OAK BAY – NDP MLA Murray Rankin says a new grant will benefit seniors and help them live active, socially engaged and independent lives by making Oak Bay more age-friendly.

“Many people with hearing difficulties share with me about how it is an invisible disability, one that they’re dealing with every day,” said Murray Rankin, MLA for Oak Bay-Gordon Head. “The work that Oak Bay is undertaking with this grant funding will help make Oak Bay Recreation more accessible and inclusive so our community members with hearing difficulties can participate fully.”

Oak Bay will receive $15,000 for an Assistive Listening Project in Oak Bay Rec to introduce technology that will remove barriers to inclusion for older adults with hearing difficulties.

Through the Age-friendly Communities (AFC) Program, a total of $500,000 in age-friendly grants are being awarded across 25 communities in B.C. this year, with 6 Indigenous communities being among the grant recipients. The AFC Program is a partnership between the provincial government and BC Healthy Communities Society (BCHC), which is a provincewide not-for-profit organization that facilitates the ongoing development of healthy, thriving and resilient communities.

The New Democrat government continues to make BC more age-friendly, through the Age-friendly BC Strategy, in collaboration with key stakeholders, to engage, strengthen and support communities to prepare for an aging population that can age actively in place.

Learn More: https://news.gov.bc.ca/29888