Halton Region, Municipality of

Established in 2016, the Halton Age-Friendly Network (HAFN) members include representation from each of the four Halton municipalities: Burlington, Halton Hills, Milton, and Oakville. Representatives are comprised of community volunteers, municipal staff, including the Municipality of Halton Region, and organizations that serve older adults in the region of Halton.

Community Development Halton received a three-year Ontario Trillium Foundation Grow Grant to enhance the work of the Burlington Age-Friendly Council, and to create and build an emerging Halton Age-Friendly Network across the region of Halton. The Network strives to deepen the collaboration with community members and organizations to support the capacity for all involved, to enhance the quality of life for people as they age.

The HAFN activities include:

1) The development of  strategies that enhance quality of life for older adults in Halton

2) Opportunities for communities within Halton to identify and prioritize their capacity to support their own Age-Friendly initiatives through education, advocacy and local policy changes

3) The opportunity to provide Empowering Seniors Educational Sessions in North and South Halton on topics that are relevant for older adults.

The Halton Age-Friendly Network builds capacity for dialogue, for communities to come together to identify strengths, opportunities, challenges, to share resources, experiences and knowledge that can lead to Age-Friendly best practices throughout Halton. Communities have the ability to view their structures and policies as seen through an Age-Friendly lens, so that services will be inclusive of older adults with varying needs and abilities.

Currently, the HAFN is undergoing an evaluation process with results expected in early 2019.

Outdoor Spaces and Public Buildings

• Enhancement of Age-Friendly Trails (Currently in talks with Conservation Halton)

Transportation

• Ride the Bus (Workshops in the Town of Oakville)

Housing

• HomeShare
• Housing Information for Older Adults in Halton (Booklet full of descriptions, links to resources and contact information about housing in Halton)

Respect & Social Inclusion

• Flyers for Municipal Candidates (4 flyers – Senior Demographics, Senior Housing, Senior Isolation & Transportation & Mobility)
• Our Halton 2018: Seniors (Drawing on data from the Statistics Canada 2016 Census, this report focuses on the socio-economic characteristics of seniors, aged 65 and older, who make up one in six Halton residents. It highlights the issues and challenges faced by the senior population group)
• Intergenerational letter writing campaign (partnership with schools and libraries)

Communication & Information

• Empowering Seniors Education Series throughout Halton
• Age-Friendly Muskoka Chair Project at Bronte Harbour (The Bronte Village BIA, Seniors Working Action Group (S.W.A.G.) and the Colbourne Acrylics Club from Oakville, painted the Caring Chair, that includes the Age-Friendly eight domains.)
• Connected in Action (in development – collaboration among community stakeholders to provide community education and mobilization to help people recognize and provide resources to reduce isolation)
• Speaker Bureau Series (Series on Age-friendly topics given throughout Halton)
• Halton Older Adults’ Directory (Listings and contact numbers of organizations serving older adults in the areas of health, housing, transportation, pensions, legal matters, emergency services, government etc.)
• Age-Friendly Calendar 2022

Social Participation

• Seniors Centre Without Walls

• Halton Older Adult Plan
• Seniors: Loneliness and Social Isolation
• Oakville Age-Friendly Baseline Study