RICHMOND – NDP MLA Henry Yao says a new grant will benefit seniors and help them live active, socially engaged and independent lives by making Richmond more age-friendly.

“Ensuring our seniors lead healthy, fulfilling lives within their community is a shared responsibility,” said Henry Yao, MLA for Richmond South Centre. “By engaging in thoughtful consultations at the neighborhood level, we aim to empower local senior residents, enhance age-friendliness, and ultimately, strengthen the fabric of our entire city. This funding is a vital step toward creating spaces where seniors can live actively, socially engaged, and independently, contributing to the overarching goal of an age-friendly Richmond.”

The City of Richmond will receive $15,000 to is to engage seniors in age-friendly planning by applying the dimensions of an Age-Friendly City at the neighbourhood level through a series of consultations with local senior residents. It will also identify ways in which the age-friendliness of one Richmond neighbourhood can be improved, with the overall goal of strengthening age-friendly planning throughout the city.

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