Summer’s here! Time to get active and Toronto has programs to get you moving. Taking part in social and recreational activities can dramatically improve your overall well-being. The City of Toronto recently announced its partnership with Toronto Community Housing to attain funding towards the development of seniors active living centres in the city. Seniors Active Living Centres, previously known as Elderly Persons Centres to most, provides age-friendly social environments. They offer outstanding recreational, educational and social programs, including activities like card games, crafts, day trips, fitness programs and guest speakers for you to enjoy. 5 indoor activities for seniors What’s in Seniors Active Living Centres for you? Each day you’ll enjoy a variety of social, recreational and physical activities on offer, as well as special events and wellness education. You will also receive nutritious meals and snacks and assistance with daily living activities. The services they provide are promised to be respectful of your culture, ethnicity, family traditions, community, language, sexual orientation, and spiritual beliefs. Benefits of the expansion The new funding will be used to contribute to improving the program and service facilities offered by the living centres. This means the programs they offer will be more flexible to better meet everyone’s diverse needs such as culture, age, interests, abilities and geographic locations. Key outcomes it aims to achieve include: – Reduce social isolation by promoting social inclusion – Address challenges related to technology – Access to programs Available options There are a variety of options to choose from in Toronto and the GTA, and the list is growing. Click here to find a comprehensive list of all the relevant contact details.

We all have the right to fully engage in the social, economic, and cultural life of our city. To ensure this happens, the City of Toronto promises to amend the Official Plan to recognize the City’s commitment to age-friendly principles.Age-Friendly City:For those of us who are older and have varying needs and capacities, an age friendly city adapts its structures and services, so we can access them. They address our needs, enhance our quality of life, and ensure we remain engaged in every aspect of civic life. Ensuring affordable and accessible social and community supports throughout our lives assists in easing the stress on ourselves or family members caring for older relatives. Check also, The Future Of Aging Age-mindful city: Toronto aims to govern with age-mindfulness, which means it views all aspects of city life from the perspective of us citizens, spanning the age spectrum. Toronto, like the rest of Canada, is ageing. The number of people over 45 years of age is growing rapidly, as well as in proportion to the total population. Increased urbanization of older Canadians throughout Canada means that Toronto has a greater share of people over 65 years of age living within the municipal boundaries compared to the surrounding regions. An Age-Friendly Toronto represents a shift in the relationship and responsibilities the City has with us. It will transform Toronto into a city in which all citizens have confidence in movement and residence and stay fully engaged in every aspect of civic life just as we have throughout our lives. For more on an Age-friendly Toronto, have a look at Canadian Association for Retired Persons’ (CARP) article.

Believe it or not, there is such a thing as having too much space. Many of us only realise as we get older that having too much house is not only impractical but lonesome, too. The City of Toronto connects over-housed seniors with under-housed graduate students through a Home-share program, with the help of the Seniors Community Grant Program under the Ministry of Seniors Affairs. Home-Share Program – How does it work?Homeowners are seniors over the age of 55 who live independently in their home, are interested in sharing household responsibilities, have spare living space, and are interested in companionship. Seniors Active Living services in Toronto Home sharers are at least 18 years old, looking for safe and affordable accommodation, willing to share household responsibilities and are interested in companionship. They match you on your geographical districts, preferences, interests, hobbies, backgrounds, and personalities, but a trial period of one or two weeks is advised before finalising arrangements. Once a match is established, regular follow-ups, as well as counselling for difficulties is offered. Home-Share program – Benefits for participantsThe longer seniors can stay in their house and have the company of another person, the more they benefit from significantly prolonged health. On a community level, there is a decreased use of shelter services, emergency services and a reduction in ambulance calls.Evidence suggests that both the homeowner and home sharer experience decreased feelings of isolation, increased feelings of safety, better sleep and overall better health when taking part in a HomeShare arrangement. Tips to prevent falls around your home. Contact the HomeShare coordinator at1-844-547-4273 or emailsupport@seniorhomeshares.com to learn more.

