Fédération des aînés et des retraités francophones de

l’Ontario

Age-friendly rural communities2010 – 2012

Facilitate active ageing

Project Age-friendly rural communities

Project leader:

• Fédération des aînés et des retraités francophones de l’Ontario

Partnership with:• Ontario Senior’s Secretariat (OSS)

• Association française des municipalités de l’Ontario (AFMO)

• Le Phénix (provincial organisation for francophones with handicaps)

Who is FAFO ?Mandate :

To promote Franco-Ontarian Seniors and Retirees’ needs and interests. Provincial organization which acts as the voice for francophones of ages 50+ throughout Ontario.

Membership- More than 10 000 Seniors across 5 regions of Ontario and 69 clubs.

Priorities• Inform Seniors of their rights and advocate for them;• Form young Retirees groups in Ontario;• Support our different levels of structure (5 regional FAFO offices) by incorporating

them;• Develop and implement innovative intergerationnal projects;• Develop Senior employment programs;• Work to increase Health programs and services for Seniors;• Develop tools to sensitize and inform Seniors on Health issues including the

prevention of abuse and fraud; • Develop and maintain partnerships with multiple partners and stakeholders.

Age-friendly rural communityWhat is it ?

A rural municipality where municipal authorities, local stakeholders and Seniors are initiating actions to : Facilitate active ageing; Adapt policies, programs, services and

structures to the needs of Seniors; Facilitate participation and constant

inclusion of Seniors;Act on many factors such as : lodging,

leasure, urban amenities, transport, etc. according to the identified needs.

Where does it come from?History

- Initiative from the World Health Organization (WHO) that involves many countries including Canada :

In 2002, an invitation was sent to cities all around the world to consult their Seniors on what they think cities should do to help Seniors remain in good health throughout their aging life.

In 2005, a worldwide initiative was launched : Age-friendly cities

- 33 cities around the world including 4 canadian cities;- Publication of Global Age friendly cities : A Guide and the

identification of 8 major characteristics; Only one city has been recognized in Ontario : Hamilton.

9 other cities are about to be recognized. No rural communities.

Age-friendly rural community?

- Targets rural communities with 5000 people or less;- Major success;- Ten communities from 8 provinces are participating (none

from Ontario).

* Meanwhile, Quebec, Manitoba and British Columbia have launched their own Age-friendly City, Village and Province Initiatives.

, l'Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS) a invité des villes du monde entier à demander à des personnes âgées d'indiquer ce dont, à leur avis, les villes ont principalement besoin pour réussir à aider leurs habitants à vieillir en bonne santé. 33 villes ont participé au projet de l'OMS dont 4 villes canadiennes. Ce projet a débouché en 2007 sur la publication du Guide mondial des villes amies des aînés et l’identification de huit caractéristiques clés d’une collectivité amie des aînés :

Inspired by the age-friendly city concept of the WHO, the Canadian federal, provincial and territiorial ministers responsible for Seniors, launched in 2006, the Age-Friendly Rural/Remote Communities Initiative (AFRRCI).

8 characteristics for an age-friendly city or rural community

1. Age-friendly outdoor spaces and buildings

2. Age-friendly transportation

3. Age-friendly housing

4. Age-friendly social participation

5. Age-friendly respect and social inclusion

6. Age-friendly civic participation and employment

7. Age-friendly communication and information

8. Age-friendly community and health services

, l'Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS) a invité des villes du monde entier à demander à des personnes âgées d'indiquer ce dont, à leur avis, les villes ont principalement besoin pour réussir à aider leurs habitants à vieillir en bonne santé. 33 villes ont participé au projet de l'OMS dont 4 villes canadiennes. Ce projet a débouché en 2007 sur la publication du Guide mondial des villes amies des aînés et l’identification de huit caractéristiques clés d’une collectivité amie des aînés :

Age-friendly rural communityWhy?

To respond to the growing reality of an ageing population

To facilitate Seniors’ active involvement in all aspects of society

To encourage Seniors in taking charge of their health

To create a sense of securityTo preserve the dignity of

Seniors

Age-friendly rural communityWhy?

To respond to the ageing population phenomenon:

• 30 years from now, the population of Seniors (65+) will grow from 4,2 millions to 9,8 millions in Canada.

• Almost 1 out of 4 Canadians will be over 65 years of age.

• Seniors disability rate in Canada(2001):▫ 31 % : 65-74 years old;▫ 53 % : 75+.

• Presently, 44% of Health expenses in Canada are linked to Seniors (whom represent 13% of the population).

Age-friendly rural communityWhy?

A reality even more important for francophones in Ontario:

• Francophone population in Canada and in Ontario are particularly ageing: ▫ Median age in Ontario is 38,7 years old▫ Median age for franco ontarians is 44,3 years old

• Proportionately, they are greater numbers of Francophone Seniors that are singles, widowed, divorced than Seniors in general in the rest of the province. Therefore, they are more likely to live by themselves.

Age-friendly rural communityWhy?

