Social Inclusion

Goal

To ensure that seniors have support and help when they need it, are able to participate in activities and feel connected and valued.

Priorities

  • Develop a work plan to ensure an ongoing commitment to support seniors in the community.
  • Develop, maintain and increase a network of initiatives in the City that addresses social isolation.
  • Provide education opportunities to organizations to address identified gaps.
  • Better understand and increase the community’s understanding of the barriers to social inclusion.
  • Ensure that COA committees are using an isolation lens in all aspects of their work.

Current Highlights

from 2016-2019, the COA was one of seven organizations to receive funding from Employment and Social Development Canada to deliver a collective impact project, Keeping Ottawa Seniors Connected / Favoriser l’intéraction sociale des aînés d’Ottawa. 

Our aim was to increase the social inclusion of seniors from at-risk groups (low income, poor official language skills, disability, abuse, and rural) in the Ottawa area.

Our vision was an Ottawa where older adults are socially engaged and have opportunities and support services in the community to connect them with others.

Spectrum Tool – Available in many languages

Social isolation and loneliness are major social, health, and quality of life issues for older people. Over time, their mental and physical health may decline, sometimes to the point where they become “invisible.” But it doesn’t have to be that way… The goal of the Spectrum is to help you identify the risks… and the possible actions to take. This tool is available in many languages, including:
 
     
English  

French

Arabic

Chinese
 

 

 

 
Italian Spanish Vietnamese

 

 

Membership

The committee is made up of individuals and organizations representing identified at-risk populations and effective programs.

• Three older adults (two act as co-chairs)
• 211
• Ottawa Public Library
• City of Ottawa
• Good Companions Centre, Seniors’ Centre Without Walls
• Ottawa Senior Pride Network
• Elder Abuse Ontario
• Social Planning Council, Multicultural Seniors
• Dementia Society of Ottawa and Renfrew County
• Canadian Mental Health Association – Ottawa Branch
• March of Dimes