Community Impact

A Multigenerational Community

Perley Health continually expands the services, programs and activities it offers to residents, tenants and the larger community, often in partnership with outside groups.

The latest example is the intergenerational music program delivered in partnership with Christie Lake Kids, a non-profit that provides year-round after-school and camp programs to children and youth from low-income households. Throughout 2024, a group of teenagers and seniors gathered at Perley Health each week for two hours of song, conversation, laughter and food.

“We have a lot of fun,” says teenager Nevaeh Bleary. “I enjoy meeting seniors and interacting with them.”

“Singing and chatting with teenagers makes me feel good,” says Senior Living tenant Norman Smith. “And I think it gives us all a little more sense of purpose.”

A second partnership led to the opening of a primary-care clinic at Perley Health. Operated by Dream Team MediX, the clinic currently schedules appointments only with tenants of Senior Living, Perley Health's independent-living apartments.

“The clinic is further proof that moving here was the best decision I ever made,” says Bea Seal, a tenant since 2021. “I can access everything I need without leaving the building. Exercise classes, hair salon, trivia games, coffee chats and more—from hair to toenails, as I like to say.”

Meanwhile, progress continues on two other projects that promise to benefit the larger community: an onsite child care with intergenerational programming, and an expansion to accommodate additional long-term care residents and apartment tenants. Perley Health, in collaboration with the Ministry of Long-Term Care, the Perley Health Foundation and other partners, is developing a plan to finance the expansion.
The child care with intergenerational programming, a partnership with Andrew Fleck Children's Services, is further along. Approval has been granted to fund up to 49 spaces under the Ontario Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, for instance, and an application has been submitted to the City of Ottawa for the building permit needed to start construction.

To validate the concept of intergenerational programming, Perley and Andrew Fleck partnered on a pilot project: an onsite playgroup where residents and tenants play and interact with young children accompanied by a parent or guardian

The childcare centre is scheduled to open by early 2026.

"The clinic is further proof that moving here was the best decision I ever made. I can access everything I need without leaving the building.” - Bea Seal, Tenant