Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson visited the Indo-Canadian Seniors Society at the Sunset Community Centre last month and responded to their concern for the requirement of a seniors centre in Sunset. Mayor Robertson said that the Council passed a motion last week directing staff to create a new seniors centre in Sunset. Following is an opinion editorial issued by the Mayor:
Last month, I had the privilege of visiting with the Indo Canadian Seniors Society at the Sunset Community Centre. I was able to celebrate the birthday’s of community elders Manjit Dhillon and Joginder Johal and hear about their decades long work to make Vancouver a more diverse and accepting place for all newcomers. I was also able to sit down and hear the seniors’ concerns about the need for a seniors centre in Sunset. After this meeting, I felt energized to provide a much needed place for seniors in South Vancouver and I’m pleased that Council responded by passing a motion last week that directs staff to create a new seniors centre in Sunset.
In the next 25 years, the population of seniors – and, in turn, the need for seniors’ facilities - in Vancouver will grow exponentially: the number of residents aged 65 – 74 will increase almost 80 percent and the number of citizens older than 75 will more than double. The demand for seniors’ facilities is expected to increase city-wide as our population ages. East Vancouver is already underserved: although there are 8 seniors facilities on Vancouver’s west side, East Vancouver only has 3 (including the recent new facility in Southeast Vancouver adjacent to the Killarney Community Centre).
Our motion to create the new seniors centre in Sunset was well received. Several community members, including the Indo-Canadian Seniors Society and the City’s Senior’s Advisory Council, came to Council to echo support for this motion, and reiterate the need for a new seniors facility in Sunset.
Over the coming months, City staff will explore options for the location and funding of the new centre. Ideally, the new centre will be located in an accessible, well-traveled part of the neighbourhood with easy access to transit and amenities. Staff will be exploring potential funding sources for the centre, including looking for partnership opportunities to match federal and provincial funding. In addition, staff will look at governance models, building design and potential building sites in Sunset. We will build on previous work in Killarney, where the new Killarney Seniors’ Centre had a successful financial model that leveraged a city investment of $2.5 million by securing matching provincial and federal government contributions, for total funding of $5 million. Located adjacent to the Killarney Community Centre, this Seniors’ Centre will be breaking ground in 2017.
Going forward, Council and city staff will collaborate with the broader South Vancouver community, particularly the Indo-Canadian Seniors Society and other seniors groups in the Sunset area, for their input into the establishment of a new seniors centre. This work will get underway immediately to best meet the needs of the community. I’m confident that, together, we can find a space that seniors – and the broader community can be proud of: one that brings families together, and keeps seniors living in their neighbourhoods close to the amenities and community they cherish.
