Community Partners

Aging Well Nova Scotia

Website: https://www.agingwellns.ca/

With roots dating back to 1992, Aging Well Nova Scotia (formerly known as Community Links) has evolved over the years. What started as a community development project designed to connect isolated rural Nova Scotian communities has grown into a provincial impact organization. Through all the changes, our goal to support, collaborate with, and advocate for the community-based senior serving sector and older adults remains at the heart of our work.

Aging Well Nova Scotia has been supporting senior-serving groups and organizations to strengthen their individual and collective capacity for more than 30 years and continues to advocate for age friendly communities that ensure all seniors can age well in this province.

Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia

(ASNS)

Website: https://alzheimer.ca/ns/en
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alzheimerns/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alzheimerns
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/alzheimerns/

The Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia (ASNS) has been the province’s leading resource for dementia information, education, and support for over 40 years. Founded in 1983, ASNS provides Help for Today through essential programs and services for people living with dementia, their care partners, and communities, and Hope for Tomorrow via advocacy, research, and brain health initiatives.

ASNS employs over 40 staff across all provincial health zones, supported by 200 volunteers contributing more than 1,000 hours annually. This infrastructure allows the Society to provide services that are accessible, equitable, and tailored to the unique needs of each client, whether delivered in-person, virtually, or through community partnerships. Over the decades, ASNS has built trusted relationships with government, healthcare, academia, and private funders, leveraging these partnerships to influence policy, co-develop programs, and advance systems-level change.

ASNS supports all types of dementia, not only Alzheimer’s disease, and serves three core groups: care partners, people living with dementia, and healthcare providers. Direct services focus on emotional, social, and practical support, while systems-level initiatives address public education, stigma reduction, research, and advocacy. The Society is committed to promoting Dementia Friendly Communities, ensuring that people living with dementia can remain engaged, included, and valued in their communities. The Society’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) framework ensures services are culturally sensitive and accessible to equity-deserving populations, including rural communities, Indigenous peoples, and African Nova Scotians.

The Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia’s decades of experience, strategic partnerships, and commitment to IDEA ensure that all Nova Scotians living with dementia and their care partners have access to compassionate, high-quality support that enables them to live well today and into the future.

Antigonish Community Transit Society

(ACTS)

Website: https://antigonishcts.ruralrides.ca/
Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AntigonishCommunityTransit

The Antigonish Community Transit Society (ACTS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving access to essential services, programs, and community activities for residents of Antigonish Town and County. By developing and delivering effective, sustainable transportation solutions, ACTS helps connect people to the resources and opportunities they need.

Our mission is to provide a green, accessible, and community-driven transit system that offers safe, reliable, efficient, and affordable transportation for all residents and visitors. Through a multifaceted approach to public transit, ACTS is committed to enhancing mobility, fostering inclusion, and supporting the social, economic, and environmental well-being of our community.

Arts Health Antigonish

Website: https://www.artshealthantigonish.org/

Arts Health Antigonish (AHA!) is a registered non-profit society dedicated to fostering community health through creative expression. Founded in 2013, AHA! emerged from the sustainability movement with a vision to recognize the arts as integral to learning, healing, and community resilience. Our mission is to create, deliver, and share arts-based programs that support well-being, social inclusion, and resilience across Nova Scotia.

Ashlie Johnson Coggins is the Manager of Seniors' Programs for Arts Health Antigonish. In addition to program coordination, she is an artist and visual storyteller. She holds a BFA in Art History and has a background in museum education, arts programming, and social media marketing. In her free time, she loves to explore the landscape of Nova Scotia, read, cuddle with her cats, travel with her husband, and pick up more hobbies than is reasonably manageable.

CHAD Transit

Website: https://chadtransit.ruralrides.ca/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChadTransit

Founded in 1981, CHAD Transit (Central Highlands Association of the Disabled) began as an advocacy organization supporting people living with disabilities in Pictou County. When the region’s public transit bus service ended in 1996, CHAD Transit responded to a growing community need by launching accessible transportation services for seniors and persons with disabilities. Since then, the organization has continued to evolve and today provides transportation services to anyone in the community who needs a drive.

Over the years, CHAD Transit has grown from a primarily door-to-door accessible transportation provider into a broader rural transit organization offering:

• Accessible pre-booked transportation services
• Medical and essential trip transportation
• Transportation for seniors, persons with disabilities, and residents facing transportation barriers
• Management of Pictou County Transit fixed-route public transit service

Guided by its mission, “Transportation for All,” CHAD Transit plays an important role in connecting residents to healthcare, employment, education, shopping, recreation, and community life throughout Pictou County.

