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Ghamari Announcement Helps ROSSS And Other Organizations That Support Seniors

By Charlie Senack, Manotick Messenger

New funding announced by the province aims to keep seniors in the community fit and healthy.

On Feb 1, Carleton MPP Goldie Ghamari and Nepean MPP Lisa MacLeod announced during a zoom press conference that this year’s Seniors Community Grant project will provide the City of Ottawa with $170,000 to help Ontario’s Seniors to stay fit, active, healthy and in their communities.

“This is great news for the seniors of Ottawa. These projects will make a big difference in the lives of hundreds of older Ontarians in Ottawa and Carleton,” said  Ghamari. “Isolation has increasingly affected the well-being of seniors during the pandemic. These important projects offer meaningful opportunities for seniors to safely take part in locallife and keep connected to friends, family and the community.”

Local organizations to receive a portion of the funding include Rural Ottawa South Support Services – A Friendly Voice Volunteer Expansion Project, who will receive $25,000.  The Ottawa Korean Evergreen Society – Project to Address Isolation of Older Adults – will receive $24,700. The Indo-Canadian Community Centre Inc. – Empowering and Supporting Seniors for Safe, Healthy and Socially Active Life – will receive $25,000. The Nepean Rideau Osgoode Community Resource Centre – Bringing Older Adults Together – will receive $24,025. Centre multiservices francophone de l’Ouest d’Ottawa inc. – Activités de participation sociale pour les aînés francophones de l’Ouest d’Ottawa – will receive $24, 270. Jewish Family Services of Ottawa – Keeping Vulnerable Seniors Connected to the Community – will receive $23, 649. The Olde Forge Community Resource Centre – Staying Strong, Active and Safe – will receive $23, 509.

Kelly Dumas, executive director of Rural Ottawa South Support Services, said funding from this grant will ensure they have capacity to ensure that there is always a warm and caring volunteer available to speak with any Ontario senior who needs a friend.

“All of us at Rural Ottawa South Support Services couldn’t be more excited to receive a Senior Community Grant to support A Friendly Voice telephone line for seniors,” she said. “The government of Ontario has been an incredible supporter of our phone line and the impact that we are having on the health and well-being of lonely and isolated seniors throughout the province.”

Nepean MPP Lisa MacLeod, who is also the minister in charge of tourism, culture, and sport, said the pandemic has brought a triple threat: a health, economic and social crisis — which has particularly impacted Ontario’s seniors.

“I am proud of the great work the Indo-Canadian Community Center and Nepean Rideau Osgoode Community Resource Centre do to benefit the seniors of Nepean,” she said. “The funding announced today is critical to support these local organizations deliver programs for our seniors, so they can once again connect with their communities and stay physically and socially active.”