Seniors’ Services
Organizational support provided to the Canadian Italian Family Assistance Association (CIFAA) and to seniors of the Caravelle Club and the Association of Spanish-speaking Seniors to assist them in their social, educational, and recreational activities.
Seniors Active Living Centre allows Italian seniors the opportunity to take part in daily social, cultural, recreational and educational activities; Encuentro Latino, a group for Spanish-speaking seniors is designed to provide socialization, reduction of social isolation and mutual support in the settlement process. In addition, workshops and information sessions are offered to Chinese and South Asian communities.
Age Bridge
Promotes social inclusion of seniors. Youth develop educational workshops to help seniors to engage in social interactions through mobile devices (iPads) and mobile applications and platforms (YouTube, Zoom).
Age Link
Designed for seniors, Age Link is a step-by-step iPad training program, designed and delivered in culturally appropriate languages, to support the elderly to improve social connections and maintain good mental health. The program pilot will expand in 2022/23 and provide training to the Spanish community and develop a virtual story-sharing program to encourage seniors to continue to use the newly acquired digital skills to engage in social interaction with their peers and share their interests, lives and their stories.
Dementia Community Investment
Led by COSTI, the ethnocultural and Linguistically Based Support Services for People Living with Dementia is developing a model for education and support for family and friend caregivers of people living with dementia from ethnocultural communities in the Greater Toronto Area. Building on the existing Seniors Day Program for people living with dementia, this intervention will design specialized activities and programming for family/friend caregivers to reflect participants’ cultural heritage, beliefs and values, caregiving practices, and preferences. The specialized programming will allow ethnocultural communities with cultural and language barriers to learn about dementia and its symptoms, build family and friend caregiver capacity, and potentially increase these communities’ readiness to seek medical care.
Operated by COSTI and funded by the Calabrian Benevolent Association of Ontario (CBAO), the Seniors Day Program supports Italian-speaking seniors diagnosed with early-stage dementia and/or Alzheimer’s disease as well as their families and care partners.