her son r e c e n t l y had b u i l t f o r her. She too, has an o i l stove i n the l i v i n g -room but I t i s adequate f o r the w e l l - I n s u l a t e d home. Most of the f u r n i t u r e belongs to her, w i t h the exception of the t e l e v i s i o n set and a few other a r t i c l e s which her grown c h i l d r e n have provided f o r her. Boarding or L i v i n g w i t h Others. (Group D). For the most p a r t , older women who are l i v i n g w i t h married sons or daughters f i n d t h e i r p h y s i c a l surroundings, quite comfortable. Most pf the f a m i l i e s are among the more recent r e s i d e n t s , and the homes tend to be l e s s than ten years o l d . This being the case, the i n t e r i o r s are clean and i n good r e p a i r , as are the e x t e r i o r s . Modern conven-iences, such as an o i l furnace, e l e c t r i c range, hotwater heater, and r e f r i g e r a t o r s , are to be found i n a l l these homes. In the examples surveyed, each woman has her own bedroom, although bath and t o i l e t f a c i l i t i e s as w e l l as - 8^ -the other rooms i n the house, are shared w i t h the e n t i r e f a m i l y . Sharing i s thought to be a s u i t a b l e arrangement, and no one complained of cramped quart e r s . Not a l l the women i n t h i s group l i v e w i t h t h e i r married grown-up c h i l d r e n . Mrs. E., f o r i n s t a n c e , t y p i f i e s another s i t u a t i o n . L i v i n g w i t h a working unmarried daughter i n a rented' basement s u i t e , she f e e l s i t i s crowded, yet has not been able to f i n d another p l a c e . Their only source of heat, other than the k i t c h e n .stove, i s a l i v i n g - r o o m f i r e -p l a c e . Mrs. E. f i n d s that i n the winter she must have a stock of wood p i l e d i n the l i v i n g - r o o m i n order to keep the f i r e burning continuously. The home i t s e l f i s s i t u a t e d on a s l i g h t k n o l l , and t h i s i s enough to r e s t r i c t Mrs. E. from going out, as she has a heart c o n d i t i o n . One of the examples i n the same category i s the oldest home i n the sample, occupied by a s i n g l e woman and her widowed s i s t e r . The house was constructed over t h i r t y years, ago as a. summer cbttage. There i s no bath or shower, and. the heat from the o i l stove i n the l i v i n g - r o o m does not reach the bedroom. F o r t u n a t e l y , the cottage has been kept i n f a i r l y good r e p a i r , so that f o r these two women the p h y s i c a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of t h e i r \"home\" pose no r e a l problems. L i v i n g Alone i n Rented Rooms. (Group E ) . The main p o r t i o n of the women i n rented rooms are i n premises which - 59 -were b u i l t t h i r t y or more years ago. Two of the women who were interviewed l i v e i n the .Senior C i t i z e n s ' Home, which was b u i l t over t h i r t y years ago as a p r i v a t e residence but was converted by the m u n i c i p a l i t y , s h o r t l y a f t e r the l a s t world war, to accommodate some of t h e i r e l d e r l y c i t i z e n s who needed low-rent housing. The b u i l d i n g i s o l d , run-down, and i n need of r e p a i r . F i v e adults l i v e on the main f l o o r , and f o u r share one bath and t o i l e t . The s i n g l e b e d - s i t t i n g rooms i n which each tenant does h i s or her cooking, seem to be s a t i s f a c t o r y f o r those who were interviewed. At present, there i s an inadequate supply of hot water, but plans have been made to remedy t h i s . The cooking u t i l i t i e s vary f o r each tenant, depending on what they can a f f o r d i n the way of a stove or h o t - p l a t e . A l l the rooms are ade-quately heated, and the \"Home\" i s located two blocks from a shopping distri.ct--alth.ough a steep h i l l must be climbed on the r e t u r n journey. Mrs. S.'s rooms c o n s i s t of a small k i t c h e n , a b e d - s i t t i n g room, and a sun porch. In s p i t e of the obvious d e t e r i o r a t i o n t a k i n g place throughout the e n t i r e b u i l d i n g , she has succeeded i n keeping her rooms b r i g h t and cherry. A wood-coal stove i n the k i t c h e n must be kept burning at a l l times as t h i s i s her only source of heat. P e r i s h a b l e f o o d s t u f f s are kept In a cooler on the back porch, which also serves as the entrance to Mrs. S.'s s u i t e . - 60 -In contrast to older residences i s the newer home in which Mrs. R. has rented a be d - s i t t i n g room. \"This bungalow-style house was b u i l t i n 19$0 as a single family dwelling. It i s of wood and stucco siding and the l o t i s landscaped. Both the i n t e r i o r and outside of the house have been kept clean .and no repairs are needed. Although Mrs. R. rents but one room, she has been invited to have f u l l use of the whole house. She has f u l l use-of the modern kitchen f a c i l i t i e s and may watch t e l e v i s i o n or entertain i n the living-room when she pleases. Housing Experience Homeowners. .(Group C) . The length of time that people of t h i s group have been i n the i r present home does not exceed ten years. In addition, most of the women have l i v e d mainly i n single family dwellings regardless of whether they were the owners. Their reasons f o r moving from previous places have varied considerably. One woman soid her own home in Vancouver because \"the agents kept bothering me,\" and f i n a l l y agreed that she needed a smaller home. She chose West Vancouver because i t was a \"nice community away from the big c i t y . \" On the other hand, Mrs. D. l i v e d with her daughter and son-in-law, f o r many years after the death of her husband, but eventually decided she .wanted a small place of her own as \" things seemed to be getting too crowded.\" - 61 -These women, l i v i n g i n t h e i r own homes, a l l claimed! t h e y were t h e r e out o f c h o i c e , not n e c e s s i t y ; y e t some i n d i c a t e d t h a t t h e y would c o n s i d e r moving i f something e l s e l o o k e d more a t t r a c t i v e t o them. However, i t d i d not seem as though t h e y had thought much about the type o f accom-modation t h a t would be of i n t e r e s t t o them. There were o t h e r s who would n ot c o n s i d e r l i v i n g any p l a c e o t h e r t h a n t h e i r p r e s e n t home, and wanted t o \" h o l d on as. l o n g as pos-s i b l e . \" B o a r d i n g o r L i v i n g w i t h O t h e r s . (Group D ). C o n t r a r y t o the former group, who f e e l i t i s by c h o i c e t h a t t h e y remain where t h e y a r e , a l l t h e women who l i v e i n t h e i r c h i l d r e n ' s homes b e l i e v e t h a t t h e y do so out of n e c e s s i t y . Only t h o s e who share r e n t e d s u i t e s w i t h f r i e n d s o r r e l a t i v e s c l a i m t h i s arrangement t o be the r e s u l t of t h e i r c h o i c e . Thus, i t appears t h a t the women who l i v e i n t h e i r c h i l d r e n ' s homes would r a t h e r be on t h e i r own; a c t u a l l y , when asked how and where t h e y would l i k e t o l i v e , most of them answered, \"a p l a c e of my own.\" None of these women i n d i c a t e d a d e s i r e t o share accommodation w i t h f r i e n d s o r r e l a t i v e s . One woman d i d not care how s m a l l a p l a c e she had t o l i v e i n \" j u s t so l o n g as she was independent of o t h e r s . \" The word \"own\" was brought i n t o d e s c r i p t i o n s of h o u s i n g arrangements v e r y o f t e n , but the i m p l i c a t i o n of the word was a p l a c e where one d i d not have t o s h a r e , r a t h e r - 62 -than \"ownership.\" Because of i l l - h e a l t h , another woman had come to accept the f a c t that she could not l i v e alone, but wanted to move from her daughter's home because she d i s l i k e d the l o c a t i o n . The house was s i t u a t e d i n a f a i r l y new r e s i d e n -t i a l area, at a considerable distance from a bus l i n e and shopping centre. For reasons of h e a l t h , t h i s woman was unable to go f o r even a short walk because of the steep h i l l s i n the v i c i n i t y . . . The women i n t h i s group have been i n t h e i r present places on the average about f i v e y ears, but w i t h a range from one to twelve years. The type of residence these women p r e v i o u s l y maintained, and w i t h whom, seems to be s i m i l a r i n the m a j o r i t y of cases. Some had l i v e d w i t h other c h i l d r e n while some had moved about w i t h one f a m i l y . A few of these women had at one time or another l i v e d i n rented rooms but while t h e i r husbands were a l i v e they l i v e d \" i n t h e i r own home,\" as d i d the m a j o r i t y i n t h i s group. There were a number of reasons given f o r moving about and these depended on such things as poor accommodation, h e a l t h f a c t o r s , bud-get c o n s i d e r a t i o n s , and c h i l d r e n moving away. As between l i v i n g w i t h e i t h e r married sons or married daughters, the l a t t e r were found to be more evident. L i v i n g Alone i n Rented Rooms. (Group E ) . Among those l i v i n g alone, few seemed to have any close r e l a t i v e s - 63 -i n the m u n i c i p a l i t y . Compared, w i t h Group D, these women, on the average, remained i n the same place f o r a longer period of time. S i m i l a r l y , they described t h e i r being where they were as the r e s u l t of choice. P r i o r l i v i n g accommod-a t i o n f o r this, group of women consisted mostly of movement \"from one rented room to another,\" which, f o r the widowed, dated back to the time of t h e i r husband? s. death. Whereas only one woman had moved more than f o u r times i n the past ten y e ars, most of the others averaged ten years, at the same p l a c e . The m a j o r i t y of the women wished to remain where they were, but Intimated that i f more s u i t a b l e rooms were a v a i l a b l e i n the area they might be i n t e r e s t e d i n moving. On the other hand, some interviewees- i n d i c a t e d that they would move only i f circumstances changed so as to f o r c e them to take another p l a c e . Those who had changed r e s i -dence w i t h i n the past ten years gave v a r i o u s reasons which i n d i c a t e d that i t was not from choice. Pour examples were: \" l i v i n g w i t h my daughter,, but i t was too crowded\"; \"the doctor made me move from a basement s u i t e \" ; \" i t was n i c e , but there were cheaper p l a c e s \" ; and \"the house was sold from under me.\" S a t i s f a c t i o n s from Accommodation The people who are the subjects of t h i s study had various ways of i n t i m a t i n g t h e i r degree of s a t i s f a c t i o n In - 6k -t h e i r accommodation. S a t i s f a c t i o n s seem to stem, not from one f e a t u r e of housing, but from a combination of f a c t o r s which reconcile, them to the l e s s d e s i r a b l e aspects of t h e i r present accommodation. The d i f f e r e n c e i n the type of l i v i n g experience i s the main reason f o r the d i s s i m i l a r i t y i n what these women consider to be s a t i s f a c t o r y f o r t h e i r needs. Since housing plays such an important r o l e i n the l i v e s of senior c i t i z e n s , and because i t a f f e c t s t h e i r t o t a l outlook on l i f e , i t i s important f o r the purposes of t h i s study to describe the s u b j e c t i v e r e a c t i o n s of some of these people. To best i l l u s t r a t e whether present housing c o n t r i b u t e s to a health y and c h e e r f u l outlook, s e v e r a l view-p o i n t s are presented under the headings that have thus f a r been used. Homeowners. (Group C). Mrs. A., age seventy-one, has been i n her own home f o r j u s t over nine years. The house i s w e l l over t h i r t y years o l d and the outside needs r e p a i r s . The i n t e r i o r , although o l d , has been kept clean and cozy. This woman t h i n k s h e r s e l f f o r t u n a t e because the mortgage was p a i d In f u l l p r i o r to her husband's death f i v e years ago. She would l i k e to have a small r e f r i g e r a t o r , but suspects that she w i l l never be able t o a f f o r d t h i s l u x u r y . Poor heating f a c i l i t i e s and inadequate i n s u l a t i o n are r e s p o n s i b l e f o r the house being cold and damp during the winter months. In s p i t e of the c o l d , worry over needed r e p a i r s , - 6$ -and the l a c k of proper food-storage f a c i l i t i e s , Mrs. A. derives great pleasure from her home. Her l i f e i n t e r e s t s are books, music, and the numerous f r i e n d s who often con-gregate i n her l a r g e l i v i n g - r o o m . She plays the piano, which she f e e l s i s an important p a r t of her l i f e , and only by remaining i n her own home can she be assured of con-t i n u i n g t h i s and other p u r s u i t s . Mrs. C. i s also a homeowner, but one who f i n d s i t d i f f i c u l t to solve a l l the problems connected w i t h home