• Seniors keep on contributing to their communities by:

• Helping their children and granchildren;• Volunteering in their own communities;• Contributing their expertise and

experience;• Paying taxes to all government levels and

supporting local economy.Studies show that encouraging communities to create social and physical environments appropriate for Seniors, allows them to make wiser decisions regarding their health and well being.

Age-friendly rural communityWhy?

• 23 % of Seniors are living in rural communities;

• Some rural communities notice an increase in their population as Retirees leave cities to establish themselves in rural communities;

• However, the reverse situation could also be true…Some Seniors could leave their rural communities for the cities in order to access more adequate services.

Benefits in becoming an age-friendly rural community

In short, an age-friendly rural community: Decreases the chances of Seniors leaving their rural

communities; Allows the community to keep people with great

experience and expertise; Reinforces the society at all levels.

Therefore : The whole community benefits from the employment,

volunteering and civic engagement provided by Seniors; Local economy benefits from the presence of Senior

consumers; A community that meets Senior’s needs, meets

everyone’s needs.

Age-friendly rural communities -

FAFO’s project and partners• Grant over 2 years from the Trillium

Foundation (up to March 31st 2012);

• Objective : Start 3 Age-friendly rural community pilot projects in 3 different municipalities (with a high % of francophones) in Ontario;

• Project is aiming rural communities with less than 5000 people

• The pilot projects could inspire other rural communities to do the same in Ontario (and Canada). Never done before.

Why did AFMO, OSS and le Phénix choose to be involved

as partners? Partners are preoccupied with

Seniors’ needs;

An Ageing population often means the onset of certain handicaps or limitations (Le Phénix);

Need to adapt our pratices to the changing demography:

o Increase in life expectancy;o Decrease in the birth rate;o Youth leaving for urban cities.

Need to rethink our living environment to accommodate Seniors;

Stop ageism;Equip Seniors so they can take

care of themselves longer (health and well being);

Contribute to the Seniors’ well being, that of their families and the people who take care of them.

Why did AFMO, OSS and Le Phénix choose to be

involved as partners?

• Facilitate the community’s involvement in responding to the identified needs;

• Reduce the number of barriers to access services and care for Seniors;

• Increase the dynamism of community life and economic activity in the community.

Why did AFMO, OSS and le Phénix choose to be involved

as partners?

An age-friendly rural community: Yes! We’re

interested!The Steps

1. Call for proposals to francophone Senior groups interested in participating in this project (due date : December 2010-DONE);

2. Select the 3 pilot projects in Ontario (due date : December 15th 2010 – 4 projects have been pre-selected);

3. Confirmation of the municipalities’ involvement in the project from the 4 pre-selected pilot projects (due date : January 31st 2011) and final selection;

4. Set-up Local Action Committees (1 per pilot project : municipalities, Seniors and local stakeholders)

5. Elaborate profile per municipality to establish actual state of Senior services.

An age-friendly rural community : Yes! We’re

interested!The Steps

6. Identify and analyze Seniors needs for each pilot project (focus groups will be held);

*Anglophone Seniors will be invited to validate the results of the focus groups.

7. Develop a community action plan which will involve the municipalities, partners and stakeholders (1 per pilot project);

8. Implement the action plan (start);

9. Evaluate the project.

An age-friendly rural community: Yes! We’re

interested!

«  How will it benefit us?  »

• Possibility to increase your networking contacts;

• Direct links to Seniors AND stakeholders;• Information sharing ex: Best practices;• Links between all municipal services.

An age-friendly rural community: Yes! We’re interested!«  How will it benefit us?  »

• Municipalities will have a better understanding of their Seniors needs;

• Better consultation between stakeholders;• Development of community leaders which will

facilitate ownership of project;• Tools useful for future municipality developments.

An age-friendly rural community: Yes! We’re interested!

«  How will it benefit us?  »

• Links established between generations;

• Being part of a success story by engaging in this UNIQUE and collaborative project that has never been done in Ontario NOR Canada;

• Working towards a healthy and thriving community.

Municipality involvement

Municipality representatives in each Local Action Committee (2 if possible for each pilot project);

1 meeting every 2 months (2-3 hours each time);

Active participation in developing the community action plan (with Local Action Committee).

Municipality involvement

FAFO will pay for meetings (material, rooms, meals etc.). Municipalities DO NOT have to pay.

Implementation of the action plan will require some funding for some specific actions. Funding received through this grant is not available for that. FAFO will accompany the Local Action Committee in identifying potential sources of financial support whenever possible.

Each plan will belong to its community. Therefore, everyone is responsible for its implementation. This will become a social tool as well as a planning tool.

The action plan could be developed for a 10 year period in order to implement actions that will require a longer time…

An age-friendly rural community: Yes! We’re interested!

«To be successful, this initiative needs:

- Engaged Seniors;- Engaged municipalities;- Engaged stakeholders .

An age-friendly rural community: Yes! We’re interested!

Thank you !

For information : jeansirois@sympatico.ca613-747-0469 ext. 22