Age Friendly Hamilton

Goal: Everyone should have a place to live. People are supported in ways that make sense for their unique circumstances with a full range of housing options in their neighbourhood.

Objectives

• Older adults can easily access the information they need with respect to various housing options and have tools available to help them plan for their aging.
• Older adults' housing affordability, stability and choice is increased and maintained over time.
• People receive respectful, quality services within a 'user-friendly' system and experience equity and inclusion when accessing social housing.
• Ensure older adults have the individualized supports they need to help them obtain and maintain housing.

Goal: The City's transportation systems, urban design and physical infrastructure enable people to participate in community life as they choose, as well as age in their community.

Objectives

• Ensure the ideas and concerns expressed in this plan inform the Master Transportation Plan.
• Investigate the design, feasibility and funding opportunities for developing a shared ride model that provides the "right" amount of door-to-door convenience mixed with the cost effectiveness of shared ride.
• Building on existing services and capacity, identify opportunities to expand usage of community bus shuttles or volunteer drives as a way of getting people directly to where they want to go.
• Improve the ease of using public transit.
• Improve the Disabled and Aged Regional Transportation System (DARTS)
• With new developments and where possible with redevelopment, implement a complete communities policy.

Goal: Older adults have access to information and systems that are better connected, and are able to influence and design the type of information systems they need; customer service and wayfinding are intentional and responsive to individual needs and capacities.

Objectives

• Increase awareness of local trusted sources of information (i.e. 905-546-CITY, Redbook.ca, 211).
• Improve communication between the City of Hamilton and other residents.
• Increase digital literacy of older adults.
• Increase access to assistive devices and translation services for the non-profit sector.
• Improve access to plainly written information on what is available to older adults.

Goal: Older adults have access to a wide range of supports and services that allow them to remain in their homes and attend to their health and personal needs. Aging in community is eased by good urban design, appropriate housing, and the support of family and community.

Objectives

• Improve access to supports that reduce risk and assist older adults to be able to remain safely in their homes longer.
• Ensure that older adults have easy, seamless and equitable access to services that cross the continuum of care.

Goal: Social engagement opportunities are welcoming and reflect the diverse interests and preferences of older adults in the community, and are available in a variety of formats.

Objectives

• Ensure there are recreation, leisure and cultural activities for older adults throughout greater Hamilton in a variety of venues that are easily accessible and meet their diverse needs and interests.
• Centres that serve older adults should be designed to meet the needs of a variety of clients and help diverse groups to age in successful and productive ways.

Goal: Hamilton's vibrant civic life includes meaningful roles for older people as leaders, influencers, employers and volunteers.

Objectives

• Ensure there is a range of meaningful volunteer opportunities that use the gifts and talents of older adults in service to others or the community at large.
• Older adults are valued as employees.

Goal: Leader in all City of Hamilton departments will champion age-friendly strategies in their scope of authority and practice, and in partnership with the community.

Objective

• Ensure that the development of all planning and programming of policy frameworks and City services uses an equity and inclusion lens, i.e. the unique characteristics and needs of different populations including older adults are taken into account,
• Ensure that policies, programs and services for older adults in Hamilton are aligned with promisin and emerging practices.
• Increase the ease of inter-departmental collaboration and coordination in planning for, and serving, older adults.
• Enaged the communiuty and other stakeholders in the implementation of this Plan.