Links2Wellbeing - OACAO

Links2Wellbeing

Check out our video, “Social Prescribing: A Pathway to Health and Wellness” to learn about the positive impacts of the Links2Wellbeing project through the voices of healthcare providers, staff, volunteers, and participants at Seniors Active Living Centres across Ontario!


What is Links2Wellbeing?

Links2Wellbeing (L2W): Social Prescribing for Older Adults aims to transform the way healthcare providers link older adults in Ontario to social and recreational opportunities. Bringing together the social and medical models of health and wellness, L2W enables family physicians, nurse practitioners, and other allied health providers such as social workers, community paramedics, and pharmacists to refer socially isolated older adults to community programs using the familiar and trusted process of writing a prescription.

Links2Wellbeing is delivered by OACAO in partnership with the Alliance for Healthier Communities—a vibrant network of community-governed, team-based primary healthcare organizations dedicated to supporting people across the province who are facing the highest barriers to health and well-being.

This project builds on the pioneering work of Rx: Community, a made-in-Ontario social prescribing program that began in 2018, as well as OACAO’s pilot project SITS Rx (Social Inclusion through Social Prescription) that ran from 2020-2021. Powered by generous funding from The Waltons Trust, the Links2Wellbeing project began with Phase 1 (2021-2024) and is now successfully implementing Phase 2 (2024-2028)!

What is Social Prescribing?

Social prescribing enables healthcare providers to address the social determinants of health by making formal referrals to non-clinical supports that are chosen according to a client’s interests, goals, and gifts.

Within the Links2Wellbeing project, reasons for referrals often include loneliness and social isolation. Given that these are non-medical challenges, they can be difficult to address through conventional means of clinical care. As a strengths-based approach, social prescribing empowers people to improve their health and well-being by developing new skills, participating in meaningful activities, and becoming more connected to their communities.

This holistic model of care moves away from asking people, “What’s the matter with you?” to asking, “What matters to you”?

Some of the benefits of social prescribing include:

  • Strengthening social and community connections and expanding networks of peer support
  • Improving physical health, fostering emotional and mental well-being, and reducing loneliness
  • Empowering individuals to identify their needs and values and to connect with what matters most to them
  • Enhancing community collaboration and cross-sectoral partnerships
  • Helping to reduce emergency department and primary care visits
  • Enabling healthcare providers to use their time more effectively by directing clients to supports that can best address their non-medical needs

Learn More

Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing:  www.socialprescribing.ca

Alliance For Healthier Communities:  www.allianceon.org/Social-Prescribing

Are You a Seniors Active Living Centre or Older Adult Centre?

Links2Wellbeing is open to all OACAO member centres and Seniors Active Living Centres. There are spaces available!

By joining our growing network of L2W partners, you can engage volunteers in meaningful ways; receive support for community outreach and create new referral pathways; build your membership; make meaningful connections with socially isolated older adults; access microgrants to reduce participation barriers (e.g., subsidies for membership and program fees); join provincial and national communities of practice; and more!

Each year, there is a rolling application deadline until the limited number of spots are filled. Please email Dena Silverberg, Links2Wellbeing Project Coordinator at dena@oacao.org to learn more!

**Not yet a member of the OACAO? We encourage you to reach out to discuss participation options.

Are You a Healthcare Provider?

Visit our Social Prescribing Quilt to locate and obtain contact information for a participating Senior Active living Centre near you!

Extra Resources:

What is the Impact of Links2Wellbeing?

Throughout our project, healthcare providers, staff, volunteers, and individual clients have told us of the incredible impact that social prescribing has on people’s health and well-being. Together, the stories we’ve gathered create a social prescribing community quilt where each square reflects the personal perspectives of those whose lives have been touched.

To understand the project’s impact on older adults, each year Links2Wellbeing participants across Ontario are invited to respond to three questions:

  •  “What is the most significant change that has happened to you since you started coming to the Seniors Active Living Centre (SALC)?”
  •  “Why is this change significant to you?”
  •  “How has this change impacted your life?”

The stories gathered demonstrate the remarkable impact that participating in SALCs through a social prescribing pathway has on people’s lives. As one participant wrote: “It impacted my life, it regained my self esteem and confidence and encouraged me that life is worth living no matter what”.

To explore the key themes, check out our most recent Client Stories Report as well as our Social Prescribing Community Quilt.

What is the Scale of Impact?

Infographic

Check out the Links2Wellbeing media coverage across the province

Funding for the Links2Wellbeing project has been generously provided by The Waltons Trust