Surrey Most “Age-Friendly” City in Canada by 2018

“We’re living longer, so let’s enjoy those years to the fullest.”

Surrey, BC (Oct 1, 2014) – With more than 100,000 seniors living in Surrey by 2021, Surrey First mayoral candidate Linda Hepner wants the city to become Canada’s most age-friendly community by 2018.

Hepner, and Surrey First councillor Barbara Steele, chair of the Seniors Advisory and Accessibility Committee, made the pledge as Surrey, and cities across the country marked October 1 st as National Seniors Day.

“Today, more than 62,000 seniors call Surrey home, and in just seven years, that number will grow to more than 100,000,” noted Hepner. “We’re all living longer, so the key is how to enjoy those years and live them to the fullest. Frankly, I think it starts by staying connected to your community.”

Over the past two years, Steele and her committee have hosted 18 community forums across the city in English, Punjabi, Korean and Mandarin, and regardless of the neighborhood, seniors have plenty in common.

“Surrey seniors want to lead active, healthy lives that matter,” explained Steele. “They don’t want to be sidelined. They really want to stay connected to each other, their families and their neighborhoods. There are a lot of practical things we can do to make the lives of our seniors better as Surrey becomes more and more age-friendly.”

Surrey First’s age-friendly commitment includes:

  • A Surrey Seniors Summit in March, 2015, that will bring seniors, city staff, aging experts and other stakeholders and community leaders together to map out a four-year plan that sets the benchmarks that will make Surrey Canada’s most age-friendly city by 2018.
  • Appoint a seniors advocate inside city hall to work with council and staff to ensure seniors issues and perspectives are part of every decision.
  • Increase the print size of key city signs, making them easier to read.
  • Launch a multilingual elder abuse hotline and community awareness campaign. About 17 per cent of Surrey seniors cannot speak English, compared to 15 per cent in metro Vancouver.
  • Add more low-cost seniors programming to local community centres. About 45 per cent of seniors live with activity limitations. That number increases to 66 per cent for those over 75. Community centres need to take those numbers into consideration when planning programs that fit seniors.
  • Include seniors in the planning and design of every new city building, park and community recreation centre.
  • Work with local developers to ensure an ongoing supply of seniors housing is included in new developments and neighborhoods.
  • Create a seniors volunteer corps that will reach out to seniors with visits, outings and additional programs designed to keep them connected to their neighborhood and community. Nearly 20 per cent of Surrey seniors live alone.
  • Ramp up existing RCMP and Surrey Fire Department programs that keep seniors safe, and ensure every Surrey senior has a working smoke detector in their house or apartment.

“Surrey will continue to have one of the youngest populations in the province, with 30 per cent of Surrey residents being under 19,” noted Steele. “But, the number of seniors is increasing every year and baby boomers are living longer than their parents. In fact, in 2021, just seven years from now, more than 17 per cent of our population in Surrey will be seniors, compared to 12 per cent in 2011.”

Hepner said she wants the city’s age-friendly approach to be “long on practical solutions and short on bureaucracy.”

“Our seniors are very practical when it comes to making our city even more livable for seniors,” Hepner said. “They’ve got practical ideas and plenty of experience. Our job at city hall will be to listen carefully and get to work.”

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