A major milestone came in 2020 when the Province of Nova Scotia funded the launch of a fixed-route transit pilot known as Pictou County Transit, operated by CHAD Transit. Initially serving New Glasgow and Stellarton, the service has since expanded to include:

• New Glasgow
• Stellarton
• Westville
• Trenton
• Pictou
• Pictou Landing First Nation

Today, CHAD Transit continues to grow as a trusted community transportation provider focused on accessibility, inclusion, and improving mobility for residents across the region.

The Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq

CMM

The CMM is a Tribal Council incorporated in 1986 as a not-for-profit organization under the Societies Act of Nova Scotia. Starting with a team of two staff members, almost thirty years later the organization is supported by more than two hundred employees. The mission statement best summarizes the objectives of the organization:

Mission Statement

“To proactively promote and assist Mi’kmaw communities’ initiatives toward self determination and enhancement of community.”

From its main office located in the Millbrook First Nation, The CMM delivers a variety of community programs and advisory services to first nations communities in Nova Scotia. The staff consists of a team of professional First Nations experts who bring unique Mi’kmaw perspectives to current issues.

As a not-for-profit organization, The CMM receives financial support from various government departments (federal and provincial), as well as from the private sector. The CMM uses this funding to support programs and services primarily to its eight member communities.

The governing body of The CMM is made up of the Chiefs of the eight member communities.

Coady Institute

Website: https://coady.stfx.ca/
Facebook: @CoadyStFX
LinkedIn: @coadystfx
Instagram: @Coadystfx

Coady Institute works alongside leaders, organizations, and partners in Canada and around the world to strengthen communities through leadership education, shared learning, and collective action.

Inspired by the Antigonish Movement’s vision of economic and social justice, Coady’s roots trace to St. Francis Xavier University’s Extension Department, established in 1928.

Working with communities across Atlantic Canada, the Extension Department advanced adult education, cooperative development, and citizen-led action. Building on this foundation, StFX established Coady International Institute in 1959 to share these approaches with communities around the world.

Today, Coady equips practitioners and community leaders with the knowledge, skills, and practical tools to strengthen leadership, foster peace and resilience, advance equity and inclusion, and support sustainable, community-led development. Through education programs, partnerships, research, and collaborative learning, the Institute helps people and organizations build on local strengths, create lasting partnerships, and respond to complex social, economic, and environmental challenges.

Located in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People, on the campus of St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Coady is part of a global network of more than 11,000 graduates in 154 countries. Together, they share a commitment to creating a more just, inclusive, and sustainable world by ensuring that communities lead their own development.

Guysborough Transit

Website: https://guysborough.ruralrides.ca/

CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS:Executive Director Julie Anne Fox; Board Directors Catherine Hartling, Chair; Sabrina Skinner, Director; Mary Desmond, Director; Liz MacIntosh, Director; Wanda MacDonald, Director; Neil DeCoff, Director; Ex-Officio Directors Dave Hanhams, Municipality of Guysborough Councillor.

The Transit Association of Guysborough serves the whole of the Municipality of the District of Guysborough County and the Town of Mulgrave. Our organization gives the people who live in one of Nova Scotia’s largest counties access to a much-needed local transit.

Missions and Objectives

To improve the quality of life of residents by providing dependable, affordable and inclusive community-based transportation.

Our History

TAG has been in operation since October of 2021, but our history is older than that. Consultations with residents about the potential for a Guysborough-based transit service began in 2019. We asked residents about how they envisioned the service and the cost they would be willing to pay. From the information gathered from those consultations, TAG formed an executive board and worked closely with other Nova Scotia rural transit providers to develop a model for Guysborough County. Built to best serve our residents, TAG was developed to help meet the needs of our rural residents, and to ensure that we have the same level of service in Guysborough as other parts of the province. It bolsters social inclusion and helps keep people living in their communities due to local transportation to necessary services. The impact of rural transit on communities – keeping people in their own homes and giving them access to the services that they need – is cost effective in a multitude of ways.

Keep Well Antigonish

(KWA)

Website: https://keepwellantigonish.ca/
Email: @email

Keep Well Antigonish is a non-profit whose vision is for a vibrant, welcoming community that embraces aging, fosters connection, and inspires older adults to live well and help create a place where everyone thrives. Keep Well currently offers a free fitness and wellness program to seniors (55+) in Antigonish town and county, which is well attended by local seniors who wish to maintain and strengthen their physical fitness and stay connected in the community. As part of the GROW-SP project, Keep Well aspires to help cultivate a community of seniors who are engaged and invested in their own and the collective wellbeing.

