Office of the Premier
From Richmond to Pemberton, five communities in the Lower Mainland are receiving age-friendly grants to support seniors so they can live active, socially engaged and independent lives.
“We’re proud to say that this round of age-friendly grants is the second-largest we’ve ever had,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “That means even more communities have the opportunity to create age-friendly spaces, opportunities and programs for their local seniors to be engaged.”
In 2019, a total of $729,500 in age-friendly grants is being provided to First Nations and B.C. communities.
“Seniors are at the heart of their communities, and it’s important that they are able to age well at home so they can continue to contribute positively to their neighbourhoods,” said Anne Kang, Parliamentary Secretary for Seniors. “The impact of the age-friendly grants is great, and because of the success of the program, we have seen it grow year after year.”
Grants will be distributed to Richmond, Vancouver, North Vancouver, Powell River and Pemberton. The communities’ projects and plans include:
- having a stakeholder committee look at how to make Richmond neighbourhoods more age friendly;
- using the Age-friendly Action Research Lab to explore how to make Vancouver an age-friendly city;
- working to integrate multicultural seniors into the community of North Vancouver;
- developing a seniors’ resource guide in conjunction with the city’s Active Living Guide in Powell River; and
- developing an age-friendly housing needs assessment for seniors in Pemberton.
The 2019 age-friendly grants will be distributed to 37 communities throughout B.C., three more than the number that received grants in 2018 and more than double the number that received grants in 2017. This includes Richmond, Vancouver and Pemberton, which will receive grants of up to $25,000 for age-friendly assessments and action plans, and up to $15,000 awarded to North Vancouver and Powell River, which support age-friendly projects.
The age-friendly communities grant program is a partnership between the Province and the Union of British Columbia Municipalities. In September 2018, local governments and First Nations communities were invited to apply for grants and encouraged to consider projects that focused on accessibility, aging well, physical activity and non-medical home supports. Successful applicants are eligible to apply for a range of services from BC Healthy Communities Society to support their project.
Learn More:
More information about Age-friendly BC can be found online: http://www.gov.bc.ca/agefriendly
A backgrounder follows.
