A $20,000 age-friendly grant has been provided to the Village of Lytton to support its seniors housing action plan.

“This is the type of program that can improve the health of a whole community,” said Fraser Nicola MLA Jackie Tegart. “By keeping Village of Lytton seniors and Lytton First Nation Elders close to their families as they enter their older years, we are able to maintain our community fabric and ensure that they are well supported.”

Through the action plan, the village will work to ensure that facilities and services are in place to properly serve the needs of the local seniors population, including First Nations Elders, so that seniors may remain close to their families as they age.

Building on information from an earlier age-friendly assessment, this project will review the assessment results, prioritize opportunities and create a plan to address current gaps identified in seniors housing requirements.   

“For many years our small community has been made better and fuller through the volunteer efforts of our residents. Now as these citizens age, it is recognized that more suitable housing is required for them to remain in our village. This grant will assist us in developing a plan to build the housing our seniors need,” said Jessoa Lightfoot, mayor of Lytton.

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 Lytton 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 communities 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