Thursday, June 25, 2015
City of London
The Age Friendly London Network is making strides as London becomes a more Age Friendly city
Today the Age Friendly London Network (AFLN) held its Two Year Open House to celebrate its accomplishments, provide updates on projects that are underway, and to raise awareness about the value of being an Age Friendly City.
The vision of the AFLN is: A diverse, vibrant, caring and healthy community which empowers all individuals to age well and have opportunities to achieve their full potential.
London is taking a proactive approach to creating inclusive, accessible and supportive communities through the work of the AFLN. Now in its second of a three-year action plan, it is responsible for implementing 37 strategies within the eight domains of age-friendliness. These eight domains of age-friendliness are:
1. Outdoor Spaces & Buildings
2. Transportation
3. Housing
4. Social Participation
5. Respect & Social Inclusion
6. Civic Participation & Employment
7. Communication & Information
8. Community Support & Health Services.
Year two accomplishments of the AFLN include:
- Assessed the age-friendliness of 377 London Parks using our Age Friendly Parks checklist, improving the ability to prioritize park upgrades in areas that need them the most.
- The City of London installed 31 new Age Friendly park benches (with arms for easier access) along pathways and trails. This is important because older adults have told us that they would like more seating throughout the City.
- Developing a multi-language resource (booklet and pamphlet) to teach older adults and new comers to London how to use the bus system (ongoing).
- Creating an Age Friendly Business check list. This check list and accompanying resources will help businesses make Age Friendly changes to improve access for older adult consumers (ongoing).
- Updated the Seniors Affordable Housing Directory to include information on building and surrounding amenities, definitions, accessibility, and subsidized and affordable housing. This will help older adults find suitable and affordable housing in London and Middlesex.
- Mapping older adult programming across the city, to make it easier to find recreation programs in your neighbourhood.
- Increased awareness of positive images of aging and older adults through community events and education.
- Held information sessions to teach service providers how to effectively connect with older adult audiences through key information resources like The SouthwestHealthline.ca, Information London and 211 Ontario.
- Initiated collaborative conversations with key stakeholders in community supports & health services, to make the system more Age Friendly to navigate and access.
“Today we are celebrating the accomplishments of the Age Friendly London Network and acknowledging the hard work and dedication that our members have displayed over the past year,” said Lynne Livingstone, Managing Director, Neighbourhood, Children and Fire Services for the City of London. Our second year of implementing the Age Friendly London Three Year Action Plan has seen the working groups tackle some of the large, complex issues that affect older adults in London, such as social inclusion, access to community supports, and ageing-in-place. We are looking forward to building on this momentum in Year Three and continuing to work towards our vision of an Age Friendly London.”
Population aging is a global force that is shaping cities & communities in Canada and around the world. Older adults are important assets to their families and communities, which is why it is important to create environments that enable their full participation across the life course.
The aging demographic will have a profound impact on the City of London in the coming years, as trends show that older adults will make up an increasing segment of our population. In 1996, 1 in 5 Londoners were 55 or older. By 2011, the number rose to 1 in 4. And by 2035, it is estimated that I in 3 Londoners will be 55 and older. This demographic shift represents both a challenge and an opportunity to create a city that enables people of all ages and abilities to enjoy well-being and excellent quality of life. The AFLN is working towards supporting city-wide change that will impact well-being, improve our ability to age-in-place, and help create vibrant and healthy communities.
Additional information is available at www.london.ca/agefriendly.
Media Contact:
Paul D'Hollander
Manager, East Area Recreation Services
Neighbourhood, Children and Fire Services
City of London
Office: 519 661.2500 ext 2361
pdhollan@london.ca
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