ownership. She i s somewhat ambivalent about g i v i n g up her pla c e , as she does not know what her a t t i t u d e would be i f she l i v e d i n a rented room or s u i t e . Although her home creates problems f o r her, she looks upon them as a challenge and therefore has not become discouraged. Boarding or L i v i n g with Others. (Group B ) . The women of t h i s group who l i v e i n t h e i r c h i l d r e n ' s homes a l l expressed d i s a p p r o v a l w i t h t h i s arrangement. Although the p h y s i c a l f a c i l i t i e s a v a i l a b l e to them are f a r b e t t e r than f o r the women l i v i n g alone, e i t h e r i n rented rooms or t h e i r own homes', these women seem to gain fewer s a t i s f a c t i o n s from t h e i r environment and housing. Mrs. L. serves .as an example: she i s seventy years o l d and has been w i t h her daughter and son-in-law f o r f i v e years. Their bungalow-style home Is equipped w i t h a l l the modern conveniences and i s s i t u a t e d i n an upper-- 66 -m i d d l e - c l a s s neighbourhood. This woman occupies her own bedroom and considers h e r s e l f to be comfortable. However, the s a t i s f a c t i o n s that she once gained from t h i s home are di m i n i s h i n g . She no longer t h i n k s of h e r s e l f as being h e l p f u l and her independence i s gone. As long as she remains i n t h i s , s e t t i n g , her need to be u s e f u l and have a measure of independence w i l l continue to be unmet. Mrs. L. t y p i f i e s many women who are l i v i n g w i t h married c h i l d r e n out of n e c e s s i t y , but are g r a d u a l l y becom-in g d i s g r u n t l e d and t h i n k , o f themselves as burdens to t h e i r c h i l d r e n . Mrs. M. has al s o been w i t h her married daughter f o r f i v e years, but would r a t h e r have a small place of her own. She would l i k e to have some of her f r i e n d s c a l l f o r a v i s i t , but she f e e l s t h a t t h i s would be an i n t r u s i o n on her daughter's f a m i l y . In s i m i l a r circumstances i s Mrs. P., who has always l i v e d w i t h her eldest, daughter and continues to do so subsequent to her daughter's recent marriage. Because t h i s woman has become so dependent and emotionally t i e d to her daughter, she i s now having great d i f f i c u l t y In \"shar-i n g \" her w i t h the son-in-law. Mrs. P. has never had to struggle on her own, and i t i s d o u b t f u l whether she could f u n c t i o n by h e r s e l f . Nevertheless, the home s i t u a t i o n i s becoming i n c r e a s i n g l y worse and adds to her d a i l y d i s s a t i s -f a c t i o n s . In t u r n , i t would seem that she i s c r e a t i n g d i s -harmony In the home. Mrs. P. has some i n s i g h t i n t o her - 67 -dilemma, and b e l i e v e s that her problem might be eased i f she were to have a s e l f - c o n t a i n e d s u i t e a d j o i n i n g her daughter's home. In c o n t r a s t to the women l i v i n g w i t h married c h i l d r e n from n e c e s s i t y , are those who l i v e w i t h f r i e n d s or r e l a t i v e s because they chose to do so. Although they are considerably l e s s i n numbers, t h e i r s a t i s f a c t i o n s tend to be greater. One such person i s Mrs. W., who i s l i v i n g w i t h and cari n g f o r a l i f e - l o n g f r i e n d who has taken i l l . She r e c e i v e s no f i n a n c i a l compensation f o r her e f f o r t , but t h i s does not matter as she knows that she i s needed, and her own basic needs are being cared f o r . Mrs. N. i s another woman whose present housing c o n t r i b u t e s d i r e c t l y to her contentedness. She, together with her s i s t e r , have been l i v i n g i n a summer cottage f o r almost twelve years. They have both enjoyed working i n the garden and keeping the premises i n good c o n d i t i o n . However, because t h i s cottage i s being s o l d , they have to f i n d another. For the rent they can a f f o r d , i t i s doubt-f u l whether they w i l l be able to f i n d a s i m i l a r place t h a t w i l l continue to give them the s a t i s f a c t i o n s derived from t h e i r present home. L i v i n g Alone i n Rented Rooms. (Group E ) . The women who rent u n i t s and l i v e alone seem t o be l e s s c r i t i c a l about t h e i r rooms than any other group, r e g a r d l e s s of the - 68 -hardships they endure. F o r Mrs. S., the most important f e a t u r e of her small s u i t e i s that i t overlooks the harbour entrance and the F i r s t Narrows. \"As long as I can look out over the water,\" she maintains, \" I am never bored.\" During the s e v e r a l years of her occupancy i n t h i s s u i t e , she has become accustomed to being without hot water, j u s t as she accepts not having bathing f a c i l i t i e s and having to share the t o i l e t on the porch w i t h two other people. Because her h e a l t h and l i m i t e d budget r e s t r i c t her a c t i v i t i e s , the few pleasures, she does have are the r e s u l t of being c l o s e to the beach. She has rented the same rooms f o r the past f i f t e e n years, and although she i s o ften i n p a i n from a r t h r i t i s , she s t i l l maintains a happy outlook which Is d i r e c t l y a t t r i b u t a b l e t o s a t i s -f a c t i o n s gained from her \"home.\" Mrs. V. has a l s o had a long tenure of residence i n her rented three-room cottage. She came to West Vancouver f r om A l b e r t a In 19l-|-0 and s e t t l e d d i r e c t l y i n t o her present place w i t h her husband and daughter. The husband has since passed on and the daughter i s married. The cottage has been kept i n e x c e l l e n t c o n d i t i o n and Mrs. V. enjoys gardening and doing odd jobs about the p l a c e . By doing these t h i n g s , Mrs. V. has persuaded her l a n d l o r d to keep the rent w i t h i n her means. This, cottage i s a great source of pleasure to Mrs. V. and unless i l l - 69 -health, or increased rent f o r c e s her to leave, she w i l l remain here . Two of the women interviewed rented separate rooms i n the same home. For Mrs. P., who has .been there s i x years, the room has become \"her p l a c e . \" She does not mind sharing the bathroom nor does i t matter to her when there i s not enough hot water. .She considers i t her good fortune to be able to have the room. In contrast to her i s Mrs. 0., who spoke out s t r o n g l y against having to share bathroom f a c i l i t i e s . She was q u i t e opposed to t h i s : to her, \"having my own bathroom\" was one of the most important c o n s i d e r a t i o n s i n housing. Mrs. 0.\" also thought that her room should be redecorated, and she d i d not l i k e running out of hot water. In a l l , t h i s woman enumerated s e v e r a l complaints connected w i t h her l i v i n g arrangements, but her tone and manner did not i n d i c a t e malice. I t would appear as though Mrs. 0. would l i k e to have another room; although i t i s d o u b t f u l , i n s p i t e of a l l her grievances, that she w i l l look f o r another p l a c e . She has expressed discontent many times over, but i n the eight years of residence she has come to a s s o c i a t e s e c u r i t y w i t h her f a m i l i a r surroundings.. Budget Considerations As the m a j o r i t y of those interviewed f o r t h i s study are r e c i p i e n t s of e i t h e r o l d age a s s i s t a n c e or old - 70 -age s e c u r i t y b e n e f i t w i t h the p r o v i n c i a l bonus, no great d i f f e r e n c e was found i n t h e i r monthly income from a l l sources. Pew women who were not i n r e c e i p t of government ai d had an income i n excess of the s i x t y d o l l a r maximum provided to most of those r e c e i v i n g the bonus. However, there i s a considerable d i s p a r i t y i n l i v i n g standards, among these people. I t i s t r u e that some women are b e t t e r f i n a n c i a l , managers than others, but the d i f f e r e n c e i n standards amounted to f a r more than the f i v e or ten d o l l a r s a month that a f r u g a l person might save f o r l u x u r y Items. Accounting f o r t h i s d i f f e r e n c e was the f a c t t h a t many women were g a i n i n g e x t r a b e n e f i t s , other than cash, from f r i e n d s and r e l a t i v e s . 1 Homeowners. (Group C). With ai d from t h e i r married c h i l d r e n , the women i n t h e i r own homes have few f i n a n c i a l d i f f i c u l t i e s . This a s s i s t a n c e seems to manifest i t s e l f i n many ways. In some in s t a n c e s , sons or daughters assume r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r the mortgage and taxes on the home; or they may pay f o r the cost of e x t r a r e p a i r s . M a t e r i a l g i f t s , such as f u r n i t u r e , appliances, or t e l e -v i s i o n s e t s , are other means by which some women are helped. 1 I t Is not inconceivable that some women are not paying room and board while l i v i n g with t h e i r c h i l d r e n , even though they are on some form of government a s s i s t a n c e . This i s a d i f f i c u l t f a c t to e s t a b l i s h , even though by law (under the Old Age As s i s t a n c e Act) there i s a minimum amount that the r e c i p i e n t must be paying f o r sustenance i n order to gain the f u l l a s s i s t a n c e . - 71 -The women who are not \"helped\" i n t h i s way are g r a t e f u l to o u t s i d e r s and s e r v i c e clubs f o r the \" e x t r a s \" they r e c e i v e . Earning ten or f i f t e e n d o l l a r s a month by b a b y - s i t t i n g may be the amount needed to keep from a f i n a n c i a l c r i s i s , f o r , by i t s e l f , government a s s i s t a n c e does not coyer the costs of being i n t h e i r own homes. Mrs. A. could not manage on her pension of f i f t y - f i v e d o l l a r s per month and r e l i e s on the a d d i t i o n a l income she earns to defray expenses. When she applied f o r old age a s s i s t a n c e , she had r e c e n t l y sold some property to help pay f o r her present t h i r t y - y e a r - o l d home, and was there f o r e not e n t i t l e d to a f u l l bonus. Should she f i n d h e r s e l f incapable of earning a few d o l l a r s each month, she would lose her home. Mrs. B.. , who does not r e c e i v e a pension, works part-time by l o o k i n g a f t e r c h i l d r e n . In a d d i t i o n to t h i s , she has rented a room to a boarder and from these two sources she i s able to meet her l i v i n g expenses. Because these women have been i n t h e i r own homes f o r some time now, and c a l c u l a t e t h e i r expenses on t h i s b a s i s , none were able to give a d e f i n i t e f i g u r e which they thought they could pay f o r a f u r n i s h e d or unfurnished s u i t e . Boarding or L i v i n g w i t h Others. (Group D). The arrange-ments f o r rent sometimes include board, though they are d i f f e r e n t i n most instances f o r the women i n .Group D. - 7 2 -Among the women i n t h i s group who l i v e d w i t h t h e i r married' c h i l d r e n , some paid nothing towards t h e i r maintenance, regardless of income, whereas a few w i l l i n g l y c o n t r i b u t e d most of t h e i r income. The m a j o r i t y of the women pa i d between ten and f o r t y d o l l a r s w i t h v a r i a t i o n s as t o the purchasing of food. There was but a small d i f f e r e n c e i n the average monthly income of these women, as most of them were i n r e c e i p t of government ass i s t a n c e and were granted the maximum amount. Mrs. L. re c e i v e s the f u l l s i x t y d o l l a r s , but from t h i s amount pays no room or board. In s p i t e of t h i s , she would l i k e to have a place of her own and i s w i l l i n g to pay up to twenty-five d o l l a r s f o r an unfurnished s u i t e . With the money she saves by having f r e e board, she c o n t r i -butes to the care of her c h i l d who i s i n an i n s t i t u t i o n f o r the mentally i l l . Should she be able to secure a place of her own, these c o n t r i b u t i o n s could not be continued. A l s o r e c e i v i n g s i x t y d o l l a r s i s Mrs. J . , who has a s u i t e i n her son's basement. Although she pays no r e n t , Mrs. J . financed the b u i l d i n g of the rooms she now occupies. Prom her income she i s not able to save much as. she must pay f o r her telephone and e l e c t r i c i t y i n a d d i t i o n t o her ' own food. She too would l i k e to have a s u i t e i n which she could have more freedom, and she is. w i l l i n g to pay up to twenty-six d o l l a r s f o r such a p l a c e . So f a r , she has been - 73 -unable to locate rooms, that she considers \" h a l f decent\" f o r the amount she can a f f o r d . Mrs. ¥. has. no income but i s given f r e e room and board as compensation f o r l o o k i n g a f t e r a s i c k f r i e n d . Should t h i s f r i e n d d i e , Mrs. ¥. would f i n d h e r s e l f i n a d i f f i c u l t f i n a n c i a l p o s i t i o n . I t might be p o s s i b l e f o r her to work at l i g h t housework, but because of her age i t i s improbable that she could continue such work f o r any length of time. She appears to be e l i g i b l e f o r government a s s i s t a n c e , but refuses to apply u n t i l she \"can no longer earn.