We all know healthy food is best, but not everyone can easily access it. So, in partnership with Toronto Community Housing and FoodShare, the City of Toronto has a plan in place to offer healthy food for seniors access initiatives that are accessible to seniors living in social housing. Community Gardens Toronto Community gardens include fruit and vegetable gardens, established with partners from the local community. An additional component of the community gardens is their connection with gleaning programs which involve collecting leftover crops from farmers, processors or retailers. Additional recommendations of the project include establishing partnerships with local agencies to support community gardens and to increase the rate of garden development across the city. Healthy Food For Seniors – The Good Food Box Run byFoodShare, this program provides nutritious food to communities including seniors in social housing. Twice monthly, volunteers pack the boxes, and deliver them to neighbourhoods in Toronto with 10 or more participants. Volunteer coordinators collect funding beforehand, place the orders directly from farmers and ensure everyone receives their boxes. Healthy Food For Seniors – Good Food MarketsFoodShare works with community organizations to set up special, inexpensive farmers market alternatives by setting up one initial stall, attracting farmers to join the affair.  Targeting traditionally under-served Toronto communities, conventional food stores increase their opportunities to purchase fresh and affordable food. Food For Good Mood. These healthy food for seniors initiatives have several goals; including improving access to affordable healthy food for seniors in social housing, promoting healthy eating, encouraging sustainable agriculture, promoting community development and community building through social interaction, networking, volunteerism, education and celebration. Toronto Community Housing promises to continue their work with the City of Toronto to identify opportunities and develop community food initiatives.  To find out more, contact FoodShare at 416-363-6441 or email info@foodshare.net

Exercising is extremely beneficial to your health but having access to appropriate equipment can sometimes be a challenge. For this reason, The City of Toronto is promising it will consider senior-friendly outdoor fitness facilities and equipment when designing and refurbishing outdoor parks.  Appropriate seating is another very important aspect for seniors who tire more easily and need places to rest. Modern benches come in all shapes and sizes but sometimes a traditional bench, that’s not too low and provides both back support and armrests, is truly what’s needed. As a result, one of the actions of the 2013 strategy was installing 500 benches, with a focus on parks in areas frequented by seniors. Seniors are at a greater risk of dehydration, and sensitivity to light increases with age so the glare of sunlight on shiny surfaces is often uncomfortable when spending time outside. The shelter and shade of trees address both issues, which is why an increase of tree cover is also part of the development plan for urban parks. Toronto seniors’ access to healthy food Outdoor Fitness Facilities – What are the benefits? Parks aren’t simply a place with trees, grass and equipment; they offer us many other advantages. Social isolation is another well-known issue for seniors, but these parks represent us with an opportunity to connect with neighbours by supporting and facilitating social interaction. Toronto offers outdoor exercise stations in five locations and will continue to implement the new considerations in future, to make it easier for us to enjoy facilities like the outdoor elliptical machines and other exercise apparatus. The City Council adopted the strategy to facilitate development in 2013 and by 2016, 99 percent of the recommendations have already been implemented. If you’d like more information on the locations of outdoor exercise parks, you can find them by clicking here.

Sometimes we depend so heavily on our senior caregivers, we forget you have needs of their own. To combat the issue, Toronto plans to partner with the Province of Ontario to emphasise your fast-growing needs. Policies supporting reduced stays in hospitals and increased premature home care can have negative impacts on caregivers, as patients are moving home “sicker and quicker” than before.                              Home care is promoted as a cost-effective alternative to long hospital stays and facility placement. These programs are only cost-effective because it’s assumed family and friends are available and willing to assist in this provision of care, which isn’t always the case. Toronto’s senior-friendly outdoor fitness facilities Senior Caregiver support includes: Policies, usually in the form of education and counselling services for senior caregivers, are known to be limited and are often provided through voluntary agencies. There is an employment leave policy, entitled “Compassionate Care Benefit” which allows you up to 55 percent of your salary for six weeks to care for a terminally ill spouse, child, or parent. Suggested changes to this includes making caregiver assessment part of the policy and increasing available services for you by expanding the “caregiver” definition. Suggested changes include broadening eligibility criteria and extending the length of leave; adding family leave days; and providing incentives to private workplaces to expand their policies on family leave to include eldercare responsibilities. Suggested changes include financially supporting you through a non-taxable allowance; implementing a refundable tax credit for caregivers so that all caregivers will benefit from the tax credit. Respite care can offer you a brief period of relief or rest (usually more than twenty-four hours), if you are a regular caregiver and is a great way to get some much-earned support and rest. For additional information on caregiver support, you can also visit CaregiverExchange.ca.

