Community services needs

Alaska’s population in 2013 was 735,132. Nearly 38.5 percent of the state’s residents lived in Anchorage, which is one of three urban areas of Alaska. Alaska Natives/American Indians represent approximately 14.7 percent of Alaska’s residents and are a significant segment of the population in rural villages and communities. In 2013, the senior population overall was 158,909, or 21.6 percent of the state’s population. In addition to Alaska Natives, other types of seniors who are most in need of the SCSEP program are widowed and divorced persons, minorities, high–school dropouts, veterans, persons not eligible for Social Security benefits, persons with a limited work history, and seniors on fixed low incomes. The SCSEP program operates where there is the greatest need relative to participants, host agencies, and employers. SCSEP–funded services remain available statewide via the AJCs and sub–recipients. The areas with the greatest need for SCSEP–funded services are Anchorage, Fairbanks, Matanuska–Susitna, Kenai Peninsula, and Juneau because many seniors relocate to these regions to be near medical care. Regional economic challenges facing older Alaskans include income insecurity, the need for more reliable access to health care and long–term care supports, an anticipated physician shortage, absence of geriatric education among providers, a shortage of sufficient senior services and health care services workforce to meet future needs, the need for emergency preparedness for a wide range of potential disasters, and soaring energy and utility costs.