Welcome To Our Newest Age Friendly Communities Town of Beausejour Town of Carberry
Communities Connecting & Leading the Way to an Age Friendly Manitoba Here’s what is happening in some Age Friendly Communities!
Portage la Prairie Portage la Prairie, our first Manitoba Age Friendly city is engaging the community by connecting local organizations. First topics of discussion are transportation and housing options. Contact Information Jeanne Zwiep City of Portage la Prairie, MB R1N 0L8 Ph: (204) 239-8339 Fax: (204) 239 - 1582 City website: www.city.portage-la-prairie.mb.ca
Village of Dunnottar RM of Edward RM of Eriksdale City of Flin Flon Town of Hamiota RM of Morris RM of North Cypress Village of Notre-Dame-de
Lourdes Town of Pilot Mound Village of Riverton Town of Roblin City of Selkirk
Gimli Gimli, our first rural community, is encouraging residents to support local Age Friendly businesses. These businesses will soon be honoured with a recognition certificate and an award of distinction. Gimli has an Age Friendly Business Checklist available showcasing the town’s Age Friendly progress. Watch for their Age Friendly sign to be unveiled soon. Keep watching!
Arborg Arborg held an Age Friendly Awareness Business luncheon March 31. Discussion focused on the various types of automatic doors.
RM of Siglunes RM of St. Francois Xavier RM of Victoria Village of Wawanesa RM of West St. Paul City of Winkler Manitoba Age Friendly Communities 49 and growing Want more information on Age Friendly Manitoba? Call Manitoba Seniors and Healthy Aging Secretariat at: 1-800-665-6565 Website: www.gov.mb.ca/shas
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Rossburn Rossburn held a well attended Age Friendly Community Consultation in May where participants shared some excellent insights. Mayor Shirley Kalyniuk reports disabled parking signs are on order and will go up in front of the Drop In Pharmacy and post office. Another concern is the potential danger of speeding vehicles to local pedestrians who are trying to cross Main Street. Watch for updates!
Pinawa Pinawa Age Friendly Advisory Member said… “The best thing about becoming an AF community so far has been the networking and connections, particularly the AF Conference (March 09) that suggested some things that were easy wins and could be done in our community as we got started with the initiative. Also, the fact that some pretty large projects have been successful in some pretty small places, this gives us the confidence that we can be successful.” In April—The Paper, Pinawa, Manitoba - www.thepinawapaper.com “Age Friendly Pinawa and Solo Market team up to deliver groceries”
The Pas The Pas held a successful Age Friendly wheelchair challenge in April. Step 2 is to approach the Town Council and Department of Highways to put crossing lights at an important intersection where people with special needs work and live.Twice a day, legally blind people, or those who use walkers and wheelchairs use the crossing. An Age Friendly crossing would ensure their safety. The Age Friendly Advisory Committee has followed up with their suggestion of large print phone books. The first page will contain important phone numbers for seniors. The books will be placed in the local library and distributed to local seniors.
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Partnering for Age Friendly Community Consultation Invitation Looking for help on how to become an Age Friendly community? Book a consultation to highlight your Age Friendly features and to determine what areas need to be improved. Consultations are offered by Louise Hutton, the Community Liaison. The Consultation takes 2.5 hours and discussion focuses on eight key areas : ¾ Pleasant, secure, and physically accessible outdoor spaces and public buildings; ¾ Well designed, affordable and secure housing choices; ¾ Opportunities to participate in suitable volunteer, civic and employment positions; and ¾ Well-maintained and accessible roads and walkways; ¾ Affordable and accessible public transportation; ¾ Secure neighbourhoods; ¾ Respectful relationships; ¾ Supportive health and community services; ¾ Opportunities to be socially active; ¾ Information that is easy to access and understand. The consultation is an opportunity for the Age Friendly community to learn from seniors and others about what priorities are important in eight key age friendly areas. Each community receives its own report of chosen age friendly priorities and actions that can be used to guide their Age Friendly work. There is no charge to Age Friendly communities for the consultation. For more information contact:
[email protected] or call (204) 474-8754.
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Partnering for Age Friendly Creating Age Friendly Partnerships, How does it all Fit? Creating new partnerships and building on existing ones is an important step in creating an Age Friendly community. No matter what stage your community is at in becoming Age Friendly, it is important to recognize the outstanding work that your community is already doing. For example, many communities from across Manitoba have established elder abuse committees to bring awareness to an issue that is often hidden. These committees work very hard to create supportive communities so older adults are more likely to come forward for help. Some communities have wondered how this type of work fits into the Age Friendly Manitoba Initiative. As you all know, many aspects of the community contribute to the participation, health, independence and security of older persons. More specifically, eight categories have been identified as being key to the development of an Age Friendly community. For a listing of these categories, go to http://www.gov.mb.ca/shas/agefriendly/index.html Working to address the abuse of older adults is just one example of the work a community has already been doing work in the area of respect and social inclusion of seniors. This is a great start to creating an Age Friendly community that is safe and respectful of people of all ages! We encourage you to create opportunities for your local Age Friendly Advisory Committee to share information and think outside of the box. It is important to start with identifying where your community is now and where it wants to go. Then with that information, you can move to identifying opportunities that include a seniors’ perspective. Even if the intended audience for programs or services is not older adults, there may be opportunities to partner on existing activities that have a similar goal. For example, a parent group may be working towards ensuring all buildings and sidewalks are accessible to strollers. If accessibility is an issue for older adults living in your community, you may be able to create a partnership with uch a group and work together to achieve your common goal. Remember, Age friendly communities benefit everyone, support existing work and create new opportunities for communities to come together to support healthy, active aging.
