WHO/IFA Webinar: Age-Friendly Europe
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Age-friendly environments (AFE) is a global emerging trend attracting the interest of all levels of governments, industry, NGOs, academia, and civil society.
The eighth AFE webinar on Age-Friendly Europe: Good Practices and Next Steps will further the knowledge exchange and grow the interest from the preceding series of WHO/IFA webinars on AFE.
Date
: Wednesday 23 May 2018, 2:00pm – 3:00pm Central Europe Time
Speakers
:
Dr Manfred Huber
,
Coordinator – Healthy Ageing, Disability and Long-term Care, World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen;
Ms Anne Berit Rafoss
, Special Adviser – Department for Ageing, Health and Work, City of Oslo; Second term chair of the Working group on “Urban ageing” in Eurocities
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14th Global Conference on Ageing
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Submit a photo holding the #ifaTO2018 logo!
Download and print
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WHO Global Network of Age-friendly Cities and Communities: Update your Member profile!
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If you are a member of the Network, a great new feature of the WHO revamped website is the opportunity to showcase your city or community's progress on the WHO Age-Friendly Cycle directly on the member profile page. This not only helps showcase to the world what your city or community is doing but also serves as way to reach out and collaborate with colleagues in other cities. IFA is working with the WHO to support members with the update process.
Be a featured member!
We will be choosing up to 24 completed profiles to highlight on the front page of Age-friendly World over the next year. Make sure your city / community profile is updated by 1 July 2018 to be considered.
Keep your membership
It is a requirement of membership to maintain an updated profile page, to show progress and active participation. Please login regularly to provide updates and be in good standing.
How do I update my page?
W
hen logged in to Age-Friendly World,
you can find the guide for updating profiles from
your Member's Space
.
Should you have any questions regarding updates, please do not hesitate to contact us at
[email protected]
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IFA 2018
Abstract Spotlight
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Prioritizing Actions for Age-friendly Communities
(Black, K.)
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This symposium will overview two broad categories of actionable strategies that are both designed to increase the aging in place opportunities for older people.
These strategies are rooted in the paradigm that an enabling built environment is a crucial variable and rationale for creating successful age-friendly communities.
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Age-Friendly Environments Mentorship Programme: Apply by 30 May
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Do you know someone working on an age-friendly project who could benefit from mentorship? Local leaders have a great opportunity to maximize their potential.
The World Health Organization and the International Federation on Ageing have launched a new, global capacity building programme for emerging or current leader in age-friendly cities and communities. Take your age-friendly leadership skills, such as building partnerships or securing funding, to the next level!
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Building a Seniors Campus:
A sustainable model to support positive aging and strengthen our communities
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Submitted by
Christy Tosh,
Age-Friendly Community Project Lead,
County of Simcoe
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The County of Simcoe has published a new White Paper to support other jurisdictions and organizations in adapting to a new generation of seniors’ care. The White Paper, entitled
Building a Seniors Campus – a sustainable model to support positive aging and strengthen our communities,
reflects on the building of Georgian Village, in Penetanguishene, Ontario, by outlining key elements essential to the success of a seniors campus continuum model and the “aging-at-home” philosophy. This paper provides an insightful and experiential guide for those who seek information about innovative housing and service options through an informative review of the Georgian Village process. Though the focus of the paper is by in large based on a municipal experience, the concept and principals of the campus model are replicable and can certainly be applied more broadly to other organizations.
In developing this campus continuum, there are eight (8) key doctrines that form the foundation of this model that include: Aging at home philosophy; socialization, a continuum of housing options; a broad range of cost-effective services; a community hub; partnerships and collaboration; outreach support to seniors living in the surrounding community and the application of age-friendly community planning principals.
Our vision was to develop a high-quality, cost-effective, sustainable setting that offers a variety of community-based services, programs and housing types in one location through a continuum of care model and age-at-home philosophy. Georgian Village became so much more than what we could have ever envisioned and since opening its doors has gone on to receive numerous awards and accolades.
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Choosing Shared Housing for Health
and Happiness
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Submitted by
Annamarie Pluhar, President,
Sharing Housing Inc.
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I
t just makes sense. Shared housing offers significant benefits for people who would otherwise live alone. It reduces housing costs, provides companionship, and allows for mutual support in dealing with life. In other words, it can address the crisis of affordable housing and the pain of social isolation.
It is not—yet—a common solution. We are working on changing this through advocacy and education. We are promoting the idea that the relationship of people who live together is “home-mate,” not “roommate” or “housemate.” A “home-mate” is someone who you like and respect, whose way of living at home is compatible enough that everyone is comfortable. It is a unique relationship.
The common sense of the arrangement is obvious. And the fears one might have about such an arrangement are legitimate but not unsurmountable. The reality is that every story we’ve ever heard about a nightmare situation has at its core an ill-considered, ineffective, and unskilled selection process. Always.
