Rockland's population is getting older, and local groups are taking steps to make sure they are prepared to meet the mental health needs of an aging population.

The county has established the Geriatric Mental Health Alliance to focus on ways to help older residents both today and in the future.

"It really formed out of the concern about the growth of the older population," said Sidney Paul, a social worker who is leading the group along with Mary Ann Walsh-Tozer, Rockland's commissioner for mental health. "The number of people over 65 in Rockland County is growing very fast."

The 2000 census lists 33,853 people in Rockland as 65 and over. That number is expected to increase to 43,126 in 2010, according to population projections. The over-65 age group is the fastest-growing part of the county's population, census figures show.

Older people have special mental-health concerns, said Paul, former president of the Mental Health Association of Rockland.

Older people are more likely to have health problems and need help with housing and other basic needs, he said. When the elderly seek treatment for mental-health-related problems, the professionals treating them have to be careful to take those issues into account.

People who have lived with mental illness for years might need extra help as they age, he said.

The group is also concerned about another group — people who develop mental illness later in life.

"Depression is very common among the elderly," said June Molof, director of the Rockland Office for the Aging. "It's a big problem."

She is a member of the alliance, along with Commissioner of Health Dr. Joan Facelle and representatives from not-for-profit agencies that serve the elderly, including Meals on Wheels.

People who develop depression or other forms of mental illness later in life might attribute their symptoms to normal aging.

"They might not even realize that they have a treatable condition," Paul said. The alliance is trying to put together a directory of services to help people with mental illness. "We want to make sure that people are aware of the services available to them," he said.