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The City of Orillia is taking steps to create a more age-friendly community, where all residents can be active and engaged members of the community at every stage of life.
Age-friendly communities support aging with dignity, respect and independence, and promote the inclusion of older adults in all areas of community life.
The City of Orillia, in partnership with the Age-Friendly Orillia Advisory Committee (AFOAC) community group, received grant funding from the Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility, Inclusive Community Grant to secure J Consulting Group to assist with the development of an Age-Friendly Community Needs Assessment and Action Plan for the City of Orillia.
The final Age Friendly Orillia Community Needs Assessment can be found here.
Age-Friendly Plan
Age-friendly communities support older people to age with dignity, respect and independence, and promote the inclusion of older adults in all areas of community life. Importantly, age-friendly communities are designed to address the needs of all residents.
The World Health Organization identified eight key areas of community life in which communities can become more age-friendly:
- Outdoor spaces and buildings
- Transportation
- Housing
- Social participation
- Respect and social inclusion
- Civic participation and employment
- Communication and information
- Community support and health services
Project Process
Engagement and input from current residents, community organizations and health partners, data analysis and information review, as well as best practices research of initiatives other communities are undertaking was used to develop an Age-Friendly Plan for the community.
There are two key components to the project. The first was the preparation of an Age-Friendly Needs Assessment Report. Data collection and analysis, review of existing City policies and strategies, and feedback from residents and organizations helped us to identify key needs or gaps across the eight key areas.
The Needs Assessment informed the development of an Age-Friendly Community Action Plan and Implementation Plan which identified key strategies and priorities that the City and community partners can implement to help support older residents in remaining in their community with appropriate supports and community amenities, services and programs.
Community Engagement
Residents, community organizations and other key stakeholders were given several opportunities to get involved and provide their input into the process and preparation of the Needs Assessment report and Community Plan. J Consulting Group has provided a Community Engagement Summary Report. We would like to thank all City of Orillia residents, Members of Council, Staff, and community organizations for taking the time to share your experiences, wisdom, and guidance throughout the various age-friendly community engagement activities.
Our Community Visioning Workshop resulted in honest and insightful conversations related a future Age-Friendly Orillia. Highlights from our workshop have been captured in this graphic:
