Ottawa provides $3.5m to StFX for program aimed at disabled seniors

CITYnews halifax / By Steve Gow

A Nova Scotia university has received a funding boost to administer a program aimed at helping vulnerable seniors in the northeastern part of the province.

The announcement on Tuesday at St. Francis Xavier University (StFX) was made by Jaime Battiste, MP for Cape Breton-Canso-Antigonish, on behalf of Secretary of State (Seniors), Stephanie McLean.

The university has been gifted $3.5 million in funding from the federal government to put towards its collective impact project under the New Horizons for Seniors program (NHSP), which funds community-based initiatives aimed at the social inclusion of seniors.

StFX will work collaboratively with various organizations across the region to increase the social inclusion of vulnerable seniors aged 55 and above with disabilities.

According to a federal release, the project is intended to map and increase access to programs and services, encourage intergenerational connection and volunteer participation.

The announcement was called a strong endorsement of the quality of the work being done at StFX, according to Dr. Erin Morton, the university’s associate vice-president of research, graduate, and professional studies.

“It reflects the trust that our federal partners place in our researchers and community collaborators to address real world challenges and opportunities related to aging,” she says in a statement.

Tuesday’s announcement is the result of the university’s concept being selected from among 515 others submitted in October 2023 and then being fully developed into a successful proposal in stage two.