We want to pilot a 15-hour, 3-day, intensive workshop. This workshop is for those who are attracted to the idea but are leery or unsure. Participants will graduate with confidence that they can find a good home-mate for themselves. Long-term, our goal is to make this course available to other organization to deliver, once we have the evidence that the course is in fact effective.
Living with the right home-mate(s) can be safe, comfortable and fun. Who doesn’t want that in their senior years?
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Alberta Council
on Aging
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Submitted by
Laureen Guldbrandsen, Community Outreach Coordinator,
Alberta Council on Aging
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Aging in community is highly valued by seniors, and Alberta Council on Aging is committed to promoting independence and life enjoyment for older people. Our short presentation and publication “Living Stronger Longer” falls under our Senior Friendly™ Program, which is aligned with age friendly initiatives. Here we share an excerpt from this presentation that can also be found on
our website
.
Maintain a Safe Home
Being safe in your home is important. The greatest risks often come from familiar surroundings: a loose handrail, an uneven sidewalk, a slippery bathtub, a loose rug or a high kitchen cupboard.
Preventive maintenance of your home is the best way to avoid harmful accidents that can severely limit your independence. Remember to check your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors regularly, and to assess any additions to your home for safety.
Get started…
- Conduct a safety assessment of your home
- Use the Maintaining Seniors’ Independence Through Home Adaptations booklet from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation - found here; 1.800.668.2642
Our educational programs are designed to be delivered by, for and with community partners. Together we apply the Senior Friendly™ Soundbite "Make things easy: to see, to use, to hear, to understand."
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Housing for the Aging Populations for Grey Bruce Counties
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Submitted by
Sharron Colter,
Member of the Council on Aging Grey Bruce Representing the seniors from Northern Bruce Peninsula, Ontario
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As a member of the Council on Aging Grey Bruce and a member of two seniors’ groups on the Northern Bruce Peninsula, I am submitting the following concerns for housing needs made evident through discussions with older adults:
1.
Affordable housing is needed
especially for widows who want to stay in the rural areas where they grew up, went to school and either worked or farmed in the community.
2.
Attainable housing
in the rural areas are needed as rental units are limited and developers need incentives to build attainable housing that is affordable.
3.
Co-operative housing
needs to be explored as an option to affordable and attainable housing for older adults on a limited income where they can work together, share and plan for co-operative living arrangements with their own units which allow the older adults to maintain their independence in their own space. With the co-operative housing model, several maintenance items are shared and contracted out to community businesses such as snow removal, landscaping, grass cutting and any major maintenance items. There would be a Board which would become incorporated and establish a constitution and a policy and procedure manual to ensure appropriate governance for the people.
4.
Success models already built
to suit the needs of older adults such as accessibility, no stairs, walk-in showers, main floor laundry area and garages for vehicles should be built in rural areas that allow the local ageing population to remain in their area for comfort.
5.Many ageing adults find that they have to make choices to leave the area to which they have become accustomed due to accessibility needs, financial considerations and further health care needs. A
second stage housing planning
should be in place for older adults in the rural areas.
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A community-based approach to retirement living development projects
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Submitted by
Kara Rutherford,
B.Sc. (Hons),
M.Sc. Candidate,
Trent University
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In rural communities and small towns in particular, healthy middle-income seniors often have difficulty finding appropriate living accommodations. Choosing between remaining in a family home and continuing household upkeep, or moving into institutional-type environments earlier than necessary, which may limit independence and personal space. Furthermore, appropriate housing may be located in larger, distant, and sometimes unfamiliar urban centres.
Research jointly conducted through Trent University’s Department of Psychology and the Trent Community Research Centre worked with the village of Lakefield, Ontario, Canada as a case study, assessing the community’s needs and preferences in relation to retirement accommodations. Specifically, the aim was to determine the feasibility of Abbeyfield housing in Lakefield. Abbeyfield’s communal living affords low monthly costs ranging between $1,200 to $1,500 which includes rent (private bedroom and bathroom, a shared living room and kitchen), prepared meals (lunch and dinner), and the assistance of an in-house coordinator.
Mixed-method research, employing focus groups with local seniors (
n
= 19) and an online survey of the community at large (
n
= 75), identified themes of affordability, independence, and loneliness in relation to retirement housing relocation, particularly salient given that participants clearly indicated a shortage of retirement living options in the village. Participants noted that affordability did not preclude the desire for quality accommodations. Seniors’ need for independence was associated with being within walking distance of amenities, to ensure community access and involvement without driving.
Finally, seniors felt that communal living would help mitigate feelings of loneliness as social networks decrease with aging. Implications and recommendations based on these findings for non-profit organizations and for rural communities and small towns interested in developing Abbeyfield or other rural communal retirement housing alternatives will be discussed in our IFA symposium, “Aging rural communities: Discourses, policies, and practices”.
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