\" Should Mrs. ¥. have to f i n d a room of her own, i t would have to be of a f a r lower standard than the present accommodation i n her f r i e n d ' s home wit h which she has grown f a m i l i a r . L i v i n g Alone i n Rented Rooms. (Group E). The ' rent paid by the women In t h i s category showed a wide - v a r i a t i o n which seemed to depend on t h e i r income. Although the m a j o r i t y were r e c e i v i n g f u l l a s s i s t a n c e , the few who were not, managed to supplement any f i n a n c i a l a i d given to them by r e l a t i v e s , by doing part-time work. The ol d e r women who were unable to work found i t necessary to r e l y e n t i r e l y on t h e i r monthly s i x t y d o l l a r s . At the same time, t h i s group of women, by•. comparison w i t h a l l the women i n t e r -viewed, were found to have the lowest standard of accommod-a t i o n . - Ik -One woman paid s i x t y - f i v e d o l l a r s f o r her s u i t e of rooms. This was p o s s i b l e as she earned approximately that amount each month by working p a r t - t i m e . In a d d i t i o n to t h i s , she rec e i v e s superannuation of s i x t y - f i v e d o l l a r s . Mrs. U. al s o pays hig h r e n t , but i s w i l l i n g to s a c r i f i c e on other t h i n g s i n order to keep her rented cottage. She has no other income than her s i x t y d o l l a r s pension. Mrs. Q. has no f i n a n c i a l d i f f i c u l t i e s as a r e s u l t of having a supplementary Income t o t a l l i n g f i f t y d o l l a r s . As she i s over seventy years of age, she a l s o r e c e i v e s the old age s e c u r i t y b e n e f i t . At present she i s . paying r e n t of t h i r t y d o l l a r s . At the end of t h i s year she w i l l no longer r e c e i v e this, supplementary income and i s therefore p l a n n i n g to apply f o r the p r o v i n c i a l bonus. Instead of her bed-s i t t i n g room, she would r a t h e r have a two-room s u i t e . She doubts t h i s i s p o s s i b l e because of the income reductions she has to f a c e . She al s o has doubts as to whether an income reduced to s i x t y d o l l a r s a month w i l l a llow her to continue r e n t i n g at t h i r t y d o l l a r s . A l l the women In the r e n t i n g group had a more r e a l i s t i c p i c t u r e of the re n t e d - s u i t e s i t u a t i o n than the others, and were able to be s p e c i f i c In g i v i n g the amount they could a f f o r d f o r f u r n i s h e d or unfurnished rooms. - 7 5 -Those who were paying rent of under twenty-five d o l l a r s seemed to t h i n k that they would be able to pay up to that amount, and would be w i l l i n g to do so i f the rooms a v a i l -able were of a b e t t e r c a l i b r e than the ones they now occupied. Mrs. R., who b a b y - s i t s f o r an e x t r a ten or f i f -teen d o l l a r s a month, thought that she could spend as much as f o r t y d o l l a r s from her income on r e n t ; but t h i s was most e x c e p t i o n a l . Of those who were paying over twenty-f i v e d o l l a r s on r e n t , most stated t h e i r present r e n t a l charge was the maximum they could a f f o r d . Senior. Citizens.' Housing P r o j e c t In approaching s i n g l e women as to what are t h e i r r e a c t i o n s regarding l i v i n g i n such a housing p r o j e c t , three major issues must be considered. F i r s t of a l l , do these women wish to l i v e by themselves? Secondly, what are t h e i r present f a c i l i t i e s ? L a s t l y , there are budgetary matters to be considered. Each woman, i n g i v i n g her opin-ion as to whether or not she de s i r e d to l i v e i n the Kiwanis' P r o j e c t r e f l e c t e d on the importance she places on each of these three f a c t o r s . Some of the women, indeed, had at one time or another a p p l i e d f o r a s i n g l e s u i t e , but f o r various reasons were not among those chosen f o r occupancy. A few women expressed misgivings about not being accepted, whereas others looked forward o p t i m i s t i c a l l y to the p o s s i b i l i t y that they would be admitted at a f u t u r e date. - 76 -I t was the w r i t e r ' s f e e l i n g that during some of the i n t e r v i e w s the women tended to be somewhat cautious' while t a l k i n g about housing p r o j e c t s . Perhaps they b e l -ieved that any negative r e a c t i o n s expressed on t h e i r p a r t would bar them from residence i n such a program. I n any event, I t was necessary i n some instances', to depart from using the questionnaire and to stimulate an open d i s c u s -s i o n . From t h i s \" f r e e d i s c u s s i o n \" came the sincere expressions that are summarized here. To begin w i t h , there was only one person i n -the e n t i r e study who was not aware that there was a housing p r o j e c t i n the m u n i c i p a l i t y . A f t e r the p r o j e c t was explained to her, she became e n t h u s i a s t i c and wished to. apply, \" i f only to be on the w a i t i n g l i s t . \" The r e s t of the women had heard or read about the program; many of them had seen the a c t u a l p r o j e c t , although only a few had been i n s i d e a s u i t e or cottage. Even though only a few were f a m i l i a r with some of the present r e s i d e n t s i n the p r o j e c t and had t a l k e d to them about the f a c i l i t i e s , most of the women were q u i t e knowledgeable about a l l the aspects of t h i s development. Homeowners. (Group C). Only one woman i n Group C stated emphatically that she d i d not want to l i v e among older people i n a housing scheme. Her concept of such a place was that those who l i v e d there \"belonged to a lower - 77 -c l a s s of people\" than those w i t h whom she had been used to a s s o c i a t i n g . She had no o b j e c t i o n that such a place was i n existence and thought that i t was very good f o r those who needed the help. But i t was not a resource f o r her. No one s.eemed to t h i n k that at present there are too many older people i n the one p l a c e ; and no one found open f a u l t w i t h the p r o j e c t . One woman considered that f o r her the rent was a l i t t l e h i g h , and she wondered i f she could a f f o r d such .a \"l u x u r y . \" Mrs. C. admitted that i f she was o f f e r e d a s u i t e i t would probably permit her to give up her present home, as \" i t was too much work f o r her.\" Other women i n t h i s group, however, saw the p r o j e c t mainly as a place to go only i f and when they could not manage t h e i r own homes. Boarding or L i v i n g with Others. (Group D.) . The reasons stated or i m p l i e d by members of Group D who said they would not l i k e to l i v e i n the p r o j e c t were d i f f e r e n t i n every case. '\"Mrs. K., f o r example, i s of East European b i r t h and a l l her l i f e has been spent among people w i t h a s i m i l a r r a c i a l background. She even f e e l s estranged i n her own daughter's home because over the years they have not seen much of each other. F o r t h i s and other reasons, Mrs. K . wants desperately to \"move back w i t h her f r i e n d s . \" Because of her strong c u l t u r a l t i e s , and her desir e not to l i v e alone, t h i s woman would f i n d i t d i f f i c u l t - 78 -to adjust to the new environment such as that created, by entering the housing development. Mrs. M., on the other hand, could not give s p e c i f i c reasons f o r not wanting to l i v e i n a p r o j e c t s u i t e , but i t appeared as though she was so emotionally t i e d to her daughter that she could not l i v e by h e r s e l f . She has been l i v i n g w i t h her daughter and son-in-law since the death of her husband; she f e e l s her l o s s of independence, but t h i s i s f a r l e s s f r i g h t e n i n g than having to l i v e alone i r r e s p e c t i v e of how. h i g h the p h y s i c a l standards are. Having to say \"no\" f o r medical reasons was' Mrs. H., who l i v e s w i t h her son. At present she i s dependent upon him because of her i l l n e s s , and needs someone wi t h her at a l l times. I f she can be cured, there i s a p o s s i b i l i t y t hat she would l i k e to be i n the p r o j e c t . She sees low-cost housing as a n e c e s s i t y , but maintains that the b u i l d i n g of these developments should be scattered throughout.the community and not be on a l a r g e - s c a l e base. Mrs. E., who l i v e s w i t h her unmarried daughter i n a rented s u i t e , would consider moving i n t o a p r o j e c t only i f i t were small enough so as to be p a r t of a normal neighbourhood. She•is not e n t i r e l y f a m i l i a r w i t h housing p r o j e c t s and questions whether she would lose her indepen-dence by moving to a low-rent s u i t e . Her concern over being i n a normal neighbourhood stems from the f a c t that - 79 -she aloes not .have a h i g h regard f o r older people and f i n d s i t d i f f i c u l t to accept t h e i r inadequacies. Both Mrs. G-. and Mrs. L. l i v e w i t h t h e i r married c h i l d r e n , but each would r a t h e r have a place of her own. Mrs. L. ap p l i e d f o r a p r o j e c t s u i t e two years ago; but, because she was l i v i n g w i t h her f a m i l y , i t was assumed th a t her needs were not as great as others who had no one i n the community to help them. When .she f i r s t heard the su i t e s were assigned to others, she was discouraged and somewhat b i t t e r . However, she has since been able to accept her \" r e j e c t i o n \" and i s understanding of the Hous-ing S o c i e t y ' s d e c i s i o n . I f a s u i t e were to become vacant and a v a i l a b l e to her she would accept i t r e a d i l y . Mrs. G-. a l s o i n q u i r e d about the p r o j e c t , but was discouraged from making a p p l i c a t i o n because there was such a large number already on the w a i t i n g l i s t . She would accept tenancy i f i t was of f e r e d to her. L i v i n g Alone i n Rented Rooms. (Group E ) . Only one woman i n Group E maintains t h a t she would not l i k e to l i v e i n a housing development designed e s p e c i a l l y f o r older f o l k . She i s able to;work part-time to supplement her superannuation and so i s considerably more independent, f i n a n c i a l l y , than most of the other women. Her main reason f o r not d e s i r i n g a s u i t e i s that there are too many older people i n one p l a c e . She does, however, b e l i e v e the idea of - 80 -a senior c i t i z e n ' s 1 housing p r o j e c t Is one s o l u t i o n f o r those who need housing and do not mind being \"around w i t h older people\" a l l the time. Because most of the women i n Group E are s a t i s -f i e d w i t h t h e i r accommodation, they do not want to move to the West Vancouver p r o j e c t at the present time. Mrs. Q., who i s seventy-nine years of age, has l i v e d i n the same room f o r e i g h t years; although she complains about her l i v i n g arrangements, she chose to remain there when, l a s t year, a p r o j e c t s u i t e was o f f e r e d to her. However, once again she i s t a l k i n g about moving and t h i n k s that she . i s ; now ready to \"give t h i s p l ace up\" i f she could acquire a s u i t e . The women who have been i n rooms and cottages f o r some time, and have come to t h i n k of these rented places, as t h e i r \"own,\" were of the same opinion as many of those who were i n t h e i r own homes; that i s , they wanted to remain there as long as they were able, and then they would l i k e to move i n t o a subsidized s u i t e . I t seemed to give them a sense of s e c u r i t y i n t h i n k i n g that there was a p r o j e c t s p e c i f i c a l l y f o r o l d e r people i f the time came when they had no other place to go. Pref e r r e d C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of Housing In order to obtain a r e a c t i o n from the women as, to the important aspects of housing, a l i s t of housing - 8 1 -f e a t u r e s was presented, to them and they i n d i c a t e d which item's were more important than others. Although this, was an experiment, and the r e s u l t s Cannot be taken as . c o n c l u s i v e , the f i n d i n g s may be u s e f u l i n f u r t h e r s t u d i e s of t h i s n a t u r e . 1 The women c l e a r l y i n d i c a t e d that warmth and low rent are the outstanding important fe a t u r e s to them i n choosing accommodation. The l e a s t e s s e n t i a l f a c t o r s are that a place has a spare bedroom or should be near a s o c i a l meeting p l a c e . This, l a t t e r might w e l l be changed i f i t could be f u r t h e r discussed and i n t e r p r e t e d . Being near a movie house, and having accommodation to share w i t h a f r i e n d were also given few \"vote's.