OV OASIS

About Us

Oakwood Vaughan Oasis For Healthy Aging

Oakwood Vaughan Oasis for Healthy Aging offers participants the opportunity to visualize, discuss and shape an age-friendly community. We provide a place for older adults to gather for learning, sharing skills, socializing and much more. We are evolving … always adapting to the initiatives and needs of our members. See the range of activities we offer.

Our Story

In 2021, the Oakwood Vaughan Community Organization (OVCO) initiated a process to engage community members in identifying what would make the Oakwood Vaughan community healthier, more inclusive, equitable and safe.

As a result, the Healthy Aging program was conceived. It launched in June 2022 as a modest, once-a-month, 2-hour gathering of older adults. The meeting space was an empty classroom in a decommissioned secondary school - the former Vaughan Road Academy.

There is no community centre nearby, and the area has a high proportion of senior residents (many of whom are living alone). As the pandemic restrictions were slowly being lifted, people welcomed the opportunity to have a place to come together.

Learning and Engagement Program

Supported by two grants (2022/2023) from the federal New Horizons Program (NHP), the Learning and Engagement program grew from once to twice a month, and included fitness classes, local health experts, games, sewing repairs and crochet instruction, and regular community meals. The community was enthusiastic and the program was an immediate success.

By the fall of 2023, we were able to expand the program to three days a week--Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Oakwood Vaughan For Healthy Aging

Oasis is a seniors-led social program with a healthy aging focus. Originally developed by a group of older adults in Kingston, Ontario over a decade ago, then researched and developed at Queen’s University, Oasis Senior Supportive Living (Oasis for short) is a structure and philosophy that aims to promote health and well-being to support successful aging-in-place. It does this by building and sustaining healthy communities of older adults and

by addressing determinants of healthy aging, including social engagement, nutrition, physical activity, and self-determination. Oasis members drive and direct the programming, including communal meals, social events, exercise and activity programs, aided by an on-site Oasis program coordinator.

As our Healthy Aging Program was growing, under the auspices of OVCO, it caught the attention of the Oasis researchers at Queens. In early 2023 we were invited to pilot the Oasis model in our community and become a member of a growing Canadian Oasis network. Implementation of the Oasis program came with funding which included paying a part-time coordinator. By December 2023, we changed our name to reflect our participation in OASIS; we became Oakwood Vaughan Oasis for Healthy Aging.

As one of a growing number of Oasis sites across Canada, Oakwood Vaughan Oasis (OVO) for Healthy Aging is currently the only site in Toronto, and the only site to be in an urban neighbourhood rather than an apartment or condominium building.

Oakwood Vaughan Community Hub

The Oakwood Vaughan Community Hub, established in late 2023, comprises three classrooms in the former Vaughan Road Academy, under a head lease to OVCO, with the Toronto District School Board. This is an unprecedented arrangement for community use of school space in Toronto.

The Oakwood Vaughan Community Organization (OVCO) forged two key partnerships to make the Hub viable: The Reena organization and the Learning Enrichment Foundation.

Click here to locate door on a map

About the Partner Organizations

OVCO is a resident-led, non-profit community organization bringing community members together to advocate for an inclusive and healthy neighbourhood.

Reena, a 50-year-old social services agency, provides a variety of support services in including affordable housing models with integrated supports and programming for neuro-diverse individuals.

The Learning Enrichment Foundation has provided community services support in West Toronto for more than 40 years, through immigrant and newcomer services, child care, employment services and LINC (Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada) classes. LEF has provided child care in the former Vaughan Road Academy for more than 25 years.

Community Links

For Youth Initiative (FYI)

We have partnered with For Youth Initiative, whose mission is “Supporting Black, racialized and newcomer youth to navigate systemic barriers, plan for the future and access the resources and mentorship they need to thrive.”

Their program, Youth Empowering Parents, has been adapted to include tutoring older adults in the community, and especially those who attend the OV Oasis for Healthy Aging program.

The Verity Centre for Better Living

Our program has also benefited greatly from a relationship with the Verity Centre, a local faith group that made its building available to OV Oasis for Healthy Aging in summer 2023 while the school space was unde

renovation.

Unison Health & Community Services

https://unisonhcs.org/

Unison Health and Community Services provides programs and services to people of all ages, cultures and backgrounds. Our services are free, confidential and non-judgemental.

Access Alliance

https://accessalliance.ca/

Multicultural Health and Community Services

Verity Centre for Better Living

Our program has also benefited greatly from a relationship with the Verity Centre. A local faith group, they made their building available to the Oakwood Vaughan Oasis for Healthy Aging in the Summer 2023 while the school space was under renovation.

Reconnect

Reconnect Community Health Services is a not-for-profit health service organization in the west end of Toronto. Their services include supports for seniors, caregivers, and people living with mental health and addictions concerns. Reconnect is providing administrative support for the Program Coordinator.

Toronto Public Library

There are two libraries in the community that provide resources for our program. Oakwood Village Library & Arts Centre and Maria Shchuka Libary.

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