Trent Centre for Aging & Society

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Trent Centre for Aging & Society

Interdisciplinary research at Trent U fostering a critically-informed dialogue on aging and old age. Follow us and help debunk the myths about aging.

Drawing on Trent University's reputation in inter-disciplinary excellence, the new Trent Centre for Aging & Society promotes innovative research, education and community engagement on aging and old age that is critically-informed, challenges ageist policies and practices, and is responsive to the issues facing older people and aging communities in Peterborough, across Canada and internationally.

07/22/2025

In this first episode of President Dr. Cathy Bruce's (Right) "Making Strides" series, titled "Aging is Not a Crisis," Dr. Elizabeth Russell (Middle, TCAS executive and former director) shares why it’s time to shift how we think about aging — not as a burden, but as a strength — and how research, policy, and intergenerational learning can help Canada prepare for what’s ahead.

Dr. Nadine Changfoot (Left, TCAS executive and former director) shares that the research of TCAS members is super important for shifting the narrative for aging to be welcomed and to influence change in policy and structures to support aging. Watch the fast-paced 3.5min video at the link below:

https://www.trentu.ca/makingstrides/episodes/episode-1-aging-not-crisis

07/15/2025

TCAS wishes to thank Dr. Nadine Changfoot for her hard work and dedication as Acting Director this past year! It is thanks to her that TCAS was able to put on so many amazing events in 2024/2025 such as the Aging & Society Seminar, the AIIGO, and the Street Law Workshop. We wish her nothing but the best going forward!

Below is a message from Dr. Changfoot:

“TCAS has had a very successful year with many firsts, including the CIHR Café Scientifique funded AIIGO (Anishinaabe Indigenous Intergenerational Growing Old/Aging Gathering) held in January, the first Trent and TCAS Street Law Workshop on Estates Planning held in June, and the publication of the 2025 TCAS Graduate & Undergraduate Student Associates Booklet. TCAS also hosted the Aging & Society Seminar on Precarity, Risk, and Aging in Later Life in October 2024. The work of TCAS would not be possible without the guidance and support of TCAS Executives (Drs. Bharati Sethi, Elizabeth Russell, Kirsten Woodend, Liana Brown (Director of the Masters in Interdisciplinary Aging Studies), Mark Skinner (now Provost and Vice-President Academic), Raheleh Saryazdi, Sally Chivers, Suzanne Bailey, and Stephen Katz) and the wonderful, 'we can-do anything' energy and capacity of TCAS staff Taylor Reilly-Smith, Matt Dishaw, Leighla Foster, Darien Kenny, Elenor Marano, Devyn Pulver, William Rizza, and Isabelle Row.

I leave with this video that speaks to the question: How old is old? And, how do we shift the way society thinks about aging? Creating inclusive spaces is one of the most powerful ways to challenge stigma, prejudice, and fear around aging. Events like the Anishinaabe Indigenous Intergenerational Growing Old/Aging Gathering (hosted by TCAS) help to bring people from different age groups and cultures to exchange cultural perspectives and lived experiences. These conversations, along with interdisciplinary research led by TCAS, help reframe aging not as decline or something to dread, but as a complex, meaningful process that touches every stage of life.

Excited for another wonderful year for TCAS with Dr. Suzanne Bailey as Director!

Most sincerely, Nadine”

07/08/2025

Check out the wonderful new issue of the TCAS Spring/Summer Newsletter Issue 23!

In addition to the stories listed on the cover there are stories on:

• Devyn Pulver (TCAS Knowledge Mobilization Assistant Winter 2025, Political Studies & Indigenous Studies) who speaks on Indigenous Aging: Intergenerational Connections.

• TCAS's and Trent's first ever Street Law Workshop on Estates Planning which was led by Elenor Marano (Trent Swansea Law Dual Degree alumnae) and a huge hit. There is a hunger/high demand for more Street Law workshops.

•TCAS Member Updates on the publications and wonderful activity of TCAS faculty, fellows, graduate, undergraduate, and community associates.

•TCAS's first 2025 Booklet featuring the amazing TCAS Graduate & Undergraduate Student Associates and their research. Found here: https://www.trentu.ca/aging/people

The Newsletter can be accessed at this link:

https://www.trentu.ca/aging/newsletter

We hope you enjoy!

06/30/2025

Now Available: 2025 TCAS Graduate & Undergraduate Student Associates Booklet!

