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Planning an age-friendly community

Okanagan-Similkameen receives grant for accessibility planning in Naramata
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The Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District received a $20,000 grant for a Naramata Age-friendly Community Planning and Accessibility project. -Western News illustration

Thanks to a $20,000 grant the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen is looking to help make Naramata more accessible for seniors.

“The scenic community of Naramata on the east side of Okanagan Lake provides a high quality of life for all of its citizens, and is especially attractive to seniors,” said Karla Kozakevich, RDOS chair.

The Naramata Age-friendly Community Planning and Accessibility Project focuses on planning social and physical environments promoting healthy aging and supporting seniors in maintaining social ties to the community, family and friends.

“The number of seniors in our province is set to grow exponentially in the coming years,” said Dan Ashton, MLA for Penticton. “The age-friendly grant will help create environments and opportunities that allow seniors to make social connections ensuring that our seniors are aging well and remaining active in our community.”

Other projects receiving funding from the grant program include a seniors’ social program in the North Okanagan that will provide education and activities on a wide variety of topics including hearing loss, the importance of flu shots, and how to avoid scams; a seniors’ housing action plan in the Village of Lytton that will ensure facilities and services are in place within the community so that local seniors and First Nations Elders may remain close to their families as they age.

Projects benefiting seniors in 18 B.C. communities are receiving a total of $342,430 this year from the age-friendly communities grant program, a partnership between the province and the Union of British Columbia Municipalities.

More information about age-friendly grant program can be found at Age-friendly BC.