Neighbours
Supporting seniors’ health and wellness through community connection
3 min read
Image used under licence with iStock
The Challenge
The Neighbours Project was created to improve social connection, access to community services, and healthy living for seniors (55+) in two ethnically and linguistically diverse neighbourhoods of Toronto: North York and Downtown East. Both neighbourhoods have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 due to health inequities and, as a result, many seniors are at higher risk of social isolation and loneliness.
The Why
North York has a higher proportion of older adults living alone compared to the rest of Toronto, where 39% of people aged 65 to 84 live independently and 55% of people 85+ live independently. Until recently, Englemount-Lawrence has been the focus of the Neighbours Project. Englemount-Lawrence is home to over 115,832 people, more than 44% of whom are immigrants and newcomers. Tagalog, Spanish, and Russian are the most widely spoken languages after English.
In Downtown East, seniors make up 18% of the population. For people aged 65 to 84 years, 47% live independently and 50% of people aged 85+ live independently. French, Tagalog, and Cantonese are the most widely spoken languages after English. Downtown East is characterized by high income disparity, with plenty of high-income earners, even more low-income earners, and little in between. We are currently transitioning into Downtown East, anchoring on the lessons learned from North York.
The Approach
The Neighbours Project prioritizes the important relationship between social connection, health and wellness, and overall quality of life for seniors. Focusing on social connection, nutrition, and active living, we partner with local organizations in:
Amplifying existing services, programs, and resources in the neighbourhood that are seniors focused
Facilitating opportunities for coordination, peer learning, and partnership across organizations and sectors to improve service capacity and engagement in the neighbourhood
Collaborating with trusted community partners to co-design and implement innovative, hyperlocal solutions that fill community-defined gaps
Image used under licence with iStock
Our Values
Community: We work closely with community members and trusted partners to define what is important and we genuinely listen to what seniors are experiencing, feeling, needing, and hoping for. We know this is not about us or what we want and need - it is about community.
Novelty and creativity: During the first year of the Neighbours Project in North York, we learned that novelty is important to seniors — they want to try something new, meet someone new, and learn something new. This has rooted our thinking as we explore creative ways to meet these needs in contexts where resources or partnerships are limited or highly saturated.
Caring relationships: We nurture multi-sectoral and community relationships from a place of deep care, reciprocity, and thoughtfulness. We show up in the spirit of collaboration and do what makes most sense from the perspective of the communities we are serving.
What Health Commons offers through this project
Convening and facilitating: Bringing people together around shared goals and asking the right questions, in the right way, to surface and co-create meaningful solutions and learnings.
Access to resources: Offering forward the skills, capacities, learnings, and relationships that we carry and have access to, however they can support the needs and priorities of the community.
Asset mapping: Mapping out and deeply understanding what exists, what makes these assets valuable (or not) to people, and where gaps exist and how to fill them with something that works.
Community innovation & design thinking: Building new tools, resources, and models that respond to hyperlocal community needs and gaps, and that can be integrated into broader systems and networks. We co-design, test, and scale solutions that reduce or remove barriers that people face when accessing the things they need to be well (their social determinants of health). We are dedicated to changing the status quo when it is not working.
The Outcomes (so far!)
During our time in North York, specifically in Englemount-Lawrence, we collaborated with community members and partners to:
Deliver 21 workshops with 10 community partners focused on social connection, active living, and nutrition that reached 465 people
Provide 1-1 service navigation support and referrals for 33 clients
Support the coordination and implementation of active living programs and activities at 2 seniors residences
Facilitate a 5-day virtual health and wellness fair, reaching hundreds of seniors and partners around the world - as far away as Egypt!
Host 6 Community Dialogues, a space where seniors and organizations came together to have meaningful conversations on issues impacting seniors' health and service provision in North York
Contact Us
We have wrapped up in North York and are exploring what this work will look like within Downtown East. If you would like to learn more about us and how you can be a part of this project in Downtown East, we would love to hear from you! Join the Neighbours conversation by reaching out to us:
416-569-3440