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Partnering for Age Friendly The Manitoba Association of Multi-Purpose Senior Centres (MAMSC) - A New Key Partner! MAMSC has recently come on board as a key partner in the Age Friendly Manitoba Initiative. MAMSC is the umbrella organization for the 20 senior centres in Manitoba. They facilitate communication, sharing and planning among multi-purpose senior centres and pursue partnerships with other like minded organizations. Pursuing this Age Friendly goal, MAMSC is partnering with the Manitoba Seniors and Healthy Aging Secretariat and hiring a Community Developer. The developer will assist senior centres and rural communities in becoming more Age Friendly; and create a stronger link between senior organizations and the age friendly community. Welcome MAMSC!
Partnering for Age Friendly Creative Retirement Manitoba (CRM) Offers Website Assistance In further assisting communities in their quest to become more Age Friendly, the Manitoba Seniors and Healthy Aging Secretariat (SHAS) is partnering with CRM to help you to promote Age Friendly on your existing town/municipal website. Richard Denesiuk, from CRM will be contacting you directly, to help you post all your important AF activities on your website. This information is an important resource for your community, and for other Age Friendly communities that are facing similar challenges and successes. Contact Richard Denesiuk at 204-949-2565, or email:
[email protected]. Welcome CRM!
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Partnering for Age Friendly Manitoba Chambers of Commerce’s (MCC) Dialogue on Older Workers in Manitoba Businesses in Canada and Manitoba are in the midst of a workforce crisis. While their workers are growing older, businesses are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit qualified employees. Given these challenges, business and government are looking for ways to retain and attract older workers. In February 2009, MCC and the Manitoba Seniors and Healthy Aging Secretariat have entered into a partnership in support of the Age Friendly Manitoba Initiative. More specifically, the MCC is engaging the Manitoba business community seeking advice on how Manitoba businesses and communities can better support the hiring of older adults. Over the past four months, MCC has launched a “business and communities dialogue” across the province. The MCC has also designed a survey to collect information from businesses, older workers and communities. And it has created a website, agefriendlymanitoba.ca to provide information and allow Manitobans to participate in the survey and express their views. The MCC has also organized two community roundtables: one in Winkler in April, 2009; and a second in Russell in May, 2009. The MCC has been overwhelmed by the interest and response. The agefriendlymanitoba.ca web site has had over 6,000 visitors. The online survey responses and the input from the community consultations have produced invaluable insight on how older workers and businesses can better connect, and how communities can support older workers to remain in the workforce or start new careers. The initial results of the surveys and the project work will be made available soon via the Web site and this newsletter. But, this project is not just a one-time survey or research project. It is the start of a business-older worker-community dialogue on solutions and actions to address Manitoba businesses’ skills shortages, and at the same time encourage older workers to remain in the workforce or restart new careers. And, you can help us make a difference. We need your input now whether you are an older worker, a Manitoba business, or a community leader or organization. Go to our Internet site now and get more information. Most important: complete one of the surveys as soon as possible www.agefriendlymanitoba.ca Welcome MCC!
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Communication Ideas Communities Connecting: Leading the Way March 6, 2009 Here’s a summary of what the twenty-seven AF communities told us at the networking day on March 6, 2009. Communication is Valuable - Keep it Going By: 9 Having a central Age Friendly government contact; 9 Providing regular communication and community updates through regular newsletters, including use of electronic communication; 9 Learning from each other by sharing success stories, possibly through a website; Inform Others of the Age Friendly movement such as: 9 Senior Resource Coordinators; 9 RMs, CEOs and other community leaders; Share Contact Information such as: 9 Elected officials so everyone can stay informed; 9 Age Friendly community contacts; Develop Networks by: 9 Meeting with neighbouring communities to share ideas; 9 Developing sister communities and visiting each other’s towns; 9 Planning social events between communities; 9 Encouraging municipal contact between neighboring towns.
This newsletter is a collaborative effort between the Manitoba Seniors and Healthy Aging Secretariat (SHAS) and the Manitoba Centre on Aging. For more information on Age Friendly, contact:
Manitoba Seniors & Healthy Aging Secretariat 822-155 Carlton Street Winnipeg MB R3C 3H8 Phone:(204) 945-6565 Fax:(204) 948-2514 Toll-free (within Manitoba): 1-800-665-6565 email:
[email protected]
The Age-Friendly Community Liaison Louise Hutton Manitoba Centre on Aging, 338 Isbister Bldg University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2 Canada Tel (204) 474-8754 Fax (204) 474-7576 email:
[email protected]