\" To have a p r i v a t e place that i s clean and quiet Is the c l e a r wish of most of the women. A few thought i t was important to have a place where they could e n t e r t a i n t h e i r f r i e n d s , but the m a j o r i t y were not i n t e r e s t e d i n large rooms s p e c i f i c a l l y f o r t h i s purpose. A small garden was thought to be \" n i c e , \" but most of the women f e l t that they were unable to look a f t e r something of that nature. 1 The c h e c k - l i s t device assumes ample time i s a v a i l a b l e , and that the questions, can be addressed to the person In w r i t i n g or mechanical f a s h i o n . I t s purpose i s as. much to stimulate t h i n k i n g and r a i s e many aspects of the subject, as to get q u a n t i t a t i v e response. Some of the f e a t u r e s included f o r \"votes\" are placed i n d e l i b e r a t e l y even though they may not be important as i n some cases, (e.g. \"church\") they are vague. I t was noted f o r the couples who had been i n t h e i r own places, f o r a number of years and had no thought of moving, that the c h e c k - l i s t had l i t t l e meaning. - to f o l l o w page 8 l -Table 1 . Housing Preferences Expressed by Older Women How Important?: Items Very F a i r l y Not Has few or no s t a i r s 7 $ k Has l a r g e , a i r y rooms k 7 k Windows with a good view 6 7 k Clean, and easy to clean 9 k — Modern, up-to-date 1 7 Is warm i n winter 13 2 -Has a spare bedroom - 2 'io Has storage space 3 k 2 A small garden l 8 2 Workshop f o r hobbies - 1 1 A place to s i t outdoors 7 -i n f i n e weather s A place to e n t e r t a i n your f r i e n d s 2 6 7 Good cooking f a c i l i t i e s . 9 1 R e f r i g e r a t o r 1 k 9 — Lots of colour \\ 2 9 1 L i v i n g near your f r i e n d s | h 6 Low i n rent 10 3 _ Considerate l a n d l o r d 1 6 -Your own property e s s e n t i a l | f o r independence ! 3 2 2 Freedom from any r e s t r i c t i o n s . 1 6 -P r i v a c y 8 h I Accommodation you can share w i t h r e l a t i v e or f r i e n d I ~ 1 8 Quiet j freedom from noise 1 8 k 1 Near a bus l i n e : 6 8 -Near a shopping centre 7 k 1 Near a Church ; 1 i 3 8 Near a movie • -k Near a community centre, club or other s o c i a l meeting place \\ 1 - 82 -Conclusions The m a j o r i t y of the women interviewed f o r t h i s study were i n r e c e i p t of f i n a n c i a l a s s i s t a n c e from the government and received the maximum amount of s i x t y d o l l a r s a month. As f o r residence i n West Vancouver, the average time each woman has been i n the community i s ten years. A l l but one of these women were born e i t h e r i n Canada or the B r i t i s h I s l e s but they have a l l spent most of t h e i r l i v e s i n Canada. The women of Groups C and E. tend to be more s a t i s -f i e d w i t h t h e i r present housing than those of Group D. Those w i t h i n t h i s l a t t e r group, although having .good p h y s i -c a l accommodation, would r a t h e r have a place of t h e i r own • i f ..possible. For these women who are l i v i n g w i t h sons or daughters, i t i s out of n e c e s s i t y r a t h e r than by choice that they do so. Some women i n Group C and E f i n d i t d i f f i c u l t to manage, whereas others are r e c e i v i n g e x t r a a i d from f r i e n d s or r e l a t i v e s . Many are forced to adjust to t h e i r l i m i t e d budgets and do so despite the d i f f i c u l t i e s i n v o l v e d . For a l l of those who were int e r v i e w e d , housing was. of major importance. In some cases, the accommodation seemed to be d i r e c t l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r women having a pleasant and he a l t h y outlook on l i f e . E v i d e n t l y , a l s o , to have adequate housing of t h e i r own choice, many women are w i l l i n g to deprive - 83 -themselves of other b a s i c n e c e s s i t i e s such as food and c l o t h i n g . To the women l i v i n g w i t h married sons or daughters, and who have heard of or seen the Kiwanis' p r o j e c t , the housing u n i t s seemed to be i d e a l f o r those who wanted to be on t h e i r own. By staying w i t h r e l a t i v e s , these women's l i v i n g standards are somewhat h i g h e r than those of the women i n t h e i r own homes and those who are l i v i n g alone. As a r e s u l t , I t would b.e d i f f i c u l t f o r them to manage i n any place other than a low-rent housing p r o j e c t . Most of those i n the three groups b e l i e v e that low rent i s a major c o n s i d e r a t i o n i n choosing a pl a c e to stay. However, they would not consider a low-cost room or s u i t e unless, i t was warm, f a i r l y c l e a n, p r i v a t e , and not too n o i s y . Being near a s o c i a l gathering place or movie house d i d not e s p e c i a l l y concern these women, who a l l placed a premium on p r i v a c y . I t Is p o s s i b l e , however, that the whole subject of s o c i a l c ontacts, and how they might be needed or developed,- would p r o f i t from f u r t h e r research. In any c o n s i d e r a t i o n of housing f o r s i n g l e women, there are three p o i n t s to consi d e r : (a) whether or not they wish to l i v e alone, (b) t h e i r present housing f a c i l i t i e s , i n c l u d i n g t h e i r s a t i s f a c t i o n s from the general environment, and (c) budget. Prom t h i s survey, there is. considerable evidence that the m a j o r i t y of s i n g l e women d e s i r e to be on - 84 -t h e i r own regardless of how they now l i v e . As f o r t h e i r present accommodation, most of the women who are not with r e l a t i v e s , and c e r t a i n l y those who have been In t h e i r place f o r a number of years, consider t h e i r e x i s t i n g f a c i l i t i e s to be \"adequate.\" I t must be remembered i n t h i s connection, however, t h a t , very o f t e n , there i s l i t t l e comparative experience a v a i l a b l e to them: under ne.cessity, one gets used to.\"what must be.\" With regard to budget i s s u e s , most of the women who l i v e alone have d i f f i c u l t y managing t h e i r f i n -ances; but, i f t h e i r cost of housing was reduced or t h e i r income.increased, they would have con s i d e r a b l y fewer problems i n managing the b a s i c n e c e s s i t i e s . CHAPTER k NEEDS AND PREFERENCES: A HEVIEW To provide adequate accommodation f o r the o l d e r c i t i z e n s w i t h i n a community i s not the answer to a l l the problems c o n f r o n t i n g these people. Proper housing i s but one of the necessary i n g r e d i e n t s needed f o r s e c u r i t y and happiness i n old age. However, because of the change i n today's l i v i n g p a t t e r n s and becaus.e many more people are l i v i n g past the age of s i x t y - f i v e , the need f o r adequate housing has become one of the major issues f a c i n g the aged i n t h e i r l a t e r years. The problem appears to be of greater magnitude on the West coast as many older couples have migrated here i n t h e i r l a t e r years. This, i s borne out by the f a c t that the Canadian average f o r people over s i x t y -f i v e i s 7 - 8 per cent whereas B r i t i s h Columbia claims 1 0 . 8 per cent and West Vancouver 1 2 . 1 per c e n t . 1 Housing schemes such a.s the K i w a n i s 1 development i n West Vancouver are a comparatively recent i n n o v a t i o n . Although the West Vancouver u n i t s were not ready f o r occupancy u n t i l A p r i l , 1 9 5 6 , many I n q u i r i e s and a p p l i c a t i o n s were received as e a r l y as 1 9 5 3 when the scheme was. f i r s t proposed. The responses of persons i n q u i r i n g and a p p l y i n g for. trios o. subsidized u n i t s.„. ;as,, well., as., the,- f i n d i n g s , of. Census of Canada, 1 9 5 l . - 86 -recent s u r v e y s 1 p l u s the f a c t that a score or more of s i m i l a r p r o j e c t s have been b u i l t i n the Vancouver area, i s evidence enough of the growing support of t h i s type of housing. Because of the i n c r e a s i n g concern f o r p r o v i d -ing o l d e r people w i t h housing and the number of groups con-s i d e r i n g the b u i l d i n g of s u i t e s , h o s t e l s and p r o j e c t s , the Vancouver Housing A s s o c i a t i o n has prepared a p r a c t i c a l guide f o r groups, a s s o c i a t i o n s or communities i n t e r e s t e d i n p i n i t i a t i n g housing p r o j e c t s . A p p l i c a t i o n s f o r the West Vancouver P r o j e c t Both before the p r o j e c t was launched, and s i n c e , there i s no doubt about the wide i n t e r e s t i n the West Vancouver Senior C i t i z e n s 1 Housing P r o j e c t . Although there were many i n q u i r i e s and a p p l i c a t i o n s , u n f o r t u n a t e l y I t i s not p o s s i b l e to compute the exact number of people who were i n t e r e s t e d i n obta i n i n g these low-rent s u i t e s . No complete record was kept, p a r t i c u l a r l y of many i n q u i r i e s which were made by telephone. In a d d i t i o n , i t appears that- many people were discouraged from making formal 1 Vancouver Housing A s s o c i a t i o n , \"Housing f o r Our Older C i t i z e n s , \" March, 1949,. (report of survey). .Gould-ing-,. W i l l i a m S., \"Housing f o r Older People.\" Canadian Welfare, V o l . 28,'No. 6-(December 19^2) , pp.' 38-J4.I. Sharp, P a t r i c i a , Housing P r o j e c t s f o r Old People. Master of S o c i a l Work, t h e s i s , U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia, 195>7> surveys four out of a p o s s i b l e twenty or more housing p r o j e c t s f o r old people i n Greater Vancouver. 2 • Vancouver Housing A s s o c i a t i o n , B u i l d i n g f o r Senior C i t i z e n s , January, 195>6. - 87 -a p p l i c a t i o n because they heard or assumed, wrongly or r i g h t l y , they would not be e l i g i b l e f o r r e s i d e n c e . I t i s safe to say, however, that at l e a s t 15>0 i n d i v i d u a l s or couples were i n t e r e s t e d i n the p r o j e c t (which offered accommodation f o r twenty-four persons). Out of the t o t a l number, almost o n e - t h i r d were from people l i v i n g outside the m u n i c i p a l i t y - s e v e n married couples, four s i n g l e men and t h i r t y - o n e s i n g l e women. The 106 l e t t e r s and a p p l i c a t i o n s from West Vancouver r e s i d e n t s showed th a t there were f i f t e e n married couples, twelve s i n g l e men and seventy-nine s i n g l e women ap p l y i n g f o r the eight double and eight s i n g l e u n i t s i n the p r o j e c t . In most Instances, two f a c t o r s were r e s p o n s i b l e f o r the m a j o r i t y of those considered to be I n e l i g i b l e . Under the r e g u l a t i o n s as set out by the \" E l d e r l y C i t i z e n s ' Housing A i d A c t , \" persons having an income i n excess of I4.O per cent of the maximum a l l o t t e d f o r \"Old Age A s s i s -tance\" were to be excluded. This clause a f f e c t e d about t e n per cent of the t o t a l . The other f a c t o r was a r u l i n g Imposed by the West Vancouver Senior C i t i z e n s ' Housing Society which r e s t r i c t e d a p p l i c a t i o n s - to those l i v i n g w i t h i n the munici-p a l i t y . A few pieces of s o c i a l data can be u t i l i z e d , i g n o r i n g f o r the moment whether the informants were e l i g i b l e or not. For example, although the ages of some of the - 88 -a p p l i c a n t s were not s t a t e d , i t can be seen from Table 2 that the m a j o r i t y of those applying were i n the age range of severity to seventy-four years. Table 2. Ages of A p p l i c a n t s - • Age- Groups Men - • - Women Under 6k years - k 6$ - 69 years 1 1 9 70 - lk years 5 29 -•- Over- 75- years - •5 - • ik- • . - .- - T o t a l : 1 1 . . 66- - -Source: E n q u i r i e s and forms, West Vancouver Senior C i t i -zens' Housing P r o j e c t . Table l i s t s a l l who gave the inform-a t i o n , r egardless of whether they were e l i g i b l e or not. Prom the a v a i l a b l e data, i t was not p o s s i b l e to determine the length of residence i n West Vancouver f o r a l l the a p p l i c a n t s . However, from Table 3 i t can be seen that s e v e r a l of those who a p p l i e d have l i v e d i n the area f o r a number of years. - 89 -Table 3- Number- of-years. l i v e d I n West Vancouver by Applicants'\"' Years i n - . S i n g l e Married West Vancouver Men Women Couples Under 4. years .1 7 2 5 - 9 'years - 3 1 10 - 19 years 2 10 1 20 or more - 17 3 Formerly l i v e d i n . West Vancouver.- • • - - 9 3 . T o t a l . 3 . 