Making Edmonton age friendly
Making Edmonton a city that is accessible and comfortable for seniors is a work in progress, but it’s a mission Age Friendly Edmonton is dedicated to achieving.
Age Friendly Edmonton is a City of Edmonton initiative that sprang from the city being named as a World Health Organization age-friendly city, explained Diana O’Donaghue, an accessibility liaison with the City.
The age-friendly city designation is part of “a global movement to create a city that’s inclusive of all citizens regardless of age or ability,” she said.
Since 2013, Age Friendly Edmonton has been busy, completing more than 45 different projects around the city. Those projects have included such initiatives as an innovations grant that has led to community gardens around Edmonton, and benches on Holyrood streets for walkers to sit and rest.
Another initiative that falls under Age Friendly Edmonton is the Home for Life guidelines—“guidelines that help people design homes they can age in, regardless of ability,” O’Donaghue explained.
As a title sponsor of the Nov. 4 Seniors’ Health and Wellness Forum, and a member of the planning committee, Age Friendly Edmonton is devoted to making the forum as successful as possible.
“We’re hoping it becomes a long-term event,” O’Donaghue said.
In helping launch the inaugural Seniors’ Health and Wellness Forum in 2016, O’Donaghue explained Age Friendly Edmonton was hoping to create an event that would be informative.
“It was to provide an opportunity for seniors and their caregivers and families to explore the options around services that could assist seniors,” she said.
With informing the public the main goal of the Seniors’ Health and Wellness Forum, O’Donaghue said success this year is getting people to think about their future and what it might feature.
In 2016, more than 800 people came out to the forum. This year, she said if more than 900 people attend, it will show there is interest in learning about health and wellness in a person’s senior years, and that people want to see what is available for them.
“It’s about being informed and being part of planning your own future—we provide lots of information to help you do that,” she said.
To learn more about Age Friendly Edmonton and what it has in store for Edmonton’s future, visit its booth at the forum, or check out the website at goo.gl/sFEQiD.