The Steamship Authority recently launched a program to offer discount fares to honorably discharged veterans from port communities, which includes the Vineyard. It’s a commendable endeavor to support those who served the country. But how many of the roughly 1,100 veterans on the Island this would help is uncertain, because of their ages. That’s directly from the SSA, whose staff noted that many veterans are older, and may already qualify for the senior discount offered by the ferry line.
But beneath this commendable effort to support veterans, there is an important revelation about the Vineyard’s aging population, a part of the community that is rising steadily. It raises questions as to whether enough is being done to ensure people can age at home, and where our efforts may be insufficient.
If the veterans’ ratio is similar to what it was in 2019, the vast majority of Vineyard veterans would qualify for the senior discount. At the time, 71.2 percent of Vineyard veterans were 65 years or older.
Now this is quite a bit higher than the overall population ratio, but it brings into focus the reality of an aging Island. Data from the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute shows that in Dukes County, about 31 percent of the population is 65 or older as of 2025. A report from the Up-Island Council on Aging, also using the institute’s data, highlighted that there are expectations of a large increase in the population who will be 80 or older in the coming years for West Tisbury, Chilmark, and Aquinnah. That will be around 10 percent for the whole Island by 2030, only a few years away.
This isn’t expected to decrease anytime soon, and it’s a significantly higher ratio than the rest of the state, where 17.1 percent of the population is 65 or older. But our ratio is comparable to communities closer to us. From the same Donahue data in 2025, 37 percent of Barnstable County was 65 or older. Meanwhile, on our sister island, Nantucket County’s population is 18.7 percent 65 or older and closer to the state.
For older residents, there are various ways that support is appreciated, from medical needs to help with a limited income while aging on the Island after retirement. Fortunately, there’s a collaborative effort on the Vineyard to help older community members, like the senior centers offering programs and community, and transportation networks helping to get Islanders where they need to go. The most recent addition to this is the SSA and the Vineyard Transit Authority collaborating with the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority to connect Islanders with Boston-area hospitals.
But in some of the areas where many of our seniors go, there’s something that still needs work: accessibility. That’s not for a lack of trying. Initiatives have been launched to make it easier for older adults and individuals with physical disabilities to access beaches on unstable sand, albeit they are not everywhere. And there’s a slow push to make more of the Island physically accessible. There was recent construction at the Cliffs in Aquinnah to be ADA-compliant. Still, there are many parts of the Island that are tougher to traverse. Downtown Edgartown is one example, where some sidewalks can be narrow or uneven, and calls to upgrade the county courthouse were made not that long ago.
We get why it’s been a slow process. Some areas may not be readily available to change because of factors like private easements, preservation laws to protect historic spots, and funding.
Howes House may be the prime example on the Island. This West Tisbury building houses the Up-Island Council on Aging, and there was a collaborative effort to figure out how to renovate the building so that it is ADA-compliant, something many spots are working toward. In 2023, it was expected that the project would cost $10 million to renovate, and the new design didn’t meet the West Tisbury character. Since then, it’s been quiet.
As the Island looks to its future, from school renovations to family support, it must also look at how its infrastructure can better serve its older residents. The Island towns have tended to take care of their individual school and resource needs, but we’ve also seen how the towns can collaborate for a wider project, like the future renovation of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School. It may be time to consider a more regional effort to meet the needs of older adults, rather than relying on outside entities, like the many nonprofits on the Vineyard, to fill the gaps. We encourage the Island leadership to see this need for more services for senior citizens, and it is time for all of us to work together to be sure our aging population is well cared for.