Most of us would like to age in place in our home, but our ability to do so safely and independently depends on several factors. According to recent CARP polls, older voters want to hear more before the election on how parties would address key health issues: specifically, long term home-care. CARP Members Call on Parties to Fix Long Term Home-Care The first poll, conducted by CARP and AdvantAge Ontario,  revealed a massive 99 percent of respondents said long-term home-care is important in the upcoming election. The top three most identified issues in long-term care were: A Home Care Poll  found that two-thirds of respondents just aren’t confident that there is adequate, publicly funded, home care and community support. Toronto seniors’ access to healthy food Ontario’s action plan To improve services, reflecting on the changing composition of residents, Ontario has provided a solution called the “Aging with Confidence” Action Plan, including: They will provide 2.6 million additional home care hours this year, including personal support, nursing, physical and speech therapy. Expanding the seniors’ house-call program to include additional healthcare providers such as social workers, therapists and nurses, to reduce your need to travel to healthcare providers and stay healthy in the comfort of your own home. Continued support for communities promoting social interaction and fighting isolation, such as apartment buildings or housing developments where many seniors already live close to one another. Read 27 Highlights from the Toronto Seniors Strategy. Their action plan will allow you to stay in your home longer, enjoying a higher quality of life and a greater level of independence. To access the services mentioned, contact your local LHIN or call 905-948-1872.

“I set goals and when I do, I’m determined to keep it. And that’s why I finish.” They say you’re never too old to learn something new, and BJ McHugh, is no exception. Known as the ‘Flying Granny’, Betty Jean (BJ) has been running marathons since 2009, with her first invitation from a coordinator in Rome. Less than a decade later, and having just turned 90 years old, she now owns several 10-kilometre, half-marathon, and marathon records for seniors. She has raced in London, Boston, New York, Chicago, and Big Sur, but it is the Honolulu Marathon, one of the largest in the United States, that is an annual family tradition. And in December 2017, one month after her 90th birthday, she broke the Honolulu marathon record for her age group. This win broke the previous record by two hours, with a time of 6:47:31. It’s A Family Affair Born in 1927 in a small town near Campbellford, Ontario, BJ McHugh was a born athlete. From helping her father on the farm hauling bales of hay to playing tennis, cycling, hiking, and skiing, Betty Jean was always moving. Running her first marathon in her fifties, has run in over 20 marathons over a 35-year span, and has broken world marathon records, all while working as a nurse in Toronto, and raising a family of four. Read Long term home-care key for Ontario. Though always active, she didn’t get her start running until later in life, in her late fifties, when looking for an activity while her daughter, Jennifer was at swim practice. Unable to watch the practice, she first took up hitting tennis balls, but was admonished for being on the court before 7 a.m. So, she took up walking along the Seawall, and it was here she discovered a love for running – as walking became running. Today, she is the matriarch of four children and four grandchildren, many of whom either have joined her on marathons or are athletic in their own right. Her daughter who’s swim practice she couldn’t watch? Jennifer went on to become an Olympic swimmer for Canada in 1972. BJ McHugh Slow Down? No Way In the early 80s, between the ages of 53 and 57, she ran almost one 10k per month, and in 1988, ran 14 races between March and November. She felt at peak fitness then, and in the best shape of her life, she recalled and wrote in her memoir. In her native Vancouver, she holds the age-group world record for the W80-84 in the half-marathon, in 2008. Running and quietly setting records for nearly 40 years, she’s still going strong. BJ has broken not only world marathon records but has shown that intense activities like running are not detrimental to aging as originally thought. In fact, today, plenty of evidence suggests regular exercise like running can reverse some of the effects of aging. One American study found that an athlete’s endurance dropped only five percent over the course of a decade of interval running, while sedentary adults lost twice as much. Bucking against the norm, BJ’s body, rather than begin to decline in middle age, only got stronger. Just a few years after she began running and entering marathons, she was running 44-minute 10ks and besting times she’d set when she was several years younger. She became faster, as she got older. So against the norm was her capabilities, fitness scientists from McGill University ran tests on this “super senior.” Though BJ spends the bulk of her time running, she also understands the importance of cross-training. So, in addition to her running, she also lifts weights, does yoga, and was doing spinning until a bad fall made her worry about further injuries). Her running regimen includes 60k a week of track intervals, hills, and a long run on at the weekend. Having traveled to a number of places for her marathons, she also took a two-week walking pilgrimage in May from Porto, Portugal to Santiago, Spain for the Portuguese stretch of the Camino de Santiago – about 200 kilometers. Though quite active in her regimen, her approach to running is casual. She has no coach and isn’t adamant about getting a certain number of kilometers per day. Preferring half marathons to full marathons, she makes sure its about enjoying life, and has been known to sip a glass of wine the night before a race. Though her diet consists mostly of salad, she doesn’t deprive herself of foods such as the odd vanilla ice cream from time to time. BJ McHugh – Role Model for Runners A firm believer that today, age is simply a number, Betty Jean McHugh is a role model for a number of women both on and off the track.  Not only has she been breaking records on the track, but she was also an outspoken advocate for fair prize winnings for runners who won their age categories – regardless of gender. A lover of life, BJ McHugh exudes energy, optimism, and happiness, and shows others what is possible – proof that time outdoors can help lengthen and enhance life. Meet also: Jane Goodall & Bonnie and Frank.

