This is Alberta’s 38th annual Seniors’ Week.
Jason Nixon, Alberta’s Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services, was in Banff on Monday, June 3rd to promote healthy aging in the province.
Nixon is excited to announce that immediately – this year – Alberta will invest $18 million dollars over the next three years to provide in home supports for seniors.
He says “These supports can include things like house keeping and yard work, transportation to appointments, meal delivery programs, in home and emotional supports, and other programs along those lines. We will be breaking that up as follows: $4.5 million dollars will be going through Carya in Calgary, $4.5 million will be going through Edmonton Senior Coordinating Council, $3 million will be for community based grants in smaller communities like Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, or Red Deer as examples, and then $6 million over three years which we will work through the United Way of Calgary and Area to be able to provide non-medical supports.”
The MLA for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre adds, these services in our view are essential to helping seniors age with dignity in the comfort of their own communities. He says “I do think it is worth pointing out that compared to other province’s Alberta is spending the highest financial amount on seniors in the country, something that we are very proud of. In home supports are just one of the ways we are working to address this issue, in fact we will spend $9.3 billion dollars on seniors care this year alone. $542 more million in seniors benefits, $60 million to our operating lodge systems, $6 million in grants through healthy aging Alberta as an example that I just talked about today. All of that together, combined with our $9 billion dollar investment in social housing which has a lot to do with seniors housing.”
According to Nixon, the provincial government will continue to make Alberta one of the best places to live, age, and ultimately retire. He wants to move Alberta to being able to make sure they care for those who built our community and that they can keep those who built our community in the communities they want to be in.
Seniors’ Week in Alberta stretches from today (June 3rd) through Sunday, June 9th.