Media Contacts

Laura Heinze

Media Relations Manager
Ministry of Health
250 952-1887 (media line)

Paul Taylor

Director of Communications
Union of British Columbia Municipalities
250 893-8476 (media line)

Backgrounders

2016 Age-friendly community planning and project grant recipients

The following communities have received age-friendly community planning and project grants:

100 Mile House
Project name: South Cariboo age-friendly initiative—Moving Forward
Grant amount: $7,000
Project details: Working with the South Cariboo community planning council and other partners, the district will consult with the community in order to assess and explore options for seniors’ housing and supports for aging in place. Work will also include the development of a transportation action plan.

Burnaby
Project name: Burnaby dementia-friendly community action plan
Grant amount: $20,000
Project details: The city will engage with partners such as the Alzheimer Society of B.C., Fraser Health, Burnaby Citizen Support Services, Voices of Burnaby Seniors, and people with dementia themselves to establish a dementia-friendly steering committee, host a workshop for key city staff and council members and identify actions to help make Burnaby more dementia-friendly.

Burns Lake
Project name: Official community plan review and update
Grant amount: $15,000
Project details: The village will integrate age-friendly policies that help meet the needs of older residents into its revised and updated official community plan. This work will be done in partnership with the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako and include local seniors, First Nations and Northern Health, as well as other community members and organizations.

Campbell River
Project name: Age-friendly assessment
Grant amount: $20,000
Project details: The city will consult with the community through focus groups and surveys to create an age-friendly action plan.

Capital Regional District
Project name: Reducing the barriers for low-income seniors
Grant amount: $20,000
Project details: The Capital Region Housing Corporation will consult with low-income tenants, provide information on and referrals to programs and services in their neighbourhoods, and create a resource guide to link low-income seniors to community resources.  

Central Okanagan Regional District
Project name: Regional park age-friendly recreational access project
Grant amount: $20,000
Project details: The project will improve accessibility by identifying senior-friendly low-barrier trails and beaches in a resource booklet. Additionally, there will be a pilot project to put up signs identifying senior-friendly trails in six area parks. The district will also be widening, levelling and surfacing the Peninsula Trail at Kaloya Regional Park in Lake Country.

Chetwynd
Project name: Lunch n’ Learn
Grant amount: $13,100
Project details: The district will host lunch and learn sessions covering topics such as nutrition, home and community safety, and resources for caregivers.

Columbia Shuswap Regional District
Project name: Age-friendly assessment of the communities in South Shuswap Area C
Grant amount: $20,000
Project details: An age-friendly assessment of South Shuswap Area C will be conducted in partnership with the South Shuswap Health Services Society. The regional district will hold public consultations in South Shuswap communities to gather information to develop an age-friendly plan for the region.

Delta
Project name: South Delta seniors bus pilot project
Grant amount: $20,000
Project details: Funding will go towards the South Delta seniors bus pilot project to address transportation needs identified by older adults in Ladner and Tsawwassen. Building on the success of the North Delta seniors’ bus, this project is expected to reduce isolation among South Delta seniors by providing an additional option for those requiring affordable and accessible door-to-door transportation.

Esquimalt
Project name: Age-friendly assessment on the status of seniors in Esquimalt
Grant amount: $20,000
Project details: The funding is for an age-friendly assessment on the status of seniors in Esquimalt. The township will consult with seniors and seniors’ organizations on the features of an age-friendly community and develop recommended age-friendly goals, objectives, and policies for inclusion in the updated official community plan.

Islands Trust
Project name: Supporting Lasqueti Island seniors to age at home, outreach and consultation
Grant amount: $9,465
Project details: Islands Trust will receive funding for a community consultation to explore the needs of Lasqueti Island seniors living at home and how they can be supported.

Kamloops
Project name: Kamloops inclusive accessibility plan
Grant amount: $15,000
Project details: Community members and local organizations will be engaged in the development of an inclusive accessibility plan, which builds on previous work, including the city’s 2010 age-friendly community plan. 

Kaslo
Project name: Seniors outreach and support project and caregiver support program
Grant amount: $20,000
Project details: This two-part project includes training and co-ordinating volunteers to provide one-on-one outreach and support to isolated seniors, as well as planning, organizing and facilitating a caregiver-support program.

Kelowna
Project name: Kelowna’s community for all ages plan
Grant amount: $20,000
Project details: The city will engage in an age-friendly community assessment process to develop a community for all ages plan, building on the Healthy City Partnership signed by the city, UBC, and Interior Health in 2014 to develop a long-term strategy to promote a healthy quality of life for all residents.

