A $10,500 age-friendly grant has been provided to the Village of Burns Lake to support a seniors’ housing assessment project.

“In terms of big picture objectives, the purpose of the age-friendly grant is to encourage our seniors to lead healthy and active lives while simultaneously creating inclusive community infrastructure,” said Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad. “The funding that we are receiving takes great strides to achieve this goal, I know that the residents certainly appreciate the investment.”

The housing project is for those aged 55 and older in the Lakes District area, which includes the Village of Burns Lake and six First Nations communities.

Within this region, 20% of residents are over 55 years of age, a percentage that is expected to increase. This project will enhance the Village of Burns Lake’s efforts to keep seniors in the community while improving their quality of life.

“The funding that the Age Friendly Grant has provided for our 55+ Housing Survey will help our town to prepare for and meet the needs of seniors in our area, which will be invaluable to our residents for years to come. We are very grateful to the Ministry of Health for giving us a means of taking on this initiative,” said Chris Beach, mayor of Burns Lake.

The age-friendly communities grant program is a partnership between the Province and the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM). Local governments were invited to apply for grants up to $20,000. For the 2017 grants, communities were encouraged to consider projects that focus on accessibility, aging well, physical activity and non-medical home supports. The Village of Burns Lake is one of 18 municipalities to receive a 2017 age-friendly grant.

Applications were reviewed by a committee from UBCM and the Ministry of Health. Since 2007, age-friendly community grants have funded 286 projects throughout British Columbia, totalling $3.75 million.

Learn More:

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