Aging in the Right Place

The Aging in the Right Place Partnership 

Canada’s population of older adults experiencing homelessness is increasing. However, this growing population is largely invisible in research. Though there are many different programs in place across the country to support older adults experiencing homelessness, there is no clear “one-size-fits-all” solution. The Aging in the Right Place (AIRP) Partnership aims to address this silence. The AIRP Partnership is an eight-year, three-city project to evaluate innovative solutions to supporting older adults who are experiencing homelessness and housing precarity or who are homeless-experienced.

Through a partnered, community-based approach, researchers in Calgary, Montreal, and Vancouver work with housing providers, stakeholders, and persons with lived expertise to measure what works, why it works, and for whom it works. The AIRP Partnership’s goals are:

1. to build capacity and knowledge to bridge the gaps between research and practice; and,
2. to promote policies that are proven to support aging in the right place for older people.

What Exactly is “Aging in the Right Place”?

The majority of Canadians want to grow old in their own homes, or “age in place”. But this is more challenging for homeless, housing precarious, and homeless-experienced older adults whose living environments may not be able to safely support them as they age. The AIRP Partnership adopts “aging in the right place” as its theoretical framework, which considers how older adults can live as long as possible in their homes while recognizing that an older person’s living environment must support their unique needs, lifestyles, and vulnerabilities.