Keremeos
Project name: Creation of an age-friendly outdoor fitness park to increase recreation and healthy living opportunities for seniors
Grant amount: $20,000
Project details: An age-friendly outdoor fitness park will be created to increase accessible recreation and healthy living opportunities for local seniors. The village will engage older adults in the planning process.

Mission
Project name: Active for life strategy
Grant amount: $18,500
Project details: The district will develop a strategy to support the health and well-being of Mission’s aging population. The project will help seniors age actively, safely, enjoy good health and stay connected to the community. This work will complement Mission’s broader Sport for Life strategy and make sure that the needs of older adults are considered.

Nelson
Project name: Age-friendly community plan
Grant amount: $20,000
Project details: The city will create a working group with seniors to conduct an age-friendly assessment of their community and develop an action plan. This will build on previous work, such as the city’s active transportation plan and Path to 2040 Sustainability Strategy. Partners include the Nelson CARES Society, the Nelson & District Seniors Coordinating Society, and the Columbia Basin Rural Development Institute at Selkirk College.

Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District
Project name: Age-friendly buildings and benches
Grant amount: $20,000
Project details: The regional district will work with BC Transit, business owners, and other partners to make bus stops and businesses in Okanagan Falls more accessible. In addition, the project will establish an incentive program to encourage local businesses to become more age-friendly.

Prince George
Project name: Age-friendly action plan
Grant amount: $20,000
Project details: The city will work with partners to conduct an age-friendly accessibility assessment and develop an action plan. The consultation process will include seniors, community partners and city staff. The results will be used to develop an action plan representing a commitment to make Prince George more accessible and liveable for seniors.

Princeton
Project name: Incorporating age-friendly policies and direction into Princeton’s official community plan
Grant amount: $20,000
Project details: The town will gather input from local community workshops and the results will inform the official community plan and land use regulations. These regulations will build on the age-friendly zoning bylaw completed by the town in 2013.

Salmo
Project name: Age-friendly survey, roundtable and recommended actions
Grant amount: $20,000
Project details: The village will develop information brochures and health and wellness programs, as well as improving sidewalk safety based on feedback from a survey and public roundtable forum.

Sayward
Project name: Driving Miss Sayward / Live, Laugh, Love project
Grant amount: $20,000
Project details: The projects include a bus program, a lunch program, wellness workshops, and social and recreational activities for seniors. The bus program is expected to reduce isolation among local seniors by providing an additional option for those requiring affordable, accessible transportation to medical appointments, social activities and community events.

Sechelt
Project name: Age-friendly planning initiative 2016
Grant amount: $20,000
Project details: The district will partner with Sunshine Coast seniors to conduct a survey and develop an age-friendly community plan. The planning process will identify seniors' needs and age-friendly solutions within the community, and the recommendations will be integrated into the district’s bylaws and policies.

Sicamous
Project name: Becoming a leader as an age-friendly community
Grant amount: $20,000
Project details: There are two main components: increasing accessibility compliance throughout the district and finalizing the new seniors transportation services plan so that it is streamlined, cost-effective and sustainable.

Silverton
Project name: Silverton age-friendly project 2016
Grant amount: $12,000
Project details: The village will develop a variety of age-friendly fall and winter educational and recreational activities for older adults. The topics will include end-of-life issues, accessing community resources, advance care planning, making healthy choices and staying at home versus assisted living.

Smithers
Project name: Age-friendly assessment and action plan
Grant amount: $20,000
Project details: The town will consult with the community to create an age-friendly action plan. The process will focus on accessibility and safety within outdoor spaces, trails, public buildings and recreation infrastructure.

Telkwa
Project name: Transportation and trails assessment and action plan
Grant amount: $6,100
Project details: The village will build on its previous age-friendly community plan and develop additional plans for transportation and accessible trails. These plans will focus on walking and bicycling infrastructure, icy winter conditions on paths and trails, stairways that are difficult to navigate and transportation options such as ride-share services.

Vancouver
Project name: Dementia friendly city: Dementia Friends - Train the Trainer program
Grant amount: $20,000
Project details: The city will develop and pilot a Dementia Friends workshop for city staff through a partnership with the Alzheimer Society of B.C. A Train the Trainer program will also be developed and delivered to city staff and non-profit organizations to increase participants’ awareness and improve their interactions with people with dementia.

Learn more:

More information about Age-friendly BC can be found by visiting: www.gov.bc.ca/agefriendly