46 (20) - -I n c l u d i n g a l l persons who applied i n w r i t i n g (regardless of whether or not they sent i n an o f f i c i a l a p p l i c a t i o n b l a n k ) } and gave informa t i o n about p e r i o d of residence. I t can be observed from the foregoing that the number of a p p l i c a t i o n s f o r s i n g l e s u i t e s f a r exceeds those f o r the cottages. The Vancouver Housing A s s o c i a t i o n judges the minimum need f o r s i n g l e u n i t s i s three times as great as that f o r double accommodation. The a p p l i c a t i o n s f o r the West Vancouver development i n d i c a t e , however, that s i n g l e a p p l i c a n t s outnumber married applicants, by a r a t i o of more than s i x to one. In s p i t e of t h i s , u s u a l l y because of l i m i t a t i o n s i n the c o n d i t i o n s under which governmental a i d i n f i n a n c i n g can be obtained, i n a l l the housing p r o j e c t s i n the Greater Vancouver area that have s e l f - c o n t a i n e d s u i t e s , - 90 -the number of s i n g l e s u i t e s does not exceed that of double u n i t s . In summary, the trends i n d i c a t e d i n the a p p l i c a t i o n s f o r the housing p r o j e c t .in West Vancouver were:: many more single, people than couples, and a higher p r o p o r t i o n of \" s i n g l e \" women ( i . e . , women, whatever t h e i r m a r i t a l s t a t u s , who required s i n g l e u n i t s ) than \" s i n g l e \" men. As f a r as residence i s concerned, the a p p l i c a n t s i ncluded a l a r g e group who had been i n the m u n i c i p a l i t y f o r over twenty years, and a smaller group who had been i n the m u n i c i p a l i t y under ten years. Types of S i t u a t i o n s and Accommodation L't would r e q u i r e an extensive s p e c i a l survey to e s t a b l i s h these s t a t i s t i c a l dimensions f o r the whole commun-i t y . The present study has aimed only at gathering a sample of s i t u a t i o n s and r e a c t i o n s which have some t y p i c a l i t y . In. v i s i t i n g these older people, many circumstances were found; much has gone i n t o t h e i r l i v e s and t h i s adds up to. a wide v a r i e t y of s i t u a t i o n s . The w r i t e r s have t r i e d to weigh these v a r i a t i o n s and systematize the f i n d i n g s of the survey,, p a r t i c u l a r l y w i t h reference to the l i v i n g arrangements of these old people and t h e i r resources f o r meeting housing problems. As mentioned p r e v i o u s l y , West Vancouver has s p e c i a l f e a t u r e s , i n c l u d i n g i t s p a t t e r n of settlement. Residents appear to have a r r i v e d i n two waves, each w i t h character-i s t i c s of i t s own. The f i r s t wave, s t a r t i n g about 1906, might be described as the \" o l d t i m e r s . \" They e s t a b l i s h e d themselves i n r u r a l surroundings, and f o r many of them t h e i r f i n a n c i a l resources were meagre. Nevertheless., most of them managed to acquire a small house of t h e i r own. The second wave of r e s i d e n t s , who are mostly i n a higher income bracket than the f i r s t , s t a r t e d to come to West Vancouver i n 1938 a f t e r the L i o n s 1 Gate Bridge was opened. The survey gives some i n d i c a t i o n that these s p e c i a l f e a t u r e s of West Vancouver, i n c l u d i n g the two waves of settlement, are t i e d i n r a t h e r c l o s e l y w i t h some of the f i n d i n g s of t h i s , study. This i s . to be expected, as the geographical and developmental c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of any area form an important p a r t of the b a s i c s o c i a l and c u l t u r a l patterns of that area. The f i r s t notable d i v i s i o n revealed, by the survey was between the homeowners and those who are r e n t i n g accommodation. The homeowners, g e n e r a l l y speaking, a.re par t of the \" o l d time\" group who have l i v e d i n West Van-couver f o r many years. Many of them s t i l l occupy the same home today which they acquired sometimes as f a r back as f o r t y years ago. On the other hand, most of those who are r e n t i n g accommodation, have come to the m u n i c i p a l i t y - 92 -w i t h i n the past twenty years. The l a t t e r i s a smaller but none the l e s s s i g n i f i c a n t group of older people who e i t h e r came w i t h or fol l o w e d married c h i l d r e n , whom they wish to be near. In t h i s main d i v i s i o n between homeowners and those who are l i v i n g w i t h others or r e n t i n g accommodation, i t i s ' of i n t e r e s t to look at some of the broader Influence which f i n d expression i n t h e i r l i v e s . I t seems c l e a r that wherever one f i n d s people, t h e i r modes of l i v i n g are i n f l u e n c e d not only by the l o c a l environment but a l s o by the wider and per-haps l e s s obvious c u l t u r a l e v o l u t i o n which i s t a k i n g place across the n a t i o n . This i s none the l e s s t r u e i n West Vancouver where the s p e c i a l features of settlement and economic c o n s i d e r a t i o n s , have shaped, to some extent, the s i t u a t i o n found today among the older residence. On the other hand, the c u l t u r a l changes t a k i n g place i n f a m i l y l i f e due to the Influence of u r b a n i z a t i o n , are a l s o demon-st r a t e d i n t h i s community. This broader i n f l u e n c e of u r b a n i z a t i o n has brought wi t h i t the smaller home. This i n t u r n has lead to the two-generation and one-generation households, which have to a large extent replaced the o l d three-generation household. This trend whereby parents l i v e s e p a r a t e l y from married c h i l d r e n i s r e f l e c t e d i n West Vancouver even In the small number of persons and households included i n t h i s study. - 93 -Nearly a l l of the older couples Included i n the study maintain t h e i r own households; although many had married c h i l d r e n a l s o l i v i n g i n West Vancouver. The couples who rent accommodation, l i k e w i s e , were found to be. l i v i n g apart from t h e i r married c h i l d r e n . .In t h i s l a t t e r group were a number who came to the m u n i c i p a l i t y to be near t h e i r married c h i l d r e n ; however, they wished to maintain \" t h e i r own home\" while being close enough to v i s i t w ith t h e i r f a m i l i e s . I t i s l i k e l y , too, that there would not be enough room In t h e i r c h i l d r e n ' s homes f o r them. These two groups are thus t y p i c a l , probably, of the trend toward the two-generation and the one-generation household. Among the s i n g l e women,1 there Is a f a i r l y w e l l -defined group who are l i v i n g w i t h married sons or d-aughters, and I t i s to be noted t h a t , g e n e r a l l y speaking, t h i s group, are the l e a s t accepting of t h e i r p o s i t i o n . Most of them said they would p r e f e r \"to have a place of t h e i r own.\" In t h i s r espect, they appeared to f i n d t h e i r married c h i l d r e n ' s homes d i d not f i l l t h e i r needs. They appeared to be r e c e i v i n g d i m i n i s h i n g s a t i s f a c t i o n s from t h e i r l i v i n g arrangements although, as a group, the p h y s i c a l environment which surrounded them was much superior to that of e i t h e r of the•two - other groups of s i n g l e women. 1 Throughout the study, i t was kept i n mind that the two group s — c o u p l e s and s i n g l e persons--are not e n t i r e l y u n r e l a t e d , as on the death of a spouse, the s u r v i v i n g member must p l a n a c c o r d i n g l y . - 9k -Even though the three-generation f a m i l y home has. almost disappeared, due l a r g e l y to smaller homes, the wish of older people to l i v e i n the v i c i n i t y of t h e i r grown-up c h i l d r e n i s evident. Many of the women i n t h i s study who are at present r e s i d i n g In the homes of r e l a t i v e s , but who would l i k e separate accommodation of t h e i r own, want none the l e s s to remain In West Vancouver. Although \" f a c i l i t i e s have changed, so that there i s often no longer room f o r r e l a t i v e s i n the smaller homes of today, there remains the d e s i r e to be near enough to one's c h i l d r e n to permit v i s i t i n g . This was borne out by both couple s':.and s i n g l e persons In the study. I t i s both n a t u r a l and d e s i r a b l e that t h i s p a t t e r n of a strong f a m i l y bond be r e t a i n e d . The \"homestead\" has gone, but the people, together with t h e i r p s y c h o l o g i c a l needs, have remained. These p s y c h o l o g i c a l needs of the ageing have been delineated by Laycock 1 as: the (need f o r a f f e c t i o n ; the need f o r belonging; the need f o r Independence (reasonably to order one's own l i f e and make one's own d e c i s i o n s ) ; the need f o r achievement; the need f o r r e c o g n i t i o n ; the need f o r self-esteem (to f e e l that one 1s p e r s o n a l i t y and conduct come up reasonably w e l l to one's own inner standards). • Gardner, Walter P. \" P s y c h i a t r y i n G e r i a t r i c s , \" Minnesota Medicine, Vol.' 33, pp. 3$3~3$9, A p r i l , 19$0. - 9$ -Several of these needs are probably being f r u s -t r a t e d i n the l i v e s of the women who are at present i n t h e i r c h i l d r e n 1 s homes and who voiced the de s i r e to have a p l a c e of t h e i r own. In the small modern home of today the older person who i s an e x t r a member of the household, f i n d s l i t t l e to do that i s meaningful and may l a c k the sense of s e l f esteem which she formerly had i n her own home. In her own small place on the other hand, at l e a s t she has status i n her own eyes and a sense of Independence which i s s a t i s f y i n g to her. This. Is one of the reasons why so many of these older women looked on the s i n g l e u n i t s of the Senior C i t i z e n s * housing p r o j e c t as i d e a l f o r t h e i r needs. D i f f e r e n c e s of S o c i a l and, Economic S i t u a t i o n s Another c o n s i d e r a t i o n which i s e q u a l l y important i s the matter of budget. The type of accommodation which i s afforded by the Senior Citizens'* housing p r o j e c t i s w i t h i n the budget of most of these s i n g l e women who d e s i r e a place of t h e i r own. I t i s u n l i k e l y that they would be able to f i n d s a t i s f a c t o r y s i n g l e accommodation elsewhere which i s w i t h i n t h e i r reach f i n a n c i a l l y . I t was evident from these e n q u i r i e s that many older people who are r e n t i n g accommodation f i n d the rent too high and are going without other t h i n g s to r e t a i n t h e i r f a m i l i a r .surroundings; many of them have t r i e d to f i n d a - 96 -cheaper place without success. Finances are a problem too. f o r the older couples and the s i n g l e women who are remain-ing i n t h e i r own homes. I t might be assumed at f i r s t t h a t the o l d e r people l i v i n g In t h e i r own homes would not be a source of concern from the standpoint of housing. But i t i s evident that they too have a s p e c i a l problem. They have not s u f f i c i e n t income i n many cases to keep up t h e i r homes p r o p e r l y , to heat them adequately, and to pay the taxes., without going short on other e s s e n t i a l s . Housing has' many e f f e c t s on old people. The f a c i l i t i e s a v a i l a b l e and the budget con s i d e r a t i o n s between them i n f l u e n c e the old person's\" l i f e v i t a l l y , f o r h i s w e l l - b e i n g or otherwise. What o b l i g a t i o n s does the community have f o r older f o l k ? They should be provided w i t h opportunities' to l i v e a f u l l and happy l i f e f o r t h e i r remaining years. This should be thought of, not as \" c h a r i t y , \" or a s e r v i c e to keep t o t t e r i n g and i n f i r m people safe, and warm, but as a mental h e a l t h measure, whose object i s to giv e these i n d i v i d -u a l s , a f e e l i n g of s e c u r i t y and independence and a chance to go on t a k i n g p a r t i n the l i f e of the community they know. I t was apparent that an adequate budget, independence, and p r i v a c y are a l l h i g h l y valued by the older persons com-municated with through t h i s study. These f i n d i n g s are subst a n t i a t e d by other s t u d i e s which have had reference to o l d e r people and t h e i r housing - 97 -needs. W i l l i a m S. Goulding, an a r c h i t e c t , who completed a survey of e x i s t i n g housing.in Canada f o r the Research D i v i s i o n of C e n t r a l Mortgage and Housing Corporation, a few years ago, had t h i s to say: I t i s a widespread and most serious e r r o r to i n t e r -pret present demands f o r admission to i n s t i t u t i o n s as a need f o r more and bigger i n s t i t u t i o n s . . . . W h a t most people need and cannot f i n d , i s simply a small con-venient place to l i v e w i t h other people close by. 1 He goes on to say that i n c i t i e s , as competition grows keener f o r a v a i l a b l e housing, o l d e r people have l e s s and l e s s money w i t h which to compete f o r a v a i l a b l e space. This was borne out over and over again i n the study i n West Vancouver, e s p e c i a l l y concerning the couples and s i n g l e women who are r e n t i n g accommodation. These older people are hard-pressed: as rents, continue to r i s e , they move, they cut down on food and f u e l c o s t s . As Mr. Coulding observed t h i s chain of circumstances, also i n h i s survey, he commented t h a t , e v e n t u a l l y , i f the old f o l k s t i l l have f r i e n d s , someone w i l l t r y to get them, i n t o an i n s t i t u t i o n , simply because the community has- crowded them out. To make b e t t e r room than t h i s f o r the older c i t i z e n and to r e s t o r e him to a place of d i g n i t y , i t w i l l b.e necessary to see that the general housing stock i n our communities provide f o r the needs, of an • i n c r e a s i n g number of older c i t i z e n s . . .