Seniors

Senior Wellness Initiative

The Senior Wellness Initiative (SWI) consists of a network of 33 organizations that offer health education and health promotion activities for English-speaking seniors in more than 120 locations across the province. These sessions are designed to increase access to knowledge of health and social services, and decrease social isolation through purposeful and informed programming.

2024 – 2027

Health education and promotion for seniors: A focus on prevention

This initiative supports over 30 English-speaking organizations across the province of Quebec, implementing face-to face and virtual health promotion activities to isolated English-speaking seniors. The main goal is to break down social isolation, increase access to information in English, and increase autonomy and well-being.

What makes the Senior Wellness Initiative (SWI) unique:

Community-led and cost effective

The SWI is an innovative response by community organizations to address a gap in services for seniors. Formal and informal collaborations are sought out and developed with health and social services professionals.

Linguistically & culturally adapted

The SWI is adapted to the regional and local needs and realities of English-speaking seniors. The initiative is flexible, adaptable, inclusive and adopts a broad and multifaceted approach to improving overall health and well-being.

No strict criteria for participation

The SWI is inclusive of all seniors, and includes outreach to vulnerable isolated elderly individuals. There’s no specific criteria for participation.

This initiative is financed by

SWI Map

Risk & Quality Management Toolkit

The Risk & Quality Management Toolkit is a practical suite of resources designed to support safer, more inclusive, and more responsive community programming for older adults. Developed through CHSSN’s Senior Wellness Initiative, the toolkit includes guides on risk assessment and inclusive outreach, along with adaptable templates and planning tools for community organizations. Grounded in the realities of community-based programming, these resources were created to address a recognized gap in publicly available risk and quality management tools for the community sector.

Planning for Safety

Planning for Inclusion

Partners in Care Summit Report

The Partners in Care Summit Report (forthcoming June 2026) will summarize key discussions, priorities, and policy considerations emerging from CHSSN’s February 2026 summit on caregiving and English-speaking older adults in Québec. Bringing together community organizations, researchers, and sector partners, the report explores the realities of caregiving across diverse life circumstances and highlights opportunities to strengthen recognition, navigation, linguistic access, and community-based supports for caregivers and care recipients. English and French versions will be available in early June.