Government of Canada Working to Protect Seniors From Elder Abuse

Fort St. John, British Columbia – April 26, 2010 – The North East Native Advancing Society has received Government of Canada funding to promote community awareness in the fight against elder abuse.

The Honourable Jay Hill, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Member of Parliament for Prince George–Peace River, highlighted the funding in Fort St. John today, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, and the Honourable Diane Ablonczy, Minister of State (Seniors).”Our government takes elder abuse very seriously, and we are committed to combating this abuse in all of its forms,” said Minister Hill. “That is why the Government of Canada is supporting projects like this one, helping to give communities the information they need to recognize elder abuse and ensure that seniors are aware that help is available.”

The North East Native Advancing Society has received funding of $100,000 for its project called Elder Abuse Awareness – Sharing Our Wisdom. This project will focus on reducing the incidence of elder abuse by developing networks of support that will link all 10 Aboriginal communities in the Northeast region of British Columbia.

Today’s celebration follows an announcement on February 11, 2010, of an investment of more than $1.5 million in 16 projects across Canada that will help reduce the incidence of abuse against older adults throughout the country.

The project highlighted today falls under the Elder Abuse Awareness component of the New Horizons for Seniors Program, which supports national and regional projects. With the two other components of the New Horizons for Seniors Program—Community Participation and Leadership and Capital Assistance—the overall budget of the Program is $35 million per year.

The Jobs and Growth Budget committed $10 million over two years to increase funding for the New Horizons for Seniors Program. The enhanced funding will support projects that focus on volunteering among seniors and raising awareness of financial abuse of seniors.

Since its beginning, the New Horizons for Seniors Program has funded over 6,000 projects across Canada, helping seniors to use their leadership, energy and skills to benefit our communities. For more information about the Program, please visit www.hrsdc.gc.ca/seniors.

This news release is available in alternative formats upon request.

—
Backgrounder

New Horizons for Seniors Program

Across Canada, the New Horizons for Seniors Program helps to ensure that seniors are able to actively contribute to and benefit from the quality of life in their communities.

The Program offers three types of funding to organizations:

1. Community Participation and Leadership funding (up to $25,000 in funding): this funding supports community-based projects across Canada. The projects encourage seniors to continue to play an important role in their communities by helping those in need, providing leadership, and sharing their knowledge and skills with others.

2. Capital Assistance funding (up to $25,000 in funding): this funding helps non-profit organizations that need to upgrade facilities or equipment used for existing seniors’ programs and activities. It enables seniors to continue to lead active lives by participating in existing programs and activities in their communities.

3. Elder Abuse Awareness funding (up to $250,000 in funding annually over a maximum of three years): this funding helps non-profit organizations and coalitions raise awareness of the abuse of older adults on a national or regional level. Through this funding, new educational and awareness resources about elder abuse will be available to improve quality of life, safety and security for seniors.

For more information, please contact

Office of Minister Finley
Michelle Bakos
Press Secretary
819-994-2482

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
Media Relations Office
819-994-5559