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Comprehensive Plan Housing Element <br />Table 7.15 <br />Percentage of Elderly Head of Households <br />Indian River County <br />1990 Census 2000 Census 2005 Shimberg <br />Percentage of Households headed by a personof65orolder 1 28.75% 36.09% 41% <br />Compared to other areas, Indian River County has a high percentage of elderly households. According <br />to the Shimberg Center for Affordable Housing, elderly households, in 2005, constituted 27% of all <br />households statewide, while elderly households constituted 41 % of all county households. <br />In Indian River County, future housing needs for elderly households (65+) were projected by utilizing <br />Shimberg Center figures which indicate that, in 2005, 41 % of households were headed by an elderly <br />person. The following table shows the projected number of elderly households within the county <br />through 2030. <br />Table 7.16 <br />Projected Number for Housing for Elderly (65+) <br />(41% of Total Housing Units) <br />2010 <br />1 2015 <br />1 2020 <br />1 2025 1 <br />2030 <br />Elderly households (County Total) 1 29,821 <br />1 32,480 <br />1 35,477 <br />1 38,432 1 <br />41,261 <br />While the number of elderly households in the county is high, many of these elderly households are <br />affluent retirees who do not have housing affordability problems. Consequently, the county targets its <br />housing assistance resources to very low, low, and moderate income elderly households. By targeting <br />assistance to very low, low, and moderate income households generally, the county also provides <br />assistance to elderly households which fall in those income categories and need assistance. For <br />example, the county's SHIP program assisted 169 elderly households between 1993 and 2007. As <br />needed, the elderly household special need category is being served with the county's existing programs, <br />and the county's policy should be to continue providing such assistance in the future. <br />A second special need category is low-income disabled persons. In 2000, there were 5,899 low-income <br />households in Indian River County that included at least one person aged 15 or older with a disability. <br />Those households had incomes below 60% of the area median. In 2000, the 5,899 low income disabled <br />households represented 10 % of total households. <br />Based on the 10% figure, the number of low-income disabled households was projected through 2030. <br />Those projections are shown in Table 7.17. It should be noted that some of those households might be <br />included in the elderly household projections provided above. As with other low income groups, low <br />income disabled households are eligible for SHIP and similar program assistance. Through the SHIP <br />program, the county provides assistance to very low and low-income disabled households. In the past, <br />that assistance has included rehabilitation loans and grants to make homes handicapped accessible. <br />Going forward, the county's policy should be to continue providing such assistance. <br />26 <br />Community Development Department Indian River County <br />