Seniors Housing Strategy

Vancouver City Council unanimously approved the Seniors Housing Strategy to address the urgent need for more housing options and supports for older adults. This strategy marks Vancouver’s first dedicated effort to address the unique housing needs of its aging population. It underscores the City's commitment to improving the overall well-being of older adults through targeted housing and support services, alongside broader initiatives with City partners.

Thank you to everyone who has participated in the engagement process and provided feedback to us.

We are excited to introduce Vancouver’s Seniors Housing Strategy, marking the City’s first dedicated effort to address the unique housing needs of the aging population. It underscores the City's commitment to work in partnership to improve the overall well-being of older adults through targeted housing actions.

The strategy strives to ensure that elders and older adults have the housing and supports needed to allow for aging in appropriate and affordable housing in their community. Some key actions from the strategy include:

• A new rezoning policy to increase housing supply options for seniors across all neighbourhoods.
• A new resident relocation policy with added protection for seniors living in Community Care and Assisted Living residences.
• Updated design guidelines to promote high quality architecture, dignified care, and access to activities of daily living for older adults and other residents.
• Provincial partnerships to deliver seniors housing and advocacy for more funding and supports for seniors who need it most.

The strategy will be presented to Council on Tuesday July 23. Members of the public are welcome to participate by sending comments to Council online, or by requesting to speak on the matter. Please visit the council agenda page to learn more or sign up.

We extend our gratitude to all the older adults, caregivers, senior-serving organizations, and service providers who have shared their feedback and ideas during the last two phases of public engagement.

Thank you for your continued support in making Vancouver a more inclusive and supportive city.

Thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts on the draft Seniors Housing Strategy. The Draft Seniors Housing Strategy survey was open from Thursday, April 18 to Thursday, May 16 and is now closed. Your feedback will be considered as staff finalize the Strategy and will be summarized as part of the report to Council. The Strategy is expected to go to Vancouver City Council for consideration in July 2024.

After extensive engagement with older adults, community organizations serving seniors, and caregivers over the last year, we are excited to share a draft of the City’s first Seniors Housing Strategy. The draft strategy outlines policies, partnerships, and advocacy to work towards the overarching goal of ensuring elders and older adults have the housing and supports needed to allow for aging in appropriate and affordable housing in their community.

The strategy focuses on housing and related supports; however, it is important to note that work is needed across the city and with partners to better support the well-being of older adults. The Seniors Housing Strategy is one piece of the overall goal of becoming an age-friendly city and will continue to evolve. We invite you to share the strategy with your network and provide your comments on the key directions.

Learn more

• Read the draft Seniors Housing Strategy (PDF, 2.8 MB)
• Read a summary of the key directions (PDF, 1.6 MB)

Get involved!

• Take our survey until Thursday, May 16
• Send us an email: housingpolicy@vancouver.ca
• Request a virtual meeting or phone call with a planner. Please note this is available in English only.
  • Tuesday, April 23
  • Monday, April 29
  • Wednesday, May 1
  • Friday, May 3
• Join our mailing list

Next Steps

The final Seniors Housing Strategy will be presented at a City Council meeting anticipated for July 2024, where you will have the opportunity to provide input by speaking to Council and/or submitting written correspondence. Please stay tuned for more details.

Note: the draft Seniors Housing Strategy is pending final City review and is subject to change ahead of the July 2024 Council Meeting.

經過去年的廣泛公眾諮詢，我們很高興公布本市首個《長者房屋策略》草案。策略草案概述了不同政策、夥伴關係和倡議工作，整體目標是確保長者和年長人士擁有所需的房屋和支援，以便在其社區內既合適又可負擔的房屋中居家安老。

以下是了解詳情及分享您的意見的渠道：

• 透過概要了解有關策略
• 在5月16日前完成簡短問卷
• 在辦公時間內查詢詳情(只提供英語服務)
• 閱讀策略文件全文，如有需要，可找人為您翻譯。

該策略預計於 2024 年 7 月提交予溫哥華市議會審議。職員落實最終策略時將一併考慮您的意見，同時會將有關意見撮錄於報告中，以供市議會參考。

Thank you to those who participated in the first phase of engagement for the Seniors Housing Strategy. We reached over 1,500 people through the phone survey, online surveys, public pop-ups and community outreach events, conversation kits, and stakeholder workshops and the ideas fair. We appreciate you taking the time to share your experiences and insights.

Please find the summary report of what we heard throughout the engagement here. The report outlines key housing challenges for seniors and older adults, identifies future housing needs, and includes directions for further exploration through the Strategy development.

Staff will now be taking the key findings from this first phase to begin drafting the Strategy and advancing directions and actions. The first draft of the Seniors Housing Strategy will be released in early-2024 for public feedback.

As part of this phase of public engagement, we are hosting a series of in-person public engagement pop-up events to gather feedback on seniors housing. Please join us at the following locations and times:

• Attend a public engagement pop-up (no registration required, light refreshments provided)
  • Friday, March 24 10:30 am -12:30 pm at Sunset Community Centre, 6810 Main St
  • Tuesday, March 28 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm at Kingsgate Mall, 370 East Broadway (unit 104 in between Lolli Pretty and Bunao Optical)
  • Tuesday, April 4 10:30 am - 12:30 pm at Strathcona Community Centre, 601 Keefer St (Cantonese interpretation available)
  • Wednesday, May 10 10:00 am - 12:00 pm at Barclay Manor (Multipurpose Room), 1447 Barclay St *Newly added!

Accessibility: All pop-up events will be held in wheelchair-accessible locations. If you have any other accessibility needs, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate you.

We will also be organizing targeted stakeholder sessions with leaders from senior serving organizations, community groups, and advocacy organizations. For more information, please email housingpolicy@vancouver.ca.

Lead a discussion and gather feedback from seniors and older adults aged 55+. You can lead a session with an individual or a group, such as a community group that meets regularly, a group of assisted living or long-term care residents, or a family member, in a few simple steps:

1. Download our Conversation Kit
2. Lead the group or individual through the five simple discussion questions, making notes of the points raised and discussed.
3. Submit the Conversation Kit PDF with notes back to housingpolicy@vancouver.ca.

Conversation Kits can be submitted until April 30, 2023. Any input received by this date will be included in our engagement summary and will help shape the Seniors Housing Strategy.

On March 15, City staff attended the Seniors Resource Fair hosted by the Kitsilano Neighbourhood House. We spoke with approximately 60 seniors and caregivers to better understand their current housing challenges and anticipated future housing needs. This feedback will inform the Seniors Housing Strategy, the results will be summarized as part of the public engagement report.