Christine Whelan, FEO, June 12, 2025, VOL. 6 ISSUE 20
On Monday, June 2, Mayor Redekop, Town Councillors and representatives from Age-Friendly Niagara raised the Age-Friendly Niagara flag to celebrate Seniors Month. This year’s theme, “Fit, Active, and Healthy Seniors,” emphasizes supporting older adults through programs promoting wellness, social engagement, and education.
Deborah Fairlie, secretary of the Senior Citizens’ Advisory Committee with the Town of Fort Erie, attended the flag-raising.
“We appreciate the Town’s support. Being an Age-Friendly community is important to the residents.” She said it’s good timing with June being Seniors Month.
Fairlie attributes Fort Erie’s initial involvement to Catherine Mindorf-Facca. She presented the proposal to apply to the World Health Organization (WHO) for designation as an Age-Friendly community in 2021.
The research was done, and it was found that the Greater Fort Erie area did not meet all the criteria required to be designated, and it was dropped.
“But the Seniors Advisory Committee picked it back up,” Deborah proudly followed.
“We said, we can keep doing it. We can poke away at things that fall short. And we are.” Adding, “We are continuing Catherine’s legacy.”
Criteria: Some met. Some are beyond control. Those within control are being addressed.
Off the top, Affordable Housing for seniors and Healthcare with a focus on the events around the hospital building are two criteria for which, at this point, no solutions are in sight.
When seniors can no longer drive, transportation shows gaps in service, Deborah said, sharing a couple of stories of unreliability.
“In conclusion,” Deborah stated, “It’s going to cost too much money to meet these three gaps. They are also out of our control.”
The focus has been on filling the gaps that are presently attainable.
Human Services is a gap that was recently filled at the new Gilmore Community Hub with Niagara Region Services.
“We’ve never had this before,” Deborah mentioned, “Other towns in Niagara have had the Region Services where they get free physio, free blood pressure testing, yoga, massage therapy, exercise and more.”
The fifth criterion is Social Connections. “The Town is not meeting this need. It’s being met by the Legion, the Beachcombers, and the Seniors’ Advisory Committee.”
Deborah asked at a meeting, “How can we raise a Niagara Age-Friendly flag when we are not designated?”
The group told her that a town doesn’t have to be designated to promote the town to be age-friendly.
Flag of Support
The flag means the town of Fort Erie is supporting the Age-Friendly Movement.
“And we do,” Fairlie explained. We go to the meetings twice a year. We collaborate with other senior advisory committees. We promote the movement. The Town provides a budget to allow us to promote it.” This is the first year the Seniors’ Advisory Committee has had a staff liaison.
Shining a Light on Older Adults Who Are Not Sitting in the Corner
Speaking to the older adults reading this story, “How many times have you not been heard, where you’re not seen? You’ve become retired now. Ok, you can go over there, in the corner.”
Deborah directed her words back to the interview, “But that’s not what’s happening now. The older adults are actually making big moves.”
She noted that this movement has been around for a while but is now gaining traction.
She mentioned a group of people she is quite proud of: those who fought the development at Waverly Woods. “They took it to a very lengthy lawsuit. They were older adults who led that fight, were they not? And then there’s the group of older adults driving the fight to keep the hospital, the Fort Erie Healthcare SOS. I am so proud of our community!”
Deb feels that the recent traction is due to connecting NOAA with the advisory committees. With this many people involved in the movement, we’re helping everyone in the Region.”
According to agefriendlyniagara.com, the Niagara Older Adult Alliance (NOAA) is a community initiative to create an age-friendly environment for older adults in Niagara. The alliance is part of the broader Age-Friendly Niagara Council.
Here Come ‘Da Baby Boomers!
Baby Boomers are generally defined as people born between 1946 and 1964. In 2025, they will be between 61 and 79 years old.
The percentage of the population in the Niagara Region that is 65 years and older is approximately 23.3%.
Deborah says she’s very passionate about this life topic because of the demographics. “It’s about quality of life. This is not the end when you retire. This is the new beginning.”
Dominic Ventresca, an age-friendly community advocate, is the chair of the Age-Friendly Niagara Council Board and a Niagara Older Adult Alliance (NOAA) member.
“Shortly after the Age-Friendly movement began in Niagara around 2009,” Dominic shared, “the WHO had raised this vision of an age-friendly community worldwide.
“We obtained an Ontario Trillium Foundation Grant to hire someone to spread the word about age-friendly communities and encourage local interest. We brought the groups together to learn what each municipality was doing. At that time, there were only four or five municipalities. Fort Erie came to the table.”
This is when the municipalities began to learn how to address seniors’ recreation needs, such as transportation issues, and how to better meet seniors’ needs in public parks and trails.
“Fort Erie has gone from having the advisory committee to expanding with Strong Fort Erie Neighbourhoods and Seniors’ Stepping Out events.”
“There are 11 Senior Citizens’ Advisory Communities across the Region,” in 12 municipalities. Dominic explained that Niagara-on-the-Lake’s municipal system is organized differently.
“The Age-Friendly Niagara Council is a group of volunteers who are community-driven, providing the overall vision of an age-friendly community. We serve the body that raises awareness about what age-friendly communities are. Then we encourage and support local action. Because it’s at the local level where things really happen.”
Dominic says there are key messages.
“Older people are not a burden on society. They provide tremendous resources to society. Whether it be volunteer time in the community or the help they provide within their family, serving as caregivers.”
According to Dominic, older people also donate more back to the community than other generations. “The baby boomers control the bulk of wealth in Canada and spend two-thirds more in their communities than millennials do.”
But he didn’t want to get into a generational thing because, “We believe that the Age-Friendly Movement is for all ages.”
He explained, “Because if people understood aging throughout their lives, they’d make wiser decisions about lifestyle that will help them be healthier in their older years.”
Dominic Ventresca will have a booth at Seniors Stepping Out on Saturday, June 14, at the Leisureplex. Brock University will also present its report on the Age-Friendly Movement via PowerPoint.
To learn more about the Age-Friendly Movement, go to agefriendlyniagara.com.