-• Goulding-, W i l l i a m S.. \"Housing f o r Older People,\" Canadian Welfare, V o l . 28, No. 6 (December 19^2) , pp. 38-4.I. - 98 -Accordingly,' w e l l designed housing p r o j e c t s , of which the Senior C i t i z e n s 1 housing p r o j e c t i n West Vancouver Is one, are most important because they help to keep the i n d i v i d u a l \"at home\" i n the community. This helps the old person'.s morale and gives him something to l i v e f o r ; although there may w e l l be other welfare needs which cannot be supplied through housing accomodation alone. The r e a c t i o n s to the housing p r o j e c t , of the f i f t y older people Included i n t h i s study were, of course, c l o s e l y t i e d to t h e i r I n d i v i d u a l housing needs. I t was found that the married couples owning t h e i r own homes p r e f e r to remain i n t h e i r homes as long as they are able. This was t r u e , too, of the s i n g l e women In t h e i r own homes, and of those who are l i v i n g alone because of choice. Most of the l a t t e r group had been In t h e i r present accommodation f o r some time and, because t h e i r surroundings were f a m i l i a r , they f e l t adjusted to them. This p a r t i c u l a r group of s i n g l e women were e x a c t l y l i k e the couples who owned t h e i r own homes i n t h i s r e s p e c t : they wished to c a r r y on where they were as long as p o s s i b l e . Nevertheless, although they wished to remain i n t h e i r present abode, both these groups were having finaxt-c i a l d i f f i c u l t i e s i n doing so. I t may be that w i t h more i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , and through becoming b e t t e r acquainted w i t h the advantages, both i n : 'terms of comfort and i n terms - 99 -of budget, some out of these groups would more r e a d i l y decide to move to a housing p r o j e c t i f space were a v a i l a b l e f o r them. This would, however, need f u r t h e r study and oppor-t u n i t i e s f o r information and, probably, personal contact. A s p e c i a l p o i n t which would r e q u i r e f u r t h e r examination concerns the homeowner's e l i g i b i l i t y f o r a p r o j e c t should he s e l l h i s own home. I f he should s e l l h i s home-,and r e g u l a t i o n s take no account of t h i s , the homeowner may thereby acquire \"new ass e t s , \" because they are now In mone-t a r y form, which may put him In an Income bracket d i s q u a l i f y -ing him (though h i s housing needs remain) f o r admission to a l o w - r e n t a l housing p r o j e c t f o r senior c i t i z e n s . The married couples who are l i v i n g i n rented accommodation, and the s i n g l e women who are l i v i n g w i t h married c h i l d r e n , are the two groups who most c l e a r l y at present see accommodation i n the housing p r o j e c t as i d e a l f o r t h e i r housing needs. The s i n g l e women i n t h i s group are more numerous than the couples. I t should be stressed that there were, of course, i n d i v i d u a l v a r i a t i o n s w i t h i n a l l the groups. As the f i f t y persons i n the group studied were v i s i t e d , i t was evident t h a t there i s no stereotyped old person. Each has h i s or her I n d i v i d u a l i t y - - a s at every other age. In t h e i r housing s i t u a t i o n s , too, there i s not one, but many problems. - 100 -Some Welfare I m p l i c a t i o n s f o r Senior C i t i z e n s ' Housing P r o j e c t s One of the aims of t h i s study has been to assess both the pros and the cons of l i v i n g i n a senior c i t i z e n s ' housing p r o j e c t , from the point .of view of the older person. Part of t h i s s e c t i o n i s to show the d i f f i c u l t i e s , both p h y s i -c a l and emotional, which some older people have encountered i n t h e i r present housing experience. The terms \"housing\" and \"old people\" may be simple and f a c t u a l enough i n some ways; but there i s i n r e a l i t y , no simple s i t u a t i o n . People are complex; and, p a r t i c u l a r l y f o r older persons, much has been woven i n t o t h e i r l i v e s from d i f f e r e n t l i f e experiences. Prom studies of human behaviour which have evolved i n the past t h i r t y y e a r s , much has been learned about under-standing persons and t h e i r i n d i v i d u a l r e a c t i o n s to t h e i r environment. The s o c i a l worker who has studied human behaviour and p e r s o n a l i t y development i s ther e f o r e equipped through h i s use of t h i s knowledge, to be s k i l f u l and understanding i n i n t e r v i e w i n g . S o c i a l workers are p u t t i n g t h e i r s k i l l s i n i n t e r v i e w i n g and s o c i a l diagnosis to use i n the f i e l d s of f a m i l y and c h i l d growth and development, i n the area of c o r r e c t i o n s , and i n h e l p i n g p a t i e n t s who have p h y s i c a l or mental i l l s . The s o c i a l worker i s also making a c o n t r i b u t i o n i n the broader f i e l d s of group work and • community o r g a n i z a t i o n . But the time has s u r e l y a r r i v e d when these s k i l l s should be used wherever s o c i a l assessment - 101 -i s needed i n the f i e l d of low-cost housing? In the planning that takes place p r i o r to the c o n s t r u c t i o n of a housing p r o j e c t , many f a c t o r s that i n v o l v e s o c i a l planning need to be considered. Surveys and studie s must be conducted i n order to e s t a b l i s h the basis- of the need and the nature of the pl a n . I n determining the neces-s i t y f o r a housing p r o j e c t as w e l l as the type and number of u n i t s to be constructed, the s o c i a l worker may w e l l be able to f u r n i s h Information' regarding the requlrement.si.and d e s i r e s of the people to be housed. The welfare of the aged i s being given constant c o n s i d e r a t i o n by the p r o f e s s i o n of s o c i a l work from t h i s p o i n t of view; but since a l o w - r e n t a l housing p r o j e c t b u i l t s p e c i f i c a l l y f o r o l d e r people has welfare i m p l i c a t i o n s which cannot be overlooked, i t seems reasonable that s o c i a l workers should be u t i l i z e d as f a r as. p o s s i b l e i n the planning of such developments. I t i s true that q u a l i f i e d workers are scarce; but t h i s i s true of a l l h e a l t h and welfare f i e l d s . The housing issue i s one of balance and wise d i s t r i b u t i o n of e f f o r t . A s o c i a l worker's c o n t r i b u t i o n does not n e c e s s a r i l y end when the i n i t i a l planning of a p r o j e c t i s . completed, as he can al s o be of as s i s t a n c e i n e l i g i b i l i t y p o l i c i e s , and i n i n t e r p r e t i n g these to the admissions committee. Another area of competence f o r the s o c i a l worker would be i n i n t e r -p r e t i n g the p r o j e c t to a p p l i c a n t s ; and, i f necessary, h e l p i n g the i n d i v i d u a l make the t r a n s i t i o n ' f r o m his. present - 102 -accommodation to new housing. In e v a l u a t i n g a person f o r residence i n a p r o j e c t , the evidence shows that there are three major f a c t o r s t o be considered: (1) the budget, (2) the present f a c i l i t i e s of the a p p l i c a n t , and, (3) the person's r e a c t i o n to h i s present accommodation, ( i n c l u d i n g l i v i n g w ith f r i e n d s or r e l a t i v e s ) . In s p i t e of budget problems, and sub-standard f a c i l i t i e s , some older people wish to remain where they are. Oftentimes they are ambivalent about making a move and need to \" t a l k t hings out\" i n order to get a b e t t e r p e r s p e c t i v e on t h e i r s i t u a t i o n . In the assessment of each of these three areas and t h e i r r e l e v a n t importance to the o l d e r person, a s o c i a l worker as an agent f o r the housing p r o j e c t could be of major a s s i s t a n c e . I n c i d e n t a l l y , through h i s knowledge of community resources and s e r v i c e s , the s o c i a l worker might w e l l be of help to the older people w i t h whom he has. contact.\"*\" No matter how modern and convenient a housing pro-j e c t may be, as. compared to the i n d i v i d u a l ' s former accommo-da t i o n , the n e c e s s i t y of moving from a f a m i l i a r to an u n f a m i l i a r place and changing a l l h i s h a b i t u a l r o u t i n e s , may produce a n x i e t y and even f e a r . No matter how drab h i s former abode, i t was f a m i l i a r . No matter how keen he i s to have a pla c e of- h i s own,, the t r a n s i t i o n w i l l arouse some i n s e c u r i t y . 1 While Interviewing to e s t a b l i s h the need of the a p p l i c a n t f o r low cost housing, the worker may f i n d an opportunity to advise a p p l i c a n t s of various community s e r v i c e s and resources from which the a p p l i c a n t might b e n e f i t . Whether or not t h i s should be developed would depend on the community, the p u b l i c and p r i v a t e agencies i n t e r e s t e d , and so f o r t h . - 103 -W i l l he be able to l i v e up to the r e g u l a t i o n s of the p r o j e c t Old people can adjust to new surroundings, but i t takes time Several of the old people i n t h i s , study had moved from one p a r t of West Vancouver to another, of t e n a short d i s t a n c e , but found they \" f e l t l i k e strangers\" f o r quite a while i n t h e i r new p l a c e . W i l l h i s only help i n a d j u s t i n g i n his: strange surroundings be a handbook of \" r u l e s and r e g u l a t i o n s d e a l i n g w i t h such s i g n i f i c a n t questions' as animal pets, flower pots on window s i l l s and t e l e v i s i o n a e r i a l s ? \" l The f i r s t step i n achieving a. sense of s e c u r i t y and belonging i n the new home could be i n f e e l i n g he i s s t i l l a r e s p o n s i b l c i t i z e n . This is., of course, a .challenge to. wise management \"No matter how benevolent the a d m i n i s t r a t i v e s t a f f may be, through personal i n c l i n a t i o n or as a matter of p o l i c y , the ba s i c o b j e c t i v e is. not the c r e a t i o n of a benevolent auto-cracy or benevolent p a t e r n a l i s m . Are people to be found who w i l l \" f i t \" r e g u l a t i o n s , or i s adequate housing to be provided which w i l l be appropriate f o r those who need i t ? Income e l i g i b i l i t y • -'•••Rose-,. A l b e r t , \"Housing A d m i n i s t r a t i o n i n Canada,\" Canadian Welfare, V o l . 28, No. 6. (December 19^2), p. 3$. I b i d • , p. 37- This matter i s touched on.in more d e t a i l i n Sharp, P a t r i c i a , Housing P r o j e c t s f o r Old People, Chapter J|, Master of S o c i a l Work t h e s i s , U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia, 19^7-- lOlj. -questions are important here, as w e l l as matters of s i z e , units., f a c i l i t i e s - . Among other questions, are a few as.sets' which an aged person may have, i n f a c t going to be l i a -b i l i t i e s to him i f he i s an a p p l i c a n t f o r s u i t a b l e housing? There are many such questions, which remain to be. answered. In the past, much of the p u b l i c i n t e r e s t i n the problems of housing the ageing has been centered around the i n f i r m and c h r o n i c a l l y i l l . However, some surveys i n d i c a t e that over n i n e t y per cent of the aged l i v e out t h e i r l i v e s i n a conventional house, whether i t be t h e i r own or that of a r e l a t i v e or f r i e n d . 