We are pleased to announce the approval of an Ontario Trillium Fund grant to fully renovate our main washrooms and perform repairs to our Activity Room. Our facility is open to the public and includes a community centre used by thousands of older adults annually for programs and services, and affordable rental housing for seniors. It is a workplace for 160 employees and over 500 volunteers. Visitors include health professionals, family and friends of tenants, and the general public. The facility and property has many accessibility features such as accessible visitor parking spots, pathways and entrances.
We plan to retrofit and renovate the washrooms with standard accessibility features and design elements that will also improve access for those with sensory impairments and ease for older adults, such as: signage to include braille, safe needle disposal, and a dispenser for incontinence products.
The project will encourage people using mobility devices to participate because they can be assured to have access to an accessible washroom should they need one. This may also enable individuals to participate independently without assistance from a caregiver or support worker.
The project also includes renovation of parts of our Activity Room including: repairing partition walls thereby improving sound insulation; repairing a door which cannot properly close and poses a risk in case of fire, and repairing floor areas which poses a fall and trip hazard.
We will be able to promote our programs and services as fully accessible for people with disabilities. Current Recreation programs such as fitness classes, visual arts and a variety of many more offered will be adapted to the needs of people with disabilities. Allowing the development of new classes for individuals with disabilities further supports our value of inclusion.
An agency of the Government of Ontario, the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) is one of Canada’s largest granting foundations. With a budget of over $136 million, OTF awards grants to some 1,000 projects every year to build healthy and vibrant Ontario communities. www.otf.ca