The Trent Centre for Aging & Society (TCAS) is proud to share our brand-new booklet featuring the incredible research and projects of our Graduate and Undergraduate Student Associates.

This booklet highlights some of the amazing work that TCAS Student Associates have completed or are in the process of completing. Students were sent a survey, and these survey questions as well as their answers will be shown. We hope that this document can provide communities with more information about the work that TCAS Student Associates are pursuing.

Explore the diverse topics, innovative approaches, and passionate voices shaping the future of aging studies.

Click Link Below:

https://www.trentu.ca/aging/sites/trentu.ca.aging/files/2025-06/2025_tcas_student_graduate_undergraduate_associates_booklet.pdf

06/21/2025

On June 7th, Elenor Marano (TCAS community associate, Trent Swansea LLB, BAH) led the inaugural Trent and TCAS Street Law workshop on Estates Planning as part of an initiative to make legal education accessible. Missy Knott (Curve Lake) opened and gifted the event with her new, powerful and beautiful song, "Find Ourselves Again," that has yet to be released!

The goal of this Workshop was to alleviate discomfort surrounding legal matters by introducing key vocabulary like testator, beneficiary, executor, and guardian in a digestible, creative, and even humourous way, using breakout groups and collages to reinforce their meaning. Participants learned the requirements to create and update a valid will and the implications of dying intestate (without a will), including specific considerations for Indigenous individuals in Canada.

The second part of the event covered Powers of Attorney, which help ensure that our financial and personal care decisions are upheld by trusted family/friends in situations arising from vacations to medical emergencies. Overall, the event fostered an open environment for questions (so many questions were asked after Elenor shared a sentence!), highlighting a clear demand for such education, along with utilizing the inclusion of musical performances and artistic activities to challenge stereotypes about the legal field.

Attendees said it was the fastest 2.5 hours they've ever experienced and could have gone longer. Elenor has been awarded a Trent Microgrant to hold further Street Law Workshops in partnership with TCAS and Political Studies. Stay tuned!

06/12/2025

Trent news has published an article on Dr. Sally Chivers, TCAS executive, as she invites us to rethink what it means to grow older and why pop culture’s obsession with youth needs a reality check.

From film to fiction, she explores how ageism shapes our views and why embracing aging is a radical act of self-acceptance.

Watch as Dr. Chivers flips the script on aging through the lens of media.

Read more and watch the video using the link below:

https://www.trentu.ca/news/story/42785

06/03/2025

Nadine Changfoot will present on Wshkiigmong Dibaajmownan/Curve Lake Storytelling, a digital storytelling project she leads in partnership with Anishinaabekwe Elders of Curve Lake First Nation. In 2023, this project produced the first six short stories/videos of Anishinaabe Growing Old/Aging directed and created by elders and younger persons of Wshkiigmong/Curve Lake First Nation of the Williams Treaties located near Peterborough/Nogojiwanong and Toronto in what is now called Ontario, Canada (northern Turtle Island).

Dr. Changfoot will highlight how the digital storytelling arts-based method of Re•Vision, The Centre for Art and Social Justice affords multifaceted materializations of Anishinaabe Knowledge by bringing together story, art making and decolonizing qualitative method. These shorts reveal temporalities of Anishinaabe Growing Old experienced in Wshkiigmong /Curve Lake which demonstrate the at once occurrence of past, present, and future experiences. Resonant with Sandy Grande’s concept of Indigenous Elsewheres, the Anishinaabetemporalities represented in the shorts support settler/non-Indigenous understanding of the intertwinement of settler colonialism and Anishinaabe Knowledge which acknowledge and refuse the violence of settler colonialism, the erasure of Indigeneity, while proudly affirming Anishinaabe Knowledge, ontologies, and Anishinaabemowin.

One short will be screened and discussed. This research takes place in partnership with the Wshkiigmong Dibaajmownan/Curve Lake First Nation Storytellers with ongoing commitment to decolonizing, Indigenizing, and continuing partnership.

Register Here:
https://ubc.zoom.us/meeting/register/H-gizSVAS4Ku4vqioa1opQ #/registration

05/29/2025

The Gerontology Department at Simon Fraser University has opened up registration for their 32nd John K. Friesen Conference. This conference is titled "Research, Practice and Policy to Enhance Community-Based Senior Services". The purpose of this conference is to bring together experts from academic, community, NGO, government, and private sectors to review emerging issues and share cutting-edge innovations to enhance community care and support systems targeting a rapidly aging population. Some of the emerging themes include maximizing the reach, efficacy and effectiveness of the community-based senior sector (CBSS), linking community and health care systems, new phases of age-friendly community action, policy developments, and examination of political and social care contexts such as ageism, declining economic security, marginalization, and technological literacy and its age-related divides.

