Chinese elderly in public housing: A challenge for mainstream housing and community service providers.

This study documents Chinese seniors' perceptions of access to the services of public housing and community agencies in Metropolitan Toronto, Canada. Interviews were conducted with a random sample of 306 seniors from nine Metro Toronto Housing Company apartment buildings where Chinese elders represented the majority ethnic group. Guided by congruence theory, linguistic and cultural barriers experienced by the Chinese seniors in accessing services were analyzed and their implications were discussed for the design of housing and community programs.