L'Arche Antigonish

Website: https://larcheantigonish.ca/
 

As a non-profit organization, L'Arche Antigonish is managed by a local Board of Directors and works collaboratively with the Nova Scotia Department of Opportunities and Social Development in developing programs for persons with intellectual disabilities.

The L'Arche Antigonish Foundation was incorporated as a non-profit society to respond to the funding needs not covered by the Department of Opportunities and Social Development. These "Friends of L'Arche" help the local L'Arche community participate in the regional, national, and federation activities of L'Arche and share the story and mission through various fundraising initiatives.

Mawita'mk

http://www.mawitamk.org/

Positive Action for Keppoch

(PAK)

Positive Action for the Keppoch Society (PAK) was established in 2010, by a group of Antigonish residents and business people who believed that The Keppoch could become an outdoor recreation hub for Northeastern Nova Scotia.

Their primary goal is to encourage the recreational use of Keppoch Mountain and promote the natural beauty of the region.

Initial financial support for the project was received from the Town and County of Antigonish, Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, local businesses, and former and present residents.

PAK is a charitable organization and volunteer society with a board of directors. The Board's mandate is to develop policy and strategic planning. Keppoch facility staff manage the day to day operations.

Keppoch is located in Mi'kma'ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi'kmaq people.

Seniors for Climate Antigonish

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Seniors4ClimateAntigonish

The Seniors for Climate Antigonish Society is excited to be one of the GROW community partners. The goal of our four-year project is to foster community climate resilience. Many vulnerable seniors living in Antigonish, Guysborough, and Pictou counties have been negatively impacted by the effects of climate change. Climate change has had adverse effects on their physical and mental wellbeing, and they want to engage with others to find their own solutions and to increase their individual and collective climate resilience.

Our GROW team: Sheena Cameron (Project Coordinator), Leslie Buckand-Nicks, Edwin DeMont, Lise deVilliers, Patty MacGillivray, and Marian Turniawan

Summer Street

Website: https://www.summerstreet.ca/
Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn
Subscribe to our Newsletter

Summer Street is a charity based in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, that supports people with diverse abilities to live, work, and fully participate in their communities. Through participant-led programs, social enterprises, and employment supports, Summer Street helps individuals build skills, find meaningful paid work, and strengthen community connections in ways that promote inclusion, dignity, and choice.

Pictou County Community Health Centre

Mary MacLellan has been the Coordinator for Pictou County Seniors Outreach for nearly 20 years. She is the “go to” person for seniors’ health and wellness in Pictou County. Under her leadership, Seniors Outreach provides support for people living on their own in the community. Seniors Outreach collaborates with other organizations to provide programs that support health and wellness for seniors in Pictou County. Mary received the Peace Medal from the YMCA in 2021 for her work with seniors and the King Charles III Medal in 2025 for outstanding contributions to health and wellness in Pictou County.

Lynn Langille leads program development at the Pictou County Community Health Centre. Lynn has worked in a variety of population health-related roles at provincial, regional and community levels including health equity consultant, public engagement consultant and Community Health Board Coordinator. She has been working with seniors in Pictou County to promote health and wellness for nearly 10 years. Lynn was a Killam Scholar at Dalhousie University and holds a Masters Degree in Social Anthropology.

Upper Big Tracadie Seniors Action Club

The Upper Big Tracadie Seniors Action Club was formed on February 08, 2012, during African Heritage Month at a Senior’s Tea at Upper Big Tracadie. We registered with Joint Stocks and became a non-profit organization. We serve the 4 African Nova Scotian communities: Upper Big Tracadie, Lincolnville, Sunnyville, and Rear Monastery.

Our Mission:

• To promote cultural awareness to seniors of African descent.
• To preserve, to educate and to share our culture and heritage.
• To keep active both physically and mentally through Afrocentric learning.
• To identify and appreciate our historical culture while being active and inclusive.
• To make our community a better place to live.

Our Four Pillars:

• History and Culture.
• Tradition
• Education
• Afrocentric Care

The Upper Big Tracadie Development Association

(UBTDA)

The Upper Big Tracadie Development Association (UBTDA) is a community-based organization dedicated to preserving, promoting, and strengthening the historic African Nova Scotian community of Upper Big Tracadie. Through cultural preservation, community development, and educational initiatives, the Association creates opportunities for residents, families, elders, and youth to come together in meaningful ways. UBTDA values intergenerational learning and works to foster connections between elders and youth through storytelling, mentorship, cultural knowledge sharing, and community events. By honouring the wisdom of past generations and empowering young people to carry forward the community’s legacy, UBTDA is committed to building a strong, vibrant, and sustainable future for Upper Big Tracadie.