Shockingly, thirty-odd percent of seniors have not yet nominated a trusted Power of Attorney for themselves. Ontario has created a new campaign aimed at raising our awareness of how important it is to set up POA, and to help us in choosing someone appropriate. Choosing your power of attorney A POA is simply a legal document given to someone you trust, allowing them to make decisions for you if something happens and you can no longer look after matters yourself. This person can make decisions about your health care, housing and other aspects of your personal life. It must be clear that you are mentally capable of choosing someone with genuine concern for your welfare to give this type of power of attorney. Long term home-care key for Ontario. Here they can make decisions about your financial affairs; including paying your bills, collecting receivables and managing your house and investments. You must be mentally capable of choosing a power of attorney for property and have knowledge of your assets, be aware of any obligations to dependants, and understand the power and authority you are giving to the person. There are restrictions on who your attorney can be. People such as those paid to provide services to you aren’t acceptable; unless they are a family member. An alternative option is to use a trust company to act as your attorney. The trust company charges a fee but will be professional and impartial. Toronto’s strategy for senior caregivers needs You can find resource materials available on ontario.ca/AgingWell, including a revised POA document and information about how people can prevent POA misuse.

As a senior living in Ontario, you are likely to seldom grow bored. Ontario is now supporting programs at more than 300 Seniors Active Living Centres across the province. The Ministry of Seniors Affairs has promised us they are committed to promoting age-friendly community-hub development, with programs acknowledging the contribution seniors make, helping keep you healthy and engaged by providing you with a range of social, recreational and wellness programs, as well as educational and support services. Read more about Seniors Active Living services in Toronto. What does this mean for you? Centres offer you a range of activities customized to the unique interests and needs of the community you are from, such as fitness classes, healthy lifestyle and wellness classes, social engagement, as well as learning opportunities like financial-management. Fun Facts These programs aim at ultimately providing you with opportunities for active and healthy living, social engagement and the chance to learn new things which may interest you. Impressive housing benefits for Toronto seniors