Seniors Serving Seniors

The Seniors Association evolved in 1997 through the amalgamation of two seniors organizations, each with over 20 years of service to seniors in the community. 2002 marks the 26^th Anniversary of the Seniors Association. It is the central body for coordinating activities, providing services and representing the interests of seniors throughout the greater Kingston area.

Incorporated under the laws of Ontario, it is a non-profit voluntary organization with a current membership of about 4,000 seniors.

Based at the Seniors Centre in Portsmouth Village in Kingston, the Seniors Association provides support and information to help seniors to live as independently as possible, with a healthy and active involvement in the community.

Through its centre and its monthly magazine, Vista, the Seniors Association is considered a major source of information on services and activities for seniors.

In an effort to make the process of aging an enriching, outgoing and fulfilling experience, the Seniors Association offers opportunities to its members to participate in a variety of recreational and social activities. It provides services such as visiting homebound seniors, providing security checks, offering nutritious meals at a moderate cost, and organizing health care support and advice. It encourages programs whereby older people not only help themselves but also the wider community in which they live.

Security and safety for seniors is a priority. The Seniors Association is an active partner in the Elder Abuse Task Force and the Falls Prevention Coalition.

The Ontario health system is undergoing fundamental changes, a challenge to the senior population, the largest group of consumers of health care. The Seniors Association operates on the philosophy that physically active and mentally stimulated seniors make fewer demands on the health system.

The Seniors Association generates funding for most of its programs and activities through membership fees and user charges but it also receives financial support from the Province of Ontario and the City of Kingston.

Because Kingston is a popular location for retirement, the proportion of seniors within the population is expected to grow sharply in the next few years. Meanwhile, the demographic makeup of the seniors population is changing in many subtle ways with younger, still active and involved seniors.