Date of publication: Monday 1 December 2025
Aging Well in Ottawa: Health Fair Brings Community and Care Together
By Ijeoma Ukazu
Wednesday 29 October 2025
On October 29, more than 20 Ottawa Public Health (OPH) community partners gathered at the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre for the Aging Well in Ottawa Fall Health Fair — a vibrant event dedicated to connecting older adults and their caregivers with the wide range of health and social services available across the city.
The community hall was filled with colourful banners and friendly representatives from various organizations, all eager to engage with Ottawa’s older adult population on topics related to health, well-being, and community support. The fair brought together health experts, service providers, and community members under one roof, creating a warm and welcoming space for learning, networking, and connection.
Building Connections Through Community Engagement
In an interview with Black Ottawa Scene, Karim Mekki, Community Engagement Team Supervisor at Ottawa Public Health, shared the inspiration behind the event. He credited the idea to a collaboration between his team and that of Emily Coja, Supervisor of the Chronic Disease Prevention Team at OPH.
“Together, Emily’s team and our team noticed a need to organize something in the community that would bring together partners serving older adults,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to offer services and information, but also to create community and networking and to learn from older adults about what’s going well in their lives, what their needs are, and how we can adjust our programming to better respond.”
Coja added that the event was meant to be both informative and social. “We wanted to have an event where we invited any older adult in Ottawa who wanted to socialize and connect. We hoped to draw them into our services this fall,” she said.
According to Mekki, the fair reflects OPH’s broader public health mandate of promoting equity and inclusion. “Our focus is on health equity, ensuring that everyone in Ottawa has equal opportunities to be healthy and to access wellness resources,” he explained. “We want to be diverse and inclusive in the way we work with the community. For us, community engagement is about making sure older adults have access to all that OPH has to offer, while also informing us about their needs. That’s a key part of our strategy.”
Bringing Health Resources Under One Roof
For the Chronic Disease Prevention Team, the fair provided an opportunity to showcase a variety of health initiatives. “Our main focuses are healthy eating, physical activity, sun safety, and fall prevention,” Coja explained. “We have a program called Strong and Steady that helps older adults build strength and reduce the risk of falling. Beyond that, OPH offers dental health services, immunization programs, and emergency response resources — all relevant to older adults. We wanted to bring all of these under one roof so people could get information about any aspect of their health.”
Coja noted that partner organizations were also invited to share their services and connect their work with OPH’s initiatives. The goal, she said, was to strengthen collaboration among community partners while ensuring older adults were aware of all available supports.
Mekki emphasized that the event was rooted in OPH’s philosophy of shared ownership between professionals and community members. “Ottawa Public Health’s approach is that everyone’s a partner not just organizations, but also members of the community. Older adults themselves are partners; they inform us, teach us, and help shape future initiatives,” he said.
When asked how the event’s success would be measured, Coja said follow-up and feedback would play key roles. “We’ll be following up with our partners and OPH colleagues to see how things went at their tables. We had staff walking around talking with older adults, and even a couple of buses brought participants in. Volunteers on those buses were chatting with people, so we’ll be collecting feedback from all of those interactions.”
He noted that the strong attendance and how early people arrived demonstrated the eagerness of older adults to connect and belong. “Beyond accessing resources, they value opportunities to meet others and be part of a community. I’d encourage anyone working in any sector to plan with older adults in mind. They truly value being included,” Mekki said.
Looking Ahead: Expanding Access Across Ottawa
As the fair came to a close, both supervisors expressed gratitude for the turnout and enthusiasm. “We’re so happy to see so many people here,” said Coja. “It’s been well attended, and we’re really excited about that.”
The key takeaway, she emphasized, was increasing awareness and access. “I hope that they’ll learn more about what’s available to them in the community and be able to access services they may not have known about especially services that can help with their health and well-being.”
Looking forward, Coja shared that OPH plans to extend its outreach efforts. “Under our Aging Well in Ottawa umbrella, we provide health-related services through community hubs in collaboration with our partners. Right now, we have three hub locations, but we’re hoping to expand to rural areas in the coming months,” she said.
Mekki added that the success of this fair could pave the way for more events in the future. “Maybe we’ll have another yearly fair next year — who knows? We also try to participate in other fairs focused on older adults to make sure our efforts complement what’s already happening in the community. It’s a very organic approach.”
