Finding the Right Fit Age-Friendly Community Planning Finding the Right Fit: Age-Friendly Community Planning 1

Presenters Dr. Margaret Denton, McMaster University Amanda Peters, McMaster University Ruth Wilford, Lakehead University Dr. Mary McGeown, Lakehead University 2

Outline of Presentation Age-friendly Cities and Communities What is happening in Ontario today What is the Government of Ontario doing to promote age-friendly communities Overview of the guide Finding the Right Fit: Age- friendly Community Planning Lessons learned on building an age-friendly community Contact Information 3

Aging Seniors in Ontario: A Demographic Imperative Million (14.9%) Million (25%) Is it a Silver Tsunami or a Triumph of Our Times???? 4

Age-Friendly Cities & Communities (AFC) AFC is an effective local policy approach for responding to demographic aging. AFCs establish policies, programs, services and infrastructure that supports the physical and social environments designed to enable older people to live in safety, enjoyment, good health and well-being while continuing to participate in society in meaningful ways. 5

Roots in Environmental Gerontology discipline that suggests the ongoing relationship between people and their physical and social environment affects their quality of life (p-e fit). “The goodness of fit” For example: What is the p-e fit between older adults with mobility limitations and the public transportation system? What is the p-e fit between older adults who are isolated and lonely and the number of social activities in the community and why they are not able to attend? Origins of the AFC Concept Person-Environment Fit (P-E fit)

8 Dimensions of an Age-Friendly City or Community 7

Heart of the Guide is the Age Friendly Checklist Tool for self assessment and a map to chart progress. Going beyond the checklist is possible. 8

Twelve (12) Ontario communities are members of the WHO Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities: Central Region : Welland West Region: London, Waterloo, Windsor, Port Colborne, East Region: Ottawa, Kingston North Region: Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie; Francophone Communities: Hearst, Noëlville, Verner. Sources: Ontario Seniors Secretariat (December 2013); MAREP AFC Communities Stories Website Many Communities have not begun Others are at various stages of the process (26): Central Region : Burlington, Mississauga, Collingwood, Halton, Hamilton, Richmond Hill, Toronto, Town of Caledon, York Region West Region: Brantford, Cambridge, Port Colborne, Welland, Erie St Claire, Guelph, Kitchener, Niagara Region, Oxford County, Petrolia, Sarnia-Lambton, Waterloo East Region: Kawartha Lakes ; Halliburton Highlands, Peterborough. Sharbot Lake Region North Region: Dryden, Sudbury What is Happening in Ontario Today?

City/ Region including (N=16) Community Organization (e.g. Social Planning Council; Community Development) (N=2) Health Unit (e.g., District Health Unit, CCAC) (N=6) Seniors Group (e.g., Council on Aging, Senior Advisory Committee) (N=5) University (N=1) Unknown (N=3) Leadership Varies (based on contact information) In many cases Public and Private are working together!

What is the Ontario Government Doing to Promote Age-Friendly Cities & Communities Age-friendly communities (AFCs) is a key component of Ontario’s Action Plan for Seniors 11

Finding the Right Fit Age-Friendly Community Planning 12

Contents Section 1: Background Section 2: Using this Guide Section 3: Age-Friendly Community Dimensions Section 4: Defining Local Principles Section 5: Custom Needs Assessment Section 6: Developing an Action Plan Section 7: Implementation and Evaluation Appendix I – V, Glossary, Business Tool ‘A society for all ages is multigenerational. It is not fragmented, with youths, adults and older persons going their separate ways. Rather, it is age- inclusive, with different generations recognizing – and acting upon – their commonality of interest.’ ~ Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations 13

14

The Four Steps of the AFC Process Section 4 Section 5 Section 6 Section 7 15

Is this your community? Community 1 Starting a local AFC initiative Read Sections 2 and 3 to learn about AFC planning, then focus on Section 4, which presents tools for starting a local AFC initiative Community 2 Developing a custom needs assessment Review the p-e fit concept and AFC dimensions (Sections 2 and 3) and read Section 5 to see how to create a custom needs assessment. Community 3 - Writing an Older Adult Plan, -Implementing - Evaluation See Section 6 and 7 for resources about writing, implementing and evaluating an AFC action plan. 16

Outdoor Spaces and Public Buildings Transportation Housing Social Participation Respect and Social Inclusion Civic Participation and Employment Communication and Information Community Support and Health Services 17

Section 4 Step 1: Defining Local Principles Objectives Create structure around local initiative Determine which AFC dimensions are most relevant to your community Tasks 1. Form a steering committee 2. Create guiding principles 3. Build partnerships 4. Create and age-friendly community profile 5. Discuss priorities 18

Section 5 Step 2: Custom Needs Assessments Objectives Collect more detailed information about age-friendly priorities in your community Identify your community’s person- environment (p-e-) fit Tasks 1. Examine your tool set 2. Create a draft list of questions 3. Create person-environment question pairs 4. Finalize the needs assessment 19

Appendix III: Age-Friendly Community and Quality of Life Instrument Studies 20

Create a Draft List of Questions 21

Section 6 Step 3: Developing an Action Plan Objectives Lay out specific strategic actions that address the key gaps in your community’s p-e fit Tasks 1. Analyze your needs assessment data 2. Identify specific strategies that address gaps identified by your needs assessment 3. Compile strategies into an action plan with specific goals and objectives 22

Section 7 Step 4: Implementation and Evaluation Objectives Identify primary users Determine the purpose of your evaluation – summative vs. formative Identify methods and measurement Interpret findings and make judgments Develop future AFC plans Improve existing AFC action plan Tasks 1. Establish a direction for monitoring and evaluating the success of the plan 2. Determine an appropriate monitoring mechanism 3. Specific goals and objectives 23

Additional Materials Appendix I: Key Resources Glossary of Acronyms Is Your Business Age-Friendly? Reference List COMMUNITY STORIES Acknowledging and learning from the successes of AFC initiatives is key to the continued success of the movement. To achieve this, the guide highlights ten case studies (pages 18, 26, 36, 44, 49, 55, 56, 59, 64 and 66) that explore different approaches communities have taken to improve their age-friendliness. Besides these, many community stories on the Murray Alzheimer Research and Education Program (MAREP) website ( discuss the positive effects that AFC planning is having across Ontario. 24

Older adults must be involved in all stages of the process. To be successful, a-f initiatives must be both bottoms up and top down (City, Region, as well as community led seniors group). It must involve multiple stakeholders, both public and private. Look for Champions or advocates to champion AFC and build alliances Both outside the City and Inside Be aware of current initiatives that may contribute to a-f (e.g. Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, Municipal Plans, Complete Streets, Vibrant Communities etc.) Use an AFC lens to assess current policies and practices, organizations and services. Some Lessons Learned in Moving to an Age-friendly Community AFC

Where is the accountability? Need a strategic older adult plan to achieve AFC Need a community plan Municipality responsible for infrastructure & some services Community responsible for other aspects Two levels of government (City/Region) must develop an over arching strategy Evaluation (need indicators, measures) Sustainability AFC initiative must be sustainable across political regimes AFC must be sustainable over time. Start up and core funding is critical. continued

Contact Information McMaster University (Central & Eastern Ontario) Margaret Denton ext Amanda Peters Lakehead Universit y (Northeast/Northwest Ontario ) Mary McGeown Waterloo University (Western & Eastern Ontario) John Lewis ext Mark Groulx ***Content Expert on Customized Needs Assessments Using the University of Waterloo Data Base