This conference will take place from June 5 at 9:00AM to June 6 at 12:00PM. You can register for the conference by following this link:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/32nd-john-k-friesen-conference-tickets-1307227736349?aff=oddtdtcreator&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Ffriesen2025.eventbrite.ca%2F

05/27/2025

A call for participants has been released for a study being conducted by Dr. Alisa Grigorovich and other researchers at Brock University. The study is titled 'SOAR-Well-AiP (Sociotechnical observation and assessment research into wellbeing and aging in place)'. Their research seeks to understand how smart technology can help healthy older adults maintain well-being and independence at home as they age. Examples include smartphones, tablets, or smart speakers with built-in voice-assistants like Apple’s Siri or Amazon’s Alexa. These voice assistants respond in a conversational manner, to voice commands to help you with tasks like internet searches, setting reminders, playing music, and hands-free calling. This study will explore how older adults use voice assistants in order to understand their role in supporting well-being and aging in place.

To participate, start by filling out a screening survey by following the link below:
https://brock.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3gzChfv2FErHOx8

To learn more about participation and eligibility, reach out to Dr. Alisa Grigorovich, Lead Researcher at agrigorovich@brocku.ca, or Dr. AnneMarie Levy, Research Coordinator, at soarwell24@gmail.com.

05/20/2025

2025 is the 10th Anniversary of the annual Walk for Alzheimer’s with IG Wealth Management! The Walk for Alzheimer's is Canada’s largest fundraiser for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, taking place in more than 150 communities across the country. Registration is now open for the Walk, and you may register as an individual, join a team, or register your own team!

The Walk for Alzheimer's will take place on May 24, 2025, from 10AM-1PM. The primary starting location will be Justin Chiu Stadium located at Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, ON, K9L 0G2. There is also a second official starting location at Aspira Kawartha Lakes Retirement Living, 60 West St, Bobcaygeon, ON, K0M 1A0.

You can register for this amazing fundraising event by visiting the Walk for Alzheimer's website. Any questions can be directed to walk@alzheimer.ca

05/18/2025

**New Room Location**

Trent Centre for Aging & Society will be hosting a free public legal education workshop titled “Street Law Workshop: Creating Lasting Legacy through Estates Planning” on June 7th, 1:30PM – 4:00PM at Scott House 105 on Traill Campus.

Here, participants of all ages are invited to participate in an interactive exploration and explanation of the laws of wills and powers of attorney through a program called Street Law. Street Law is a global initiative that connect lawyers, law students and community members of all ages with the law.

The session will be hosted by Dr. Nadine Changfoot (TCAS Acting Director) and led by Elenor Marano, a recent law school graduate from the Trent/Swansea Dual Degree Program. Elenor is also TCAS’ policy placement intern; her work has centred around the need for proactive measures – like public education – to improve the legal capabilities for people of all ages but notably those who are growing old/aging.

The space is child friendly. Collaging materials will be provided for participants to create collages, a creative and fun activity to do while learning!

Registration at the link below:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/street-law-workshop-creating-lasting-legacy-through-estates-planning-tickets-1325379659239?aff=oddtdtcreator

05/17/2025

The Trent Centre for Aging & Society extends heartfelt congratulations to two of our members, Jazmine Raine and Elenor Marano, for their recent campaigns in the federal election.

Elenor Marano (TCAS Community Associate), who ran for the NDP in Bowmanville—Oshawa North, brought her legal training and deep understanding of economic challenges to her candidacy. A Trent alum and advocate for working people, Elenor has demonstrated dedication to equity and public service.

Jazmine, a graduate research associate at TCAS, ran as the Green Party candidate in Peterborough—Kawartha. Their campaign reflected a strong commitment to environmental justice, systemic change, and uplifting underrepresented voices, principles that also guide their research on aging and gender diversity.

We’re proud of both Jazmine and Elenor for bringing their knowledge, lived experience, and passion for social change into the democratic process. Win or lose, their leadership and courage deserve recognition and thanks.

Address

Peterborough, ON

Website

http://www.trentu.ca/aging/

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