BY JEFF CHUDZINSKI
North Country This Week

CANTON — St. Lawrence County officials must begin preparing for a population decline, coupled with an increase in persons over 65 years old, when assessing fair housing throughout the county.

That was the message when Sasha Henderson, a summer intern with the county Fair Housing Task Force, who addressed the services committee on Aug. 21.

Henderson, a St. Lawrence University student, worked on a fair housing assessment for the county up to 2021.

According to Henderson, the population is expected to continue to decline while the aging population is expected to increase.

That falls in line with state assessments following the most recent census, during which state officials said younger generations are leaving the state in record numbers, while those who remain will continue to add to an already aging population.

Henderson said the county needs to begin assessing fair housing practices and accessibility for aging populations, as well as those who have disabilities, if they wish to get ahead of the curve.

Many factors were considered in the study but Henderson noted the five “opportunity indicators” that were utilized in the study.

Those factors include education, employment, health, poverty and transportation.

“These five indicators are sort of the baseline for ensuring that people are getting fair housing,” she said.

According to Henderson, Massena has the highest rate of poverty at 21.2%, with Canton coming in at the lowest with 12.1% among larger townships.

Female householders also had a significantly higher poverty rate at 20.4% compared to 6.08% for male householders.

“Female heads of household are much more likely to experience poverty than any other household,” she said.

When factoring unemployment, Henderson said 2021 unemployment rates were 8% in Canton, 7.4% in Potsdam, 6.7% in Ogdensburg, 5.8% in Massena and 5.7% in Gouverneur. St. Lawrence County’s unemployment rate stood at 5.8%.

Henderson said COVID played a large role in those figures, including individuals who were afraid of contracting COVID at work, as well as those who were on unemployment benefits and earned more while unemployed than if they worked.

An additional consideration was the slowed population growth during that period, which directly affected the unemployment rate. Increased care for dependents due to daycare facilities being closed also drove some from the workforce, she said.

When assessing the figures, officials also said that the number of non-white individuals also impacts access to fair housing in some areas.

Henderson said when higher concentrations of non-white households are accessed, those figures in many cases are accounting for incarcerated individuals.

“So, that influences the percentage rates in Ogdensburg, Canton and Gouverneur because correctional facilities are located in those census tracks. They also have the four universities that are located both between Canton and Potsdam,” said Matilda M. Larson, a planner with the St. Lawrence County Planning Office.

Henderson also said the study shows that some areas may have housing quality issues due to disproportionate poverty. In many cases, individuals living in these areas are living below the poverty line, have less education and access to education, along with medical and professional services.

If the county hopes to reverse that trend, Henderson said investment is required to create accessible and affordable housing as the population of St. Lawrence County continues to age.