1 Able-bodied older people should r e c e i v e t h e i r proper share of a t t e n t i o n . Many sources i n d i c a t e a preference of the m a j o r i t y of older people- f o r n o n - i n s t i t u t i o n a l l i v i n g . There seems to be a very r e a l dread on the p a r t of the aged to going to an i n s t i t u t i o n . I t seems evident that i f there i s any way i n which t h e i r homes, can be made s a f e r and more convenient to l i v e i n , t h i s w i l l ease the economic burden on the ageing and also on those who must care f o r them, i f they are not able to c a r r y on. S i g n i f i c a n t , too, i s ' the p r o b a b i l i t y that i t w i l l ease the burden on the taxpayers by s u b s t a n t i a l l y reducing the number of ageing who might otherwise have to be cared f o r i n nursing homes at p u b l i c expense. Donahue, Wilma, ed. Housing the Ageing, U n i v e r s i t y of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1954-V p. 9. - io£ -There i s a growing understanding, on the p a r t of t h o u g h t f u l c i t i z e n s , that the senior c i t i z e n has r i g h t s , and that he should be consulted when i n need of more s u i t a b l e accommodation. An i n d i c a t i o n of thi s , growing p u b l i c aware-ness, i s that newspaper and magazine a r t i c l e s appear almost d a i l y . A l e a d i n g a r t i c l e i n Coronet Magazine, A p r i l , 19.5>7> i s t y p i c a l , i t asks \"what c:an be done to keep the older person i n the stream of l i f e ? \" and goes on to describe an old couple who went to l i v e i n an \" o l d folks'* home.\" They were w e l l cared f o r , but f e l t \"cut o f f from the world.\" This brought resentment and constant complaints. They had indeed been cut o f f from l i f e and l i v i n g . They no longer prepared t h e i r own meals, or attended to t h e i r small household chores. The s t r o l l down the road to shop, the neighbours' c h i l d r e n , f a m i l i a r s c e n e s — a l l these are important p a r t s of the l i f e which to them i s s t i m u l a t i n g and v i t a l . In each of these aged persons remains, the w i l l to be part of t h i s world and i t s l i f e . The l o c a t i o n of housing p r o j e c t s i s a h i g h l y important issue because of t h i s , need to keep the senior c i t i z e n \" i n the stream of l i f e \" and i n the surroundings, w i t h which he i s f a m i l i a r . Communities, l i k e i n d i v i d u a l s , , can be very d i f f e r e n t from one another. This a p p l i e s too, i n planning f o r the aged i n a community. Each area must study i t s own p a r t i c u l a r s i t u a t i o n and then promote plans which w i l l s u i t i t s needs. - 106' -Helping the community to understand i t s . problems regarding the aged, has to be done i n layman's language-. The whole community should be helped to grasp the ide a that o l d age i s a normal and respected stage of l i f e to which each member w i l l come i f he l i v e s long enough. Every step taken toward the w e l l - b e i n g of i t s old people is. a c o n s t r u c t i v e step which could w e l l give the community an asset as w e l l as a sense- of achievement. As i n other areas, b e t t e r planning i n the f i e l d of old age may be achieved i f older people themselves are included i n the planning. Though i t i s . a l s o true that the best planning f o r old people w i l l come when welfare s e r v i c e s f o r the aged are planned i n r e l a t i o n to a l l other welfare s e r v i c e s . And the same i s true of housing. Housing f o r o l d people i s a s p e c i a l branch of housing f o r low-income groups; and there i s a wide and v a r i e d experience i n p u b l i c housing i n many c o u n t r i e s which can be drawn on. There are many th i n g s to consider i n t a k i n g a c t i o n to c o r r e c t an impoverished housing s i t u a t i o n . I n searching f o r a s o l u t i o n , o l d e r people must be looked at a's an I n t e g r a l pa r t of the community. To p l a n and execute a p r o j e c t f o r o l d e r people without t h e i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n or an i n q u i r y i n t o t h e i r p a r t i c u l a r needs would be unfortunate, to say the l e a s t . No matter whatoa proposed s o l u t i o n might be, however, i t s development should r e s u l t from the e f f o r t of the e n t i r e community. - 107 -There are two schools, of thought on t h i s matter; one b e l i e v e s that the- development of a s p e c i f i c p r o j e c t i s the important t h i n g , the other f e e l s , the p r o j e c t to be of l e s s importance than the. development of the c a p a c i t y .of the people w i t h i n a community to create that p r o j e c t . I t i s ' true that a c t i o n can o f t e n be slow when the program gen-erates from w i t h i n the community and s.eeks to obt a i n the support of many groups of people. However, the knowledge gained by those who work together, and the educated con-v i c t i o n w i t h which these people can become imbued has.' f a r more meaning and permanence than any imposed p r o j e c t . I f t h i s i s - the cas.e, then i t would appear t h a t the c o n s t r u c t i o n of senior c i t i z e n s ' housing u n i t s can serve a twofold purpose. One would be to help b r i n g the community c l o s e r together i n terms of understanding and \"working as a team\" .toward's s o l v i n g t h e i r own problems. The c r e a t i o n of the p r o j e c t i t s e l f would, of course, serve to r e l i e v e the p r e s s i n g need f o r housing. For the aged, there i s also a growing need f o r other s e r v i c e s designed to enhance t h e i r l i v e s . One way i n which the needs of older people might be met i s through a c e n t r a l i z e d agency designed e s p e c i a l l y to a i d the- aged. An example of such a s e r v i c e Is the Senior C i t i z e n s ' O f f i c e which has been e s t a b l i s h e d r e c e n t l y by the Community Chest - 108 -and C o u n c i l of V i c t o r i a . 1 ..Because of West Vancouver's r e l a t i v e l y small p o p u l a t i o n , i t does not seem f e a s i b l e at the present moment that such an agency could be est-ablished i n the m u n i c i p a l i t y . However, i f welfare s e r v i c e s f o r the aged were coordinated i n the Greater Vancouver area, every f a c e t of the problems that face older people could be planned on a more comprehensive b a s i s . I t i s worthy of note that many of the older people t a l k e d to i n the present survey seemed to t h i n k of Vancouver ( c i t y ) as remote. I t may w e l l be that some would not be able to a v a i l themselves of s e r v i c e s \"at a di s t a n c e . \" A good dea l depends on what the s e r v i c e s are, however. Housing f o r older people e n t a i l s ' many th i n g s : planning, b u i l d i n g , f i n a n c i n g , p u b l i c education, welfare o r g a n i z a t i o n , and much more. E d u c a t i o n a l work at many l e v e l s i s obviously necessary. I t i s .clear a l s o that the p o o l i n g of experience i s needed. Volunteers, and p u b l i c - s p i r i t e d c i t i z e n s and groups have important r o l e s to p l a y ; but there are areas of expert competence- which must be d e a i t w i t h by a p p r o p r i a t e l y - q u a l i f i e d personnel. This blend of expert and amateur, i n d i v i d u a l and community, i s not e a s i l y achieved. The backlog.of housing needs makes i t urgent. But i t i s only 1 The Senior C i t i z e n s ' O f f i c e i s of course c l o s e l y assoc-i a t e d w i t h the Community Chest and C o u n c i l . The services of t h i s o f f i c e i n c l u d e : to provide housing and room r e g i s t r y r e f e r r a l s e r v i c e f o r e l d e r l y people; and, to provide an i n f o r m a t i o n a l c l e a r i n g house where e l d e r l y people may r e f e r questions and problems. - 109 -by combining a l l the p o s i t i v e f o r c e s i n the community that good housing f o r the aged and enough of i t , w i l l become a r e a l i t y . - 110 -Appendix A. Regulations of the \" E l d e r l y C i t i z e n s ' Housing A i d Act\" 1. In these r e g u l a t i o n s , \" n o n - p r o f i t c o r p o r a t i o n i n c l u d e s an o r g a n i z a t i o n of recognized standing such as a r e l i g i o u s , s e r v i c e , or f r a t e r n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n ; or a s o c i e t y incorporated under the \" S o c i e t i e s A c t \" f o r the express purpose of c o n s t r u c t i n g , r e c o n s t r u c t i n g , or a c q u i r -in g l o w - r e n t a l housing units, f o r e l d e r l y c i t i z e n s of low-i n cffime. 2. A m u n i c i p a l i t y or n o n - p r o f i t c o r p o r a t i o n ( h e r e a f t e r r e f e r r e d to. as \"sponsors\") d e s i r i n g a i d under t h i s Act s h a l l make a p p l i c a t i o n to the P r o v i n c i a l Secretary i n Form I i f a new p r o j e c t or i n Form I I i f an a d d i t i o n to an e x i s t i n g p r o j e c t a f f o r d i n g homes f o r e l d e r l y c i t i z e n s , and s h a l l submit to the P r o v i n c i a l Secretary:-(I) The s i t e p l a n of the p r o j e c t showing the l o c a t i o n of the b u i l d i n g s on the s i t e ; and ( i i ) The plans and s p e c i f i c a t i o n s prepared by an a r c h i -t e c t showing the c o n s t r u c t i o n and equipment, and the number and arrangements of d w e l l i n g u n i t s i n each b u i l d i n g . 3. I t s h a l l be a c o n d i t i o n precedent to the c o n s i d e r a t i o n by the Lieutenant-Governor i n C o u n c i l of an a p p l i c a t i o n f o r aid under t h i s Act that the sponsors s h a l l g i v e an under-t a k i n g that i n the operation of the p r o j e c t :.0 (a) Any operating p r o f i t s h a l l be a p p l i e d to the improve-ment of the p r o j e c t and (.or) r e d u c t i o n i n r e n t a l s , and s h a l l not be d i s t r i b u t e d by way of d i v i d e n d or otherwise to any person or persons: (b) The occupants w i l l be ambulatory and whose medical needs are such they can be cared f o r by a v i s i t i n g medical p r a c t i t i o n e r : (c) The sponsors w i l l assume f u l l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r any operating d e f i c i t s that may a r i s e from the operation of the p r o j e c t ; (d) That occupancy s h a l l be l i m i t e d to e l d e r l y persons whose t o t a l f i x e d income from a l l sources does not exceed the equivalent of I4.O per cent of the Old-age A s s i s t a n c e allowance plus the B r i t i s h Columbia c o s t - o f - l i v i n g bonus; (d) That the r e n t a l s and boarding r a t e s charged s h a l l conform to the i n t e n t of the Act and these r e g u l a t i o n s , and that the r e n t a l s and boarding rates s h a l l not exceed those stated as being contemplated In Form I and Form I I , except w i t h the p r i o r approval of the P r o v i n c i a l S e c r e t a r y : (f) Reasonable s u p e r v i s i o n w i l l be maintained. - I l l -k. (a) When the sponsor f o r whom a i d has been approved has entered i n t o a c o n t r a c t , i t may, as c o n s t r u c t i o n progresses, submit claims i n Form I I I to the P r o v i n c i a l Secretary. The claims may i n c l u d e , besides the a c t u a l cost of c o n s t r u c t -i o n : -( i ) A r c h i t e c t ' s fees': ( i i ) The cost of the land f o r the p r o j e c t i f i t has. been p r e v i o u s l y agreed that such cost may form a p a r t of the estimated t o t a l cost of the p r o j e c t f o r the purposes of aid under t h i s A c t ; ( i i i ) Sidewalks, landscaping, e t c . , subject to the approval of the P r o v i n c i a l Secretary. (b) A i d may not be given under this. Act i n respect of :-( i ) Land owned by a m u n i c i p a l i t y : ( i i ) Equipment or f u r n i s h i n g s of the p r o j e c t , w i t h the exception of bathroom f a c i l i t i e s , plumbing, s i n k s , stoves, and e l e c t r i c - l i g h t i n g and heating f i x t u r e s . $. Each c l a i m must be supported by the- c e r t i f i c a t e of the a r c h i t e c t and signed by two o f f i c e r s of the m u n i c i p a l i t y or n o n - p r o f i t c o r p o r a t i o n sponsoring the p r o j e c t . 6. When a i d has been granted under t h i s Act, there s h a l l be refunded to the .Government of B r i t i s h Columbia the f u l l amount of such a i d I f the p r o j e c t i s ' used f o r any purpose other than approved under t h i s Act. No p r o j e c t , f o r which aid has been made a v a i l a b l e pursuant to t h i s A c t , s h a l l be sold or t r a n s f e r r e d without the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor i n C o u n c i l , and upon the sale of such p r o j e c t or t r a n s f e r w i t h cash c o n s i d e r a t i o n f o l l o w i n g the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor i n C o u n c i l , one t h i r d of the proceeds of the sal e or cash c o n s i d e r a t i o n s h a l l be p a i d to the Government of B r i t i s h Columbia. 