18 Aug Welcome to age-friendly Windsor
WINDSOR, Ont. — The World Health Organization says Windsor is a good place to grow old.
A paper called Age-Friendly Windsor: Report to the Community will be delivered Wednesday to city council’s standing committee on social development and health with the good news.
A WHO letter, which arrived last week, says: “This is to certify that the City of Windsor has been accepted as a member of the World Health Organization’s global network of age-friendly cities.”
The designation highlights Windsor’s commitment to improve conditions for seniors.
And it boosts local initiatives to bill Windsor, Canada’s most southern city, as a
great place to retire for its weather, affordability and things to do.
“This is good news,” Jan Wilson, the city’s executive director of recreation and culture, said Tuesday. “This gives us a leg up”.
“We want to share the information that Windsor’s a good place for seniors to locate in their retirement. This kind of reinforces that.”
Wilson said the city’s seniors’ advisory committee conducted a study, led by Jill Cadarette, that asked people aged 60 and up about their thoughts on the region in eight categories: outdoor spaces and buildings, transportation, housing, social participation, respect and social inclusion, civic participation and employment, communication and information, and community and health services
“The intent is never to say, ‘OK, we’re age-friendly. We’re done,’” Wilson said. “It’s about having a focus on making the commitment to improve things in the future. There are many things we’re doing very, very well. And there are things seniors would like to see improvements in. So we want to continue to make things better.”
One area that survey respondents felt needed attention was with public transportation. Some 200 surveys were completed, thanks to 20 focus groups held last fall throughout the city.
Wilson called the city a leader in age-friendly efforts, noting that Windsor is among the first in Ontario to seek such a designation from the WHO. She said the city plans to have an open house soon to share the information and to ask what more can be done.
“An age-friendly city encourages active aging by optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age,” reads the WHO’s Global Age-friendly Cities: A Guide. “In practical terms, an age-friendly city adapts its structures and services to be accessible to and inclusive of older people with varying degrees of needs and capacities.”
Donna Zabowski and her husband Brian came to Windsor Tuesday night for a special reason: to enjoy her 60th birthday in Reaume Park.
“It’s clean and beautiful and friendly here,” said the nurse from Oak Park, Mich. “We enjoy coming here just to sit and relax in the garden and look at the river. It’s a peaceful, lovely place to be.”
By Craig Pearson, The Windsor Star