REGIONAL: Keremeos and Okanagan Falls get age-friendly grants

By Contributor

Keremeos and Okanagan Falls are among 28 B.C. communities that have been awarded 2016 Age-friendly Community Planning and Project grants, to support strategies to help seniors stay mobile, physically active, socially connected and healthy.

The Village of Keremeos will receive $20,000 to assist in the creation of an age-friendly outdoor fitness park to increase accessible recreation and healthy living opportunities for local seniors. The Village will engage older adults in the planning process for the park, and will also provide orientations on the use of the park. This project is consistent with the objectives of the Keremeos Age-friendly Action Plan.

The Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District will receive $20,000 for the Age-friendly Buildings and Benches project in the community of Okanagan Falls. This project focuses on working with BC Transit, business owners and other partners to make bus stops and businesses in Okanagan Falls more accessible. In addition to installing transit benches, the project will establish an incentive program to encourage local businesses to become more age-friendly. These activities address priorities identified in the 2014 Okanagan Falls age-friendly plan.

“The Village of Keremeos and Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District are doing excellent work to ensure our citizens have the services they need as they age,” Boundary-Similkameen MLA Linda Larson said. “Our government is proud to support their efforts with these grants, which help build age-friendly communities for current and future generations.”

This grant program is a partnership between the B.C. government and the Union of British Columbia Municipalities. Each successful local government receives up to $20,000 to help undertake a variety of activities that address the needs of older residents – from setting public policy to delivering information and services.

For the 2016 grants, communities were encouraged to consider projects that focus on accessibility, elder abuse prevention, dementia and non-medical home support.

Applications were reviewed by a committee from the UBCM and the provincial government. To date, age-friendly community planning and project grants have funded 268 projects in 142 local governments in all areas of B.C., totalling $5.25 million.

To learn more about Age-Friendly B.C. please visit: www.gov.bc.ca/agefriendly.