City Council Agenda - November 26, 2012 - City of Guelph

COMPARATOR MUNICIPALITY: BRANT/BRANTFORDNote: Most of the following information is from the website of the Grand River Council on Aging andother documents provided by the Council. It has been supplemented through discussions withmembers of the Board of the Council.1. BRIEF MUNICIPAL PROFILEThe population of the City of Brantford and the County of Brant in 2011 was about 140,000 with anestimated 39,000 or 27.9%% age 55 or more. By 2031, these figures are expected to be 170,000,60,000 and 35.4% respectively.2. PROJECT BEGINNINGS – WHAT GOT THINGS STARTEDThere have been two ‘milestone events’ related to the City of Brantford and the County of Brant inrecent years, each having a focus on older adults:• The development of a report titled: A Community for a Lifetime: A Master Aging Plan (2008)• The recent creation of the Grand River Council on Aging (GRCOA) www.grcoa.caThe Development of A Master Aging PlanThe first phase, supported by a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (2008), was to develop aMaster Aging Plan (MAP). This is a "roadmap" or strategic plan for the delivery of a comprehensiveand coordinated set of community services to older adults who have a wide range of needs. It wascreated "by the community, for the community." The project was directed by a volunteer SteeringCommittee with representatives from service organizations, local government officials, andcommunity members. An extensive consultation process engaged 40 service providers throughcommittee involvement, more than 100 seniors through focus groups, and 15 community leadersthrough meetings and interviews. Additional individuals provided comments through a widelycirculated public discussion paper.Work on the project commenced in April 2008 and was completed in September 2008. Planning stepswere the following:• A review of relevant reports and a demographic analysis of Brantford and Brant County• Establishment of three Planning Committees of service providers to focus on differentsegments of the aging population: well and fit seniors; seniors requiring some assistance withactivities of daily living; and seniors requiring 24-hour assistance with activities of daily living.Each Planning Committee met in May, June and July.• Eight community forums held in June and July to gather information about the views andexperiences of seniors and their family members.• Broad distribution of a discussion paper to inform citizens about the project and solicitresponses to emerging goals and objectives.• Interviews and meetings with community leaders and other key informants.The Steering Committee met on six occasions to monitor the project and assemble the finalreport.103