NEWS RELEASE
MPP CHRISTINE ELLIOTT
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Ontario is supporting the health and well-being of seniors during COVID-19 by investing $14.3 million in Seniors Active Living Centre programs in 2020-21. This includes over $54,000 in the Seniors Active Living Centre program at the Newmarket Seniors Meeting Place. Seniors Active Living Centre operators will use the funds to help local seniors stay safe and socially connected through virtual and remote programs.
“Our government is committed to protecting the health and well-being of seniors in Newmarket and across our province,” said Christine Elliott, MPP for Newmarket-Aurora. “We know that the COVID-19 pandemic has created challenges for many seniors, who miss regular in-person interactions. This funding will support Newmarket’s Seniors Meeting Place in its efforts to deliver programming that enables Newmarket seniors to safely stay connected in the community.”
This year’s investment will focus on virtual programs such as teleconferences, online videos, one-on-one phone calls to help seniors stay connected from home, and support projects such as:
- Interactive telephone-based group programming for socially isolated seniors and people with disabilities
- Online educational programs such as tax clinics, technology assistance, health and wellness, and COVID-19 information
- Distributing activity kits to seniors at home
- Online interactive events such as St. Patrick’s Day, Newmarket Trivia and Canada Day
- Provided the annual drive-through turkey luncheon
“Given the social isolation that COVID-19 has brought to many seniors, it is important that we look to programs that will keep them safe and connected,” said Raymond Cho, Minister for Seniors and Accessibility. “Our government’s investment in Seniors Active Living Centres will help older adults stay virtually engaged with their friends, family and communities while combatting social isolation during the pandemic.”
This year’s ongoing funding has supported the application of safety control measures against the spread of COVID-19 and provided more remote and virtual programming.
"Despite the seniors’ centre being closed due to the pandemic, town staff and centre members leveraged this provincial support to continue offering the social connections that are at the core of our Seniors' Meeting Place," says Newmarket Mayor John Taylor. "Staff and members launched a series of 'Let’s-Stay-Connected' initiates, including shifting some of the centre's fitness and wellness programs online via Zoom, social calls, weekly email bulletins, as well as distributing activity kits – a sort of seniors centre in a box – all in an effort to extend the community they have built at the centre beyond its walls."
QUICK FACTS
- Seniors Active Living Centre operators are community-based and promote wellness and social interaction through almost 300 programs across the province.
- The seniors population in Ontario is the fastest growing age group. By 2023, there will be three million Ontarians over the age of 65.
- Active aging brings positive health benefits, including helping to keep seniors out of the hospital.
- The Seniors’ Centre Without Walls Micro-Grants program funded by the province through the Older Adult Centres' Association of Ontario helps seniors stay connected to their communities through telephone-based social and educational programs.
- The Seniors’ Centre Without Walls model is a free interactive telephone-based group program for socially isolated seniors and people with disabilities who find it difficult to leave their homes.
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