Age-friendly Business Strategy
The goal of this strategy is to improve and increase the experiences older adults have with local businesses and organizations. Important factors that help make a business age-friendly include: better customer service, accessibility enhancements, and more employment opportunities.
An Age-friendly Business Guide has been designed to provide insight into the older adult market and to provide practical, no-cost, and low-cost tips to assist businesses in reaching and engaging the growing market of older adults. The Age-friendly Business Task Force is developing a program that includes a workshop, an age-friendly self-assessment tool, and recognition strategy. The objective of the program is to train staff how to engage older adult customers, especially those with dementia and other health issues, and how to make the physical environment safe and comfortable. AFP will publicly recognize businesses who participate in the program and take steps to become more age-friendly. The Age-friendly Business program will resume soon.
AFP Communication Strategy
The Age-friendly Peterborough Communications Strategy lays the foundation for a strategic approach to communications. Through a consultation process involving members of the Working Groups of AFP, insights were gathered to help shape this Strategy. AFP operates throughout a wide geographic area and speaks to diverse audiences. To ensure these audiences are reached, efforts must be organized and strategic. This Strategy brings together the knowledge and tools needed to connect Age-friendly Peterborough with its stakeholders.
Be Prepared Workbook and Workshops
Age-friendly Peterborough and partners developed a Be Prepared Workbook that prompts older adults to gather information needed in an emergency and prepares them for a change in health or circumstance. The Workbook includes information, checklists, reflective questions, discussion topics with family and friends, and where to go for additional resources. There are five chapters:
- Emergency Preparedness;
- Personal Safety Planning;
- Next Step Housing;
- Advanced Care Planning; and
- Final Wishes.
In 2022, AFP received funding from the Ministry of Seniors and Accessibility to develop the Be Prepared program, print the workbooks, and deliver free workshops in the community. From June to November, our facilitators conducted almost 40 workshops and distributed 500 workbooks.
AFP will schedule focus groups in the winter 2023, where we will invite past workshop participants to share their experience completing the workbook, what information they have utilized, and what changes to the project we should consider. We will incorporate their feedback into the second edition of the Be Prepared Workbook. Thank you to United Way Peterborough & District who has generously funded year two of the project and workshops will be scheduled in spring and fall of 2023. Email afpmin@peterborough.ca if you are interested in hosting a workshop.
The PDF of the Be Prepared Workbook is available by request and is posted on the Age-friendly Communities Ontario website. http://sagelink.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Be-Prepared-Workbook-AFP-2022.pdf The project was highlighted at the Age-friendly Communities Ontario, Inspiring Inclusive Communities in Ontario: Moving age-friendly insights into action conference in 2022. The presentation can be viewed at this link at time 1:18 https://sagelink.ca/inspiring-inclusive-communities-in-ontario/
Health and Housing Navigation Study
The goal of the Study is to improve awareness of and access to housing and health resources now and into the future for our aging population. Age-friendly Peterborough will use these resources to assist local seniors, their care-givers, and families to find the appropriate health services and housing accommodations so they may stay in their homes as long as possible.
Rural Community Transportation - "The Link"
The Township of Selwyn has received a 5-year grant of $1.488 million starting in 2019 from the Ministry of Transportation to implement a rural transportation program that services the Township of Selwyn, Curve Lake First Nation and the City of Peterborough. Community Care Peterborough is also a partner in this program.
Social Isolation to Social Connection: Seniors and their Familial and Formal Caregivers Responses to COVID-19
Social Isolation to Social Connection is a partnership project that was built on the AFP Health and Housing Navigation Study. The health and social services, and housing inventory is expected to be available to the community in June. Social Isolation to Social Connection projected the needs of older adults in the future and proposed promising practices.
Research was gathered through:
- Senior and their caregiver interviews about their experiences with social isolation
- Social isolation reports and documents
- Community member and provider discussion about what is needed to reduce the negative physical, mental, and social impacts of the pandemic
As a result of the research, ten recommendations were developed. These include advocating for additional support for seniors to age at home and enhanced social and physical activities; advocating for affordable, supportive, communal housing options; promoting local programs and services available including transportation options and technology support; and providing communication about public health guidelines and health care.
Transit Education Program
The goal of the Transit Education program is to improve the mobility of older adults by increasing their ridership on Peterborough Transit. This will be done by increasing awareness of transit and reducing barriers to the service.
Walk and Roll Assessments
The purpose of the Walks is to identify physical features in a specific area, such as a stretch of sidewalk or municipal park, which may be barriers for older adults to use and enjoy. The Walks also identify opportunities of enhancement to these areas that would improve the accessibility and enjoyment of the area by older adults.
