Thank you, Bob.
Thank you to the committee for this opportunity.
I would like to acknowledge the federal government's commitment to seniors through its minister of seniors position, the national seniors strategy and the new horizons for seniors program.
As you know, senior centres are an important part of our communities. Through the promotion of healthy active aging, community involvement and social inclusion, senior centres provide valuable resources and opportunities to older adults all across Canada. Research on senior centres demonstrates that participation is associated with social, mental and physical benefits; and that by fostering the exchange of social support, senior centres protect older adults against the negative impacts associated with social isolation, making senior centres invaluable resources in the communities in which they operate. Given that older Canadians are now the fastest-growing segment of our population, with their numbers expected to double over the next two decades, the importance of our senior centres to the well-being of this demographic cannot be overstated.
Pembina Active Living (55+) is an non-profit, senior-serving organization in south Winnipeg. Our catchment area of Fort Garry comprises 11 communities, 77 square kilometres, and is home to 18,775 adults over the age of 55, or over 25% of the total population of our area.
PAL recognizes the diverse needs and challenges of older adults and is committed to the development of programming and opportunities that will enhance their lives. The well-being of older adults is one of our core values and we believe that active living and social inclusion can enhance physical and mental wellness. Research at the Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging found that fit people are half as likely to become dependent in later life. Health Canada's physical activity tips for older adults recommend two and a half hours of moderate to vigorous aerobic activity each week.
We address that at PAL through some of our weekly programs. We have 20 plus programs running through the communities, including older adult resistance and weight training, yogalates, line dance, seniors' yoga, zumba for seniors, cycling, bowling, a garden club and a lunch group. We have a movie group, a writing program that has published nine books, computer workshops, pickleball, three free annual community events, and a wellness, leisure and special interests speaker series that is free to all the community.
All this is great for those who can afford our programs, but for the many low-income older adults in our community, many of our programs and activities are out of reach financially. In addition, transportation to and from senior centres was the most common barrier to participation for older adults. These are two issues that, with our limited resources, we simply cannot address.
PAL has accomplished a lot in its 10 years with very few resources, and we have a lot to be proud of. At the same time, there is so much that we cannot do and many we cannot reach because we simply do not have the resources. We are at the limit of what we can do with a skeleton staff and a volunteer base who are already putting in approximately 500 hours a month.
In order to reach out to the thousands of older adults in our community, many facing social isolation and loneliness, we need support. We need stable annual operating funds, without which we will not be able to fulfill our mission. We believe that senior centres are perfectly poised in the community to address the various issues faced by older adults. The most impactful thing we believe the federal government can do is support senior centres through direct funding.
I just want to add that we did not specifically name women as the subject of our presentation, but our membership is 70% women.
All of these issues are directly impacting the senior women in our communities.
Thank you very much.