Detroit Demographics
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The Jewish Community of Detroit
Hand in Hand from page 17
78,000 persons live in 30,000 Jewish households, of whom 71,500 persons are Jewish
+ 500 Jews in institutions for a total of 72,000 Jews
Non-Jews
6,500
1989: 106,250 persons lived in 42,500 Jewish households, of whom 96,000 persons were Jewish
Household Structure
Single Parent with
.Children Age 0-17 at Home
3%
65+ Married,
No Children at Home
15%
Married with
Children Age 0-17
at Home
27%
Under 65 Married,
No Children at Home
14%
Other
6%
Household with Only
Adult Children Age 18-29
at Home 7%
Single 65+
23%
18
June 8 • 2006
Single Under 65
6%
just buildings. He also said the
community has come a long way
in caring for the elderly in the
past 16 years.
"Basically, our services for the
elderly were 300 people in a nurs-
ing home," he said. "Now we've
expanded our services to literally
thousands of seniors, providing
in-home support, transportation
and now an Alzheimer's program
in the Jewish Home & Aging
Services.
"We've done a good job, but
we're going to be challenged to do
a lot more he said. "People tend
to fund things that are build-
ings. But we also have
to be able to sell people
on services. If we could
get someone to endow
in-home support, trans-
portation — those things
are harder to sell, but
hopefully, people will see
that that's as important as
buildings.
"Letting people age in
place in our existing insti-
tutions so that they can
live in dignity in their 80s
and 90s is a high calling
and we've got to figure out
how to help them do it."
— Robert Naftaly, Federation past president
The population study
cost $300,000 and
includes any follow-up, said
Population study co-chair
Howard Neistein, Federation
Michael- Stein of Birmingham
chief administrative officer. It
said he is pleased with the num-
was mostly funded by grants
bers that show a high level of
and donors, including the
cohesiveness compared to other
Bethea and Irwin Green College
Jewish communities around the
Life Fund, the Irving A. Rubin
country, but is concerned about
Jewish Community Trust for the
the shrinking population.
Elderly, the Jewish Fund, Jewish
"We have to determine if this
Women's Foundation, Jewish
is a long-term trend or is this
News, Madeleine and Bill Berman,
something that is going to taper
Nancy and James Grosfeld,
off, and do we have a possibility
Schulman Youth Group Initiative
to grow," he said. "If the trend
Fund and Shiffman Day School
continues, we're going to have to
Tuition Assistance Fund.
reorient a number of the services
we're likely going to be required
The Jewish News will provide
to give to our constituents:'
more in-depth analysis of the
Robert Naftaly, a Federation
2005 Population Study next week
past president, agreed with
and beyond.
Aronson and said he saw a need
for increased elderly services, not
20- to 30-year-olds statewide,"
she said. "Our demographic study
indicates that this trend exists
within the Jewish community.
While we need to examine this
data more closely, it is clear that
we are an aging population. This
brings with it specific challenges,
such as the need to capture dol-
lars to provide for aging services.
"We also need to reach out to
families with young children in
order to increase attendance in
our preschools and our Jewish
day schools. Strengthening
Jewish identity needs to be in the
forefront of our thinking."
"Letting people
age in our existing
institutions so they can
live in dignity is a high
calling; we've got to
figure out how to help
them do it."