7. Any p r o j e c t f o r which aid has been made a y a i l a b l e pursuant to t h i s Act s h a l l be subject to i n s p e c t i o n at any time by a person appointed f o r t h i s purpose by the Lieutenant-governor i n Council.:..:-; 8. The sponsor s h a l l submit to the P r o v i n c i a l Secretary an audited f i n a n c i a l -statement annually. ' 9. The foregoing r e g u l a t i o n s s h a l l apply to a l l p r o j e c t s f o r which a i d has been approved pursuant t o t h i s Act. sub-sequent to the 31st day of March, 19$$. - 112 -Appendix B. Questionnaire-schedule used to implement the s tu.dy HOUSING. FOR SENIOR CITIZENS Name: Age. M. . . F... Years InW.V... Street and Number In Canada ... Y r s . Provinces.. Si n g l e f a m i l y house ... Apartment .... Duplex ... F l o o r ( s ) ... Converted (multiple-occupancy) house .. h o t e l .. S p e c i a l .... Owned .. P a r t l y owned .. Rented .. Own f u r n i t u r e .. Other .... L i v i n g : alone - •... Married .couple :,. •. With., relatives.. .....,Friends .. A. Condition of b u i l d i n g : New to 10 years , 11 to .20 years . . . Older I n t e r i o r New Old Clean D i r t y Needs Repair C. U t i l i t i e s • E x t e r i o r F i n i s h New or .. well-kept Old, run-down .. D i r t y Needs Repair.. ,./...:.:.. ,, ,. ... (Rent,) ,: Purpose Type I n c l . . E x t r a Heating Hot Water L i g h t i n g Cooking Fc.. Storage B. Rooms , - et.c . P r i v a t e Shared S L i v i n g Bedrm. Ki t c h e n Bath T o i l e t Other U D. S p e c i a l ' Problems ( s p e c i f y ) f o r Cramped quarters One ..Two Cooking Heating ' Washing Ge t t i n g r e p a i r s Other - 113 -1. I f sharing, with whom l i v i n g : With c h i l d r e n .. With other r e l a t i v e s .. With f r i e n d s .. Others (who are they?) 2. Are present l i v i n g arrangements the r e s u l t o f : (a)choice? ... (b) n e c e s s i t y ? ... I f (b), how would you l i k e to l i v e : With f r i e n d s .... r e l a t i v e s .... where .'. . . 3 . How long r e s i d e n t i n t h i s present accommodation? ... (Other questions, i f l e s s than l O y e a r s ) : Where was the l a s t p l a c e before t h i s ? ... How long l i v e d there... Why moved? What type.,of residence p r e v i o u s l y ? S i n g l e f a m i l y house ... apartment ... other ( s p e c i f y ) ... Ij.. P r o j e c t s a. Have you ever heard of the- West Vancouver Kiwanis V i l l a g e ? Yes ... No ... Have you ever seen the v i l l a g e ? Yes..No... Would you l i k e to l i v e i n such a pla c e ? Yes.. No ... Undecided ... Have you any views on the subject ( f o r example): Rent too high Too much l i k e an i n s t i t u t i o n .. Too many older people .... Not enough freedom allowed .... Too f a r from f r i e n d s ..... Too f a r from stores Too modern Not quiet enough b. What do you t h i n k are the most important things to consider : •, , . in.. hou sing f o r . o Id or , poople? . -(See - che ck- l i s t ) ., . . ... . . .... . ....... Budget or F a c i l i t i e s ? Would you l i k e to move i n t o a Senior C i t i z e n s p r o j e c t i f you could a f f o r d i t or do you tliink. there . are., good reasons f o r s t a y i n g where you are, q u i t e apart from the budget prob-lem Your own budget: 1. Rent $... per month ($ ... week) 1. Taxes $ ...year 2. T o t a l c o s t , e x t r a u t i l i t i e s ' 2. Mortgage payments $ $ . . month( ) (years to go ....) 3 . What i s the most you are able to pay f o r r e n t (or would be) : per month ..furnished; per month ...unfurnished. Ji. Budgetary d i f f i c u l t i e s i n making present accommodation more s a t i s f a c t o r y i f d e s i r e to remain there :J>. In cone. from, a l l sources., |. year*, (month) . •; - •. - :.; , -. - I l k -Chores, p h y s i c a l d i f f i c u l t i e s Personal d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n s d i r e c t l y increased by housing Healthy and c h e e r f u l outlook conneoted w i t h present housing S p e c i a l f e a t u r e s or impressions HOUSING-, NEEDS AND PREFERENCES 1. What i s your view of the f o l l o w i n g items, i n choosing the place you would l i k e to l i v e i n y o u r s e l f ? Please check over a l l the items. • Items - , How: Important • Very F a i r l y Not Has few or no s t a i r s I Has l a r g e , a i r y rooms | Windows wi t h a good view ( | Clean, and easy t o clean Modern, up-to-date j Is warm i n winter Has .a,, spare bee room ,:,/:,:,-...-,- . -. .......... ; Has storage space ; . A small garden Workshop f o r hobbies A place to s i t outdoors i n f i n e weather A place to e n t e r t a i n your f r i e n d s G-ood cooking f a c i l i t i e s R e f r i g e r a t o r Lots o f c o l o u r , , - .. • .-L i v i n g near your f r i e n d s Low i n rent Considerate l a n d l o r d iTour own property e s s e n t i a l f o r independence Freedom from any r e s t r i c t i o n s P r i v a c y Accommodation you can share w i t h r e l a t i v e or f r i e n d Quiet: freedom from noise Near a bus l i n e Near a shopping centre Near a Church Near a moyie Near,, a ; c ommun I ty : : cent re ,. club,,. o r, - other s o c i a l meeting place ' ' - 115 -Appendix C. Questionnaire used at the meeting of the West Vancouver Senior C i t i z e n s ' Club HOUSING NEEDS AND PREFERENCES Two senior students of the U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Colum-b i a (School of S o c i a l Work) — Miss MacKinnon and Mr. Angel -- are making a study of housing needs and preferences among senior c i t i z e n s i n West Vancouver. They welcome very much the co-operation of the Senior C i t i z e n s A s s o c i a t i o n , and would l i k e your help i n a p r e l i m -i n a r y survey or \"opinion p o l l \" which the A s s o c i a t i o n has helped to arrange. You do not have to put your name on t h i s , though i f you do you may be sure you i n f o r m a t i o n w i l l be t r e a t e d as c o n f i d -e n t i a l . I f you would be w i l l i n g to discuss the subject of housing f u r t h e r (with s p e c i a l reference to West Vancouver) In an i n t e r v i e w at your convenience, we should be happy to f o l l o w t h i s up.. • Male .... Female ... How long have In which Under 65 S i n g l e . . . Married... you l i v e d i n age-group 65 to 69 Widow ... Widower... West Van? are you? 70 or - 116 -1. What i s your view of the f o l l o w i n g items, i n choosing the place you would l i k e to l i v e i n y o u r s e l f ? (Please check over a l l the items) How. Important? Items Very F a i r l y . Not 1 Has few or no s t a i r s I Has l a r g e , a i r y rooms \\Windows w i t h a good view j Cle.an, and easy to clean 1 Modern, up-to-date |Is Warm i n winter 1 Has a : spare . bedroom 1 Has storage space j j A small garden Workshop f o r hobbies A place to s i t outdoors i n f i n e weather A place to e n t e r t a i n your f r i e n d s Good cooking f a c i l i t i e s R e f r i g e r a t o r Lors of • colour. ,: , , •..., . „ , , ; ......... L i v i n g near your f r i e n d s Low i n rent Considerate l a n d l o r d Your own pro p e r t y e s s e n t i a l f o r s 1 independence Freedom from any r e s t r i c t i o n s P r i v a c y Accommodation you,can share w i t h r e l a t i v e or f r i e n d Quiet: freedom from noise Near a bus l i n e Near a shopping centre Near a Church Near a movie Near a community centre, c l u b , or other s o c i a l moet.ing.pla.ee. -r,:. Would you .\"say some other Item i s more Important? ( I f so, what ?) . - in -2. Are there things about your present accommodation which make a problem f o r you? No ... Yes ... If Yes, please indicate below: House too big f o r me (us) ... Sta i r s hard to climb Too much work to clean, ec... Too f a r to walk Rent too high Inadequate kitchen Keeping up property too washing... heating Some other problems? (What?) 3. Present Kind of Accommodation: Single family house ... Apartment ... Duplex ... Converted (multiple-occupancy) house ... Hotel ... Motel ...... Boarding, house ...... Housekeeping rooms Owned .... Part l y owned .... Rented .... Living alone .... Married couple .... With r e l a t i v e s friends ........ - . . . Would you be w i l l i n g to discuss these things further? If so please give: Name: Address: Telephone Appendix-D.. Copy of the l e t t e r sent t o West Vancouver S o c i a l S e r v i c e Department c l i e n t s t h a t were i n t e r v i e w e d . CORPORATION OP THE DISTRICT OP WEST VANCOUVER F e b r u a r y ll+th, 19 f>7. Dear We are w r i t i n g you t o l e t you know t h a t M i s s MacKinnon and Mr. Jerome A n g e l , g r a d u a t e .students a t the School of S o c i a l Work, U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h C o lumbia, are t a k i n g an o p i n i o n v ' p o l l c o n c e r n i n g t h e hous-i n g needs of o l d e r p e o p l e . The q u e s t i o n n a i r e w h i c h t h e y are c o m p l e t i n g w i l l be a b s o l u t e l y c o n f i d e n t i a l and w i l l n o t be used by us. S i n c e they may be v i s i t i n g you so.on we thought you might l i k e t o know'of them and t h a t we f e e l you would be of c o n s i d e r a b l e h e l p i n t h e i r r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t . V e r y s i n c e r e l y y o u r s , c k t / k e C. K. Toren S o c i a l S e r v i c e A d m i n i s t r a t o r - 119 -Appendix E. B i b l i o g r a p h y (A) Books-American P u b l i c H e a l t h A s s o c i a t i o n , Inc., Committee on the Hygiene of Housing, Housing an Ageing P o p u l a t i o n . Lancaster Press., Inc., Lancaster, Pa., 1 9 ^ 3 -Cavan, Rugh Shonle, Ernest ¥. Burgess,.Robert J . Havighurst, and Herbert G-oldhamer, Personal Adjustment i n Old Age. Science Research A s s o c i a t e s , I n c . / C h i c a g o , 194-9. ' Donahue, Wilma, ed., Housing the-Aged. U n i v e r s i t y of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 1 9 5 4 -H a l l , Penelope M., The .Social S e rvices of Modern England. • Routledge and Kegan Paul L t d . , London, 1 9 5 5 • Kraus,,. Hertha- , \"Housing, Our Older C i t i z e n s , \" S o c i a l C o n t r i -b u t i o n by the Ageing. In American S o c i e t y of P o l i t i c a l and S o c i a l Sciences Annals, V o l . 2 7 9 , P h i l a d e l p h i a , 1 9 5 2 . Kutner,,. Bera.pr.d-, .and - others , F i v e Hundred Over S i x t y , A_ Community Survey on Ageing, R u s s e l l Sage Foundation, New York, 1 9 5 6 . St at e , o f : C a l i f o r n l a , Governor's Conference on the Problems of the Ageing. Conference Report, October, 1 9 5 l * Sacramento, C a l i f o r n i a . Wickenden, E l i z a b e t h , Ed., The Needs of Older People. American P u b l i c Welfare A s s o c i a t i o n , Chicago, 1 9 5 3 -(B) P e r i o d i c a l s Gardner, W.P. \" P s y c h i a t r y i n G e r i a t r i c s , \" Minnesota Medicine, V o l . 3 3 ( A p r i l , 1 9 ^ 0 ) , pp. 3 5 3 - 3 5 9 -Math, l a s on, Go nova. \"Hotter B u i l d i n g s f o r the Ageing,\" A r c h i t e c t u r a l Record, V o l . 119 (May, 1 9 5 6 ) , pp. 1 9 6 - 2 0 2 . Mumford, Lewis. \"For . Older, People. ) Not Segregation but I n t e g r a t i o n , \" A r c h i t e c t u r a l Record, V o l . 119 (May, 1 9 5 6 ) , pp. 1 9 1 ^ 1 9 ^ . - 120 -S t r a t t o n , P.R.U. \"Housing f o r Senior C i t i z e n s - The Next Step,\" Community Planning Review, V o l . 6 (September, 1 9 5 6 ), pp. 9 7 - 1 0 2 . (C) Pamphlets and Reports Canadian Welfare C o u n c i l , Canadian Welfare, V o l . 2 8 , December, 1 9 5 2 , S p e c i a l e d i t i o n , Housing f o r Canada. Canadian Welfare C o u n c i l , Canadian Welfare, V o l . 3 1 , May, 1 9 5 5 . S p e c i a l e d i t i o n on Old Age. Community Chest and C o u n c i l of Greater Vancouver, Committee on Welfare of the Aged, Annual Report, January, 1 9 5 6 , 4 pages (mimeographed) . Family Welfare - A s s o c i a t i o n of America, I n d i v i d u a l i z e d S e r v i c e s f o r the Aged, New York, 19l|.l. Marsh, L . C , R e b u i l d i n g a Neighbourhood, U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia, Vancouver, 1 9 5 0 . Oberlander., .H.. Peter and. I r a M. Robinson,. L i v i n g , and Working, i n West Vancouver, B r i t i s h Columbia: An Economic A n a l y s i s , Corporation of the M u n i c i p a l D i s t r i c t of West Vancouver, M u n i c i p a l H a l l , West Vancouver, B r i t i s h Columbia. Vancouver Housing A s s o c i a t i o n , B u i l d i n g f o r Senior C i t i z e n s , January, 1 9 5 6 . 5 pages (mimeographed). Vancouver Housing A s s o c i a t i o n , Housing f o r Our Older C i t z e n s , March 194-9, 27 pp. (mimeographed) . (D) Theses Hopkins, John Thomas, West Vancouver R e c r e a t i o n a l Survey, (Master of S o c i a l Work t h e s i s ) , The U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia, Vancouver, B r i t i s h Columbia, 1 9 5 0 . Wilson, Warren Andrew, Housing Conditions Among S o c i a l A s s istance F a m i l i e s , (Master of S o c i a l Work t h e s i s ) , The U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia, Vancouver, B r i t i s h Columbia, 1 9 5 5 -"@en ; edm:hasType "Thesis/Dissertation"@en ; edm:isShownAt "10.14288/1.0106460"@en ; dcterms:language "eng"@en ; ns0:degreeDiscipline "Social Work"@en ; edm:provider "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en ; dcterms:publisher "University of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:rights "For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use."@en ; ns0:scholarLevel "Graduate"@en ; dcterms:title "Housing needs and preferences among senior citizens (West Vancouver) : an exploratory survey of married and single pensioners, living in various types of accommodation, in West Vancouver, 1956-7"@en ; dcterms:type "Text"@en ; ns0:identifierURI "http://hdl.handle.net/2429/40695"@en .