1. What Does this Website Offer?
2. What Does ‘Age-friendly’ Mean?
3. What is the Seniors’ Housing and Support Initiative?
4. What are the roles of UBCM, Ministry of Community Services and Ministry Health?
5. Can older adults use this website?

What Does this Website Offer?
The Seniors’ in Communities website is a tool to help local governments and communities to develop age-friendly communities and support the ability of older adults to age in place. It offers information on undertaking age-friendly planning and projects and provides details on funding that is available to local governments through the Seniors’ Housing & Support Initiative. It is the intent of UBCM, the Ministry of Community Services and the Ministry of Health to develop and grow this website to become the central on-line resources for local governments and communities wishing to address local issues related to BC’s aging population.

What Does ‘Age-friendly’ Mean?
An Age-friendly community is one in which the policies, services and structures related to the physical and social environment are designed to support and enable older people to live in a secure environment, enjoy good health and continue to participate fully in society (World Health Organization).

What is the Seniors’ Housing and Support Initiative?
The Seniors’ Housing and Support Initiative (SHSI) is a collaborative project between the Province of British Columbia and Union of BC Municipalities, funded by the Ministry of Community Services and Ministry of Health. The project aims to provide knowledge and skills that help local governments to exchange information and experiences and to help find community-based solutions that best support local governments to support the increasing needs of our BC’s aging population.

SHSI provides support to local governments and their communities in three ways:

1. Seniors in Communities Dialogue Program - grants of up to $3,000 are available to bring together local government, seniors, senior serving organizations and other community groups to discuss local seniors' issues and responses.


2. Seniors Pilot Project Program - grants of up to $35,000 have been made available to local governments.


3. Research - UBCM undertakes research on seniors' issues including an Environmental Scan of Community Readiness for an Aging Population and the future development of a Knowledge Database.

What are the roles of UBCM, Ministry of Community Services and Ministry Health?
UBCM plays an important role as a "listening post" in a world where larger scale economic, social, or political shifts have immediate influence on local governments and the communities they serve. UBCM initiates, monitors, interprets, and reacts to those changes. UBCM administers and manages the Seniors’ Housing & Support Initiative under the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Province of British Columbia.

The Ministry of Community Services has the provincial responsibility for local government and seniors’ issues, with the mandate to promote sustainable, liveable communities that provide healthy and safe places for all British Columbians. The Ministry is currently developing an action plan to support our older population to remain healthy, independent and actively engaged in their communities, in response to the recommendations made by the Premier’s Council on Aging and Senior's Issues.

The Ministry of Health the Government of British Columbia’s lead ministry on active aging and the development of the Age-friendly Community Guides and has the cross-government and inter-agency leadership role in supporting province-wide implementation of Age-friendly Communities.

Can older adults use this website?
This website was originally designed to provide local governments with relevant information for developing community-based programs regarding housing, support services, and transportation programs. Recent changes have meant that information that is helpful to communities, health organizations and organizations supporting older adults has been added – and more changes are planned for the near future.