Thursday, June 19, 2014
City of London
London’s Age Friendly Plan in Action
Today, at an open house the Age Friendly London Network (AFLN) acknowledged and celebrated the exciting work they have accomplished in their first year.
The AFLN consists of 165 members, including representatives from 80 organizations, agencies and businesses. They have been working since their inaugural meeting last May to implement the Age Friendly London: Three Year Action Plan.
The Action Plan is a road map for London’s future as an Age Friendly City and includes 37 strategies to achieve their vision of “a diverse, vibrant, caring and healthy community which empowers all individuals to age well and have opportunities to achieve their full potential.”
The Plan aims to improve the quality of life for all Londoners in the areas of outdoor spaces and buildings; transportation; housing; social participation; respect and social inclusion; civic participation and employment; communication and information; community support and health services.
Eight Working Groups have been implementing Year 1 strategies and developing partnerships in the community. Some highlights include:
- Improving the age friendliness of City parks by installing benches, signs, mileage markers
- Increasing opportunities for safe and active transportation by advocating for more bike paths, lanes and updated crosswalks
- Consulting on the City Homeless Prevention and Housing Plan from an Age Friendly perspective
- Developing new tools to help older adults of all abilities participate in City recreation programs
- Encouraging older adults to volunteer in their community
- Identifying a go-to source of information for older adults to get connected and find information
- Creating a comprehensive list of home care supports
- Sharing results of the Age Friendly survey
Facts:
- London’s older adult population is growing at twice the rate of the overall population. By 2035, 1 in 3 Londoners will be over the age of 55.
- 676 Londoners completed the first Age Friendly Survey administered by Western University, School of Health Studies.
- The Social Participation Working Group was awarded an RBC Foundation Collaborative Community Project Grant.
- The eight Working Groups held over 60 meetings and volunteered over 5,000 hours since May 2013.
Background:
- In 2010 London became the first city in Canada to join the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Network of Age Friendly Cities. Membership in the Network represents a city's commitment to improving its age friendliness and to engaging older adults in the process.
- In 2011 City Council established the Age Friendly London Task Force made up of more than 100 older adults, baby boomers, service providers, caregivers and other community members.
- Working collectively, the group spent 10 months developing a vision, strategies and action steps focused on improving the quality of life for older adults in London.
- This work builds upon the numerous initiatives already underway in London and has recommended that the action items in the Plan be considered and integrated into other community planning processes such as ReThink London.
- The Task Force recommended that a community-wide Age Friendly Network be established to oversee the implementation of the action plan and to include older adults, baby boomers, community stakeholders, community agencies and organizations.
Media Contact:
Paul D’Hollander
Neighbourhood, Children and Fire Services
519-661-2500 ext 2361
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