Earlier this summer, Leelanau County Senior Services delivered its yearly “aging update” to the county board of commissioners. The presentation was led by senior services Director Lena Vander Meulen for the first time. She replaced the previous director, April Missias, in July 2023.
Also present at the aging update were Heidi Gustine, the executive director of the Area Agency on Aging of Northwest Michigan (AAANM), and Lisa Robitshek, manager of the Meals on Wheels program of the Northwest Michigan Community Action Agency (NMCAA).
Together, the three women gave a “state of the union” address — Gustine’s words — on Leelanau County’s senior population trends, community needs, and their organizations’ services and impacts.
Leelanau County has one of the oldest populations in the U.S. The county’s senior population – people above 60 years old – continued growing in 2023, increasing from 9,075 to 9,382 seniors. Seniors represent 42% of the county’s 23,019 total population.
When the senior population is broken down further, most of them – including 1,244 men and 1,397 women – fall between the ages of 65 and 69 years old. According to Gustine, the county will need to adapt its services to help seniors “age in place,” outside of retirement communities.
“It’s going to start ticking upward,” Gustine noted. “In another three to five years, those bars are going to be moving up, and where you have the largest bar – of 65 to 69 (year olds) – they’re going to move into their 70s… What you need in the county to help individuals age in place – because most people don’t want to go into a retirement home – is going to have to evolve.”
Vander Meulen said the three organizations hope to explore more opportunities for proactive planning for aging needs, transportation for grocery shopping and social opportunities, a dementia support program/adult day service program, and increased caregiver support and education opportunities.
She also emphasized the need for a holistic approach, regardless of income. Elsewhere in the presentation, data from a 2022 American Community Survey showed that 5.2% of the Leelanau County population 65 years and over meet the poverty threshold.
Vander Meulen’s presentation showed that 2,714 seniors are registered within the senior services department as of 2024. “We have more than doubled since 2020,” Vander Meulen said. Last year, a total of 1,267 seniors received services through the county department’s programs. As of July, when the presentation was given, 889 seniors received services this year so far.
The 2023 totals included: 83 seniors receiving in-home services, 128 receiving financial assistance, 180 receiving AARP tax assistance, 331 seniors buying 1,118 vouchers for Comfort Keepers footcare, 166 seniors seeking MMAP services, 220 attending senior services luncheons, and more.
The county’s senior services department is funded by a county-wide millage. This millage was renewed by voters at the rate of 0.3134 mills and the previously authorized reduced millage of 0.0066 mills was restored, for a total limitation increase of up to 0.3200 mills through 2025 in August.
The AAANM also provided numbers on its impact in Leelanau County in 2023. According to the presentation, nursing home level care services or transitional services were coordinated for 16 county residents, and $319,000 was paid to local agencies or individuals to provide care. A further $120,000 was granted to NMCAA to provide home-delivered and congregate meals in the county.
This grant helped the Meals on Wheels program deliver 31,932 total meals to 260 seniors in Leelanau County. The congregate meal site – the Friendship Center in Suttons Bay – served 196 meals to 32 meals as of July.
