The population is aging and the Ontario Seniors’ Secretariat is working collaboratively across ministries, governments, with seniors and community organizations on policy and public education and awareness initiatives that improve seniors’ quality of life.
This site provides resources on Age-Friendly Communities. Learn about the tools to help communities assess their Age-Friendliness and identify where and how they can become more Age-Friendly.

In an age-friendly community, policies, programs, services, and environments support and enable citizens to age actively by:

• Recognizing the wide range of capacities and resources among older persons,
• Anticipating and responding flexibly to aging-related needs and preferences of seniors,
• Respecting the decisions and lifestyle choices of older adults,
• Supporting older adults who are most vulnerable, and
• Promoting the participation of older adults, and encouraging their contributions to all aspects of community life.

The information and resources available on this site were selected based on the understanding that each community is different and may require a unique approach to achieving age-friendliness. It is up to citizens in each community to make this determination.

At the same time, examples from research and practices can provide insight and practical ideas to support communities in getting started or finding creative solutions that may overcome existing challenges.

On this site you will also find:

• information on developments in creating age-friendly communities,
• opportunities to share experiences with other participating communities,
• information and checklists to get started by holding focus groups and analyzing local data, setting local priorities and making plans,
• an inventory of potential funding sources for new initiatives,
• links to materials about age-friendly communities from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), and Federal/Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for Seniors.



Stay tuned
This website will continue to be developed as resources and information become available. We ask you to share your stories about how you are making your community age-friendly so we can all learn from your experience! Please contact us if you have a story or some information you want to share.

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