Making our city more age-friendly
Tuesday, February 07, 2012 by: Jordan Allard
Aging is inevitable and affects everyone, so why not do something about it?
Simply put, that’s the message Peter Vaudry delivered to city council at Monday night’s meeting.
To help make a difference Vaudry wants Sault Ste. Marie become a part of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) age friendly cities and communities.
“This is really about active aging and it addresses the entire community,” said Vaudry. “This is not just for seniors. If you make your entire community age-friendly you're addressing the entire population."
Vaudry gained approval from council to form a working committee dedicated to making our city “an age friendly community”.
Becoming an age friendly city provides the Sault with technical support and training from WHO; who links up cities and communities in an effort to facilitate the exchange of information and best practices.
WHO also provides cities who become members with guidance for the development and implementation of age-friendly approaches.
Vaudry says the next step is drumming up interest in the community.
"We didn't want to send out invitations to any particular organizations because we wanted to be as inclusive as possible, so that’s why I came council first. I want to encourage everyone, not just seniors, to become a part of this,” he said.
Those interested in finding out further details or getting involved are encourage to contact the city clerk’s department at 705-759-5388 or cityclerk@cityssm.on.ca.
