Funds target supportive living for seniors

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This article was published 14/04/2023 (1248 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

New funding announced by the province Thursday will support seniors who want to live independently for longer, says the executive director of a Brandon-based seniors organization.

A new program aimed at assisting seniors to modify their home to make it more accessible and the province’s supportive housing program will each receive $1.5 million in funding.

The new home modification grant program will allow either seniors aged 65 or older or family members who have a senior aged 65 or older living with them to receive financial assistance for the installation of items like ramps and curbless showers as long as they have an annual household income of $60,000 or less.

For the supportive housing program, which the province said includes 528 units in Winnipeg and 236 in other locations, the funding will go toward improving the per diem rate residents receive to afford things such as housekeeping and support services by 19 per cent.

These announcements are part of the provincial seniors’ strategy unveiled in February, according to Seniors and Long-term Care Minister Scott Johnston and Families Minister Rochelle Squires, who spoke at a news conference in Winnipeg on Thursday.

“We heard that seniors want better supports for aging at home,” Johnston said. “They want support that takes a preventative and risk-reducing approach that keeps seniors living at home for as long as they wish.”

At Brandon’s Seniors for Seniors co-op, executive director Rob Lavin is not only a member of Age Friendly Brandon but was also on the advisory board and helped develop the provincial seniors’ strategy.

“These two programs were brought up and covered in some of the engagements we had with older adults here in Brandon,” Lavin said about the consultation on the strategy. “We’re really excited to see both of them, but the home modification program has come up quite often since I’ve come to the seniors’ centre.”

He said a lot of seniors want to live independently for as long as they can, and making their homes more accessible is one way of accomplishing that.

On top of the creation of the program, Lavin said he was glad to see the province commit to providing annual funding for it.

“What happens sometimes is that seniors don’t have the ability or the money to support making some of these modifications,” he said. “This should help with that.”

This issue, he said, was also a concern raised by rural-based seniors groups working on the strategy.

With both announcements addressing concerns raised by seniors, Lavin said it’s good to know the province is listening.

“They’re holding true to their word that they were listening and that they wanted input,” Lavin said. “I think they’re taking the right steps and listening to the right people. I think it can only get better as they continue to hopefully introduce funding for some new programs.”

According to Statistics Canada, around 17 per cent of Manitoba’s population is over 65.

Going forward, Lavin said he’d like to see even more supports introduced to help seniors live independently like improved access to resources and personal care.

The Sun asked the province for the number of supportive living units for seniors in Brandon, but did not receive a reply by deadline.

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