Chong delivers on seniors’ action plan

The province has announced a new seniors website (http://www.SeniorsBC.ca) to provide seniors and their families with better access to information on available programs and services.

Healthy Living and Sport Minister, Ida Chong, says, “B.C. is committed to building the best system of support for seniors in Canada and SeniorsBC.ca is one more step in the right direction,” said Chong. “Through this easy-to-navigate website, people can now readily access current and relevant information about topics of interest to older British Columbians and their loved ones.”

In the process of designing and building the new website, older British Columbians and caregivers were surveyed as to what users would like to see on the site. As a result, BC seniors can now quickly locate up-to-date information about topics on healthy living, transportation, finances, continuing education, recreation programs, volunteer opportunities for older adults, and more.

The new website also features stories and profiles of older British Columbians and a regular e-newsletter to which visitors can subscribe, as well as a number of videos on the site, including “A Place For Everyone: Age-friendly Communities.”

“This video is an important part of enhancing a dialogue with seniors about what age-friendly communities means for them and also provides a valuable tool for design approaches that work best for older adults,” said SFU Seniors Program Co-ordinator, Julian Benedict. “I am pleased that SeniorsBC.ca offers us another avenue to promote this important project. This new website will be a valuable resource for our program and for other seniors’ service providers, allowing us to extend these kinds of discussions to more British Columbians than ever before.”

The website follows through on a commitment made in the government’s action plan to support British Columbia’s aging population. It complements other services already available to seniors, such as the Health and Seniors Information Line, HealthLink BC and the BC Seniors Guide. It also provides a platform for non-profit organizations to provide updates and articles about other new initiatives to support healthy living among the seniors in the province.

To learn more about the Province’s new website for seniors, please visit http://www.SeniorsBC.ca.