Aging Population

Brandon's population is both aging and feminizing. This is, of course, partly due to the demographic shifts in the nation generally, but it is accentuated in the smaller centers. The arrival of retirement age for Baby boomers will now be an added pressure in this shift. The region around Brandon first lost the bulk of its farm population and then over the last thirty years, lost of 30-60% of its small town population, depending on the area. The larger service centers are always the last to be affected, but these serve increasingly as retirement centers for the region. As women tend to live longer than men, and single women need social service supports which are most readily available in larger service centers, the demographics of these centers tends to shift in the direction of seniors and women.

The ability to participate in community activities is severely limited for both single women with small children and seniors as transportation is a problem. Their ability to get out, participate, and be informed is severely curtailed. Public transportation on Sundays is shut down which further limits participation in Church activities unless these people make their own arrangements for transportation or are close enough to walk.

The city of Brandon is now 60% women and Brandon University itself is now 80% women.

Media Based Solutions

Further Resources

A wide range of resources and organizations are involved in the issues of rural aging, as can be seen in the resources below.

Navagation