By Shane O'Neill

P.A. looks to become friendly for all ages

Sep 13, 2016 | 6:58 AM

A local group wants Prince Albert to become ‘age-friendly.’

John Fryters, director of the P.A. Seniors Advocacy Centre, is attempting to draw attention to issues of inclusion and accessibility for people of all ages in the city.

“There are areas where there is no accessibility for various age groups,” Fryters explained regarding transportation and mobility in Prince Albert. “That relates to older persons, but it also relates to persons with disabilities, and children and youth, and many aspects of community life.”

The idea was inspired by the Global Age-Friendly Cities project and developed by  the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2006. The project brought 33 cities from around the world together to gather information from care providers, seniors and other groups with an interest in making communities age-friendly for all. In Canada, the initiative is overseen by the Public Health Agency of Canada, and implemented by provincial and regional bodies.

At a senior’s issues forum at Abbeyfield House on Sept. 8, hosted by the Advocacy Centre, Fryters spoke about the importance of being recognized as an age-friendly community, as defined by the WHO. He said by working to meet the requirements of the designation, the quality of life for people of all ages would be improved.

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“I think it’s a good fit all over the world,” Fryters said of the WHO initiative. “The population pyramid has been changing and we are simply not keeping up with making the changes to various aspects in the community.”

John Guenther, director of planning and development for P.A., has worked on developing a strategy to meet the requirements of the age-friendly community. He said plans are underway for a general directive to be presented to city council before the end of the month.

There are eight basic domains of the age-friendly communities initiative, including outdoor spaces and buildings, transportation, housing, social participation, respect and social inclusion, civic participation and employment, communication and community support and health services.

“It really helps frame the background on making us welcoming and inclusive,” Guenther said.  “A lot of this is already started. Maybe not named [the age-friendly community project], but it’s started within the planning realm, anyway.”

At this point, any general directive presented to council, won’t require additional funding. But going forward, Guenther said any investment in attaining the designation could open up additional grants and funding for the city.

shane.oneill@panow.com

On Twitter: @stroneill