THUNDER BAY – Age Friendly Thunder Bay plans to establish a not-for-profit corporation to take the lead in making the city better for people of all ages.
It’s one of a number of initiatives announced on Friday at the city’s third Age Friendly Summit, a list that also includes seeking out funding to help cover the cost of delivering programming and other services, and bringing together community partners and residents to help develop a path forward.
Rebecca Johnson, Age Friendly Thunder Bay’s chair, says the city has come a long way in the past decade when it comes to making the community more accessible to seniors, but there is still a long way to go before the job is completely done.
“I don’t know that we’re quite there. But at the same time, businesses are starting to look a little bit more at that senior population. How does a senior with a walker get around their store or their business? How does a senior read their signs? How does a senior manage to get onto a bus when they’ve never had to go on public transportation because they’ve driven all their lives,” Johnson said.
“All of those things, we have to start looking at through a senior’s lens.”
Johnson said the plan focuses in on four key areas that need to be addressed – communication, supports, safety and security and neighbourhoods and plan to ask the city for $50,000 annually to cover costs.
“There are approximately 40 recommendations in the plan,” Johnson said. “We’re asking the community today, ‘Is this what you want?’ And then we’re going to implement it starting in the fall.”
Among the targeted areas are helping people to age in their own homes, assisting residents to meet their housing needs, improvements to transportation and lessons on navigating the health system, a reduction of isolation and encouraging healthy eating, while encouraging the city’s seniors to be active in a variety of different activities.
It’s a growing issue, not only in Thunder Bay, but across the country. The latest census data shows that for the first time in the country’s history there are more people 65 and older than there are youth younger than 14.
Ontario-wide seniors make up 16.7 per cent of the population, a number that jumps to 19.8 per cent in the Thunder Bay census metropolitan area.
Thankfully, Johnson said, the city has been tackling the issue for at least a decade and has been a member of the World Health Organization’s Age Friendly Network since 2011.
While the growing senior population in Thunder Bay will likely plateau by 2030, it’s still on the rise for some years to come.
“We have a growing demographic of seniors. So how do we address their needs? This is a new demographic and we have to look at it. The city has approved the senior action plan. They did that in 2015,” Johnson said.
“Now we will have a community action plan which will complement what the city is doing.”
About 80 people attended Friday’s sessions, held at the West Thunder Community Centre.
