We seniors in Clearwater and area are fortunate in the number of grants and studies that have been activated in the past three years to assist us.
In 2012 the District of Clearwater (DOC) applied for a Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) Age Friendly Grant to complete a gap analysis on senior services within our community. The following year, University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) in partnership with District of Clearwater applied for a grant through the Vancouver Foundation for “Front Door to Grocery Store”, a mobility study for seniors that is still in progress.
Following that, DOC applied for and received the 2014 Age-Friendly grant to provide monthly luncheons for seniors featuring important communications on services available for seniors and emphasizing physical activity. With Linda Selbee as a most effective and efficient age-friendly co-ordinator, these luncheons with speakers addressing seniors’ issues happened throughout 2014.
A further Age-Friendly grant for 2015 now sees Linda Selbee continuing as age-friendly advisor and, with the assistance of Pearl Broswick, arranging workshops for seniors focusing on health and safety. These hands-on workshops are intended to develop “tool-boxes” for seniors that can be used as a template in other communities. The first workshop was held in March. Participants worked with a booklet called “My Voice”, an advance care planning guide in which to note down personal health care decisions and make end-of-life requests and wishes known.
Now, a brand new opportunity for seniors to learn more and connect with each other and the community has begun. Wells Gray Country Seniors Society (WGCSS), with letters of support from local organizations, DOC, Interior Health, United Way and other groups, applied for a grant from New Horizons for Seniors Programs (NHSP), a federal initiative administered by Service Canada.
This was successful and $24,000 has now been received by WGCSS for a project called “Seniors Networking with Seniors and the Community”. On March 31, at a meeting in the multi-purpose room at Dutch Lake Community Centre, WGCSS introduced Lynne Frizzle, who has been hired as seniors’ coordinator for this particular project. Frizzle described upcoming opportunities that will be provided for seniors, expanding on the idea of luncheons and speakers as organized by Linda Selbee last year.
The first complementary luncheon will be held at the Elks Hall on Tuesday, April 14; coffee will be ready at 10:30 a.m. Guest speakers will be Joanna Hurst and Sharon Neufeld with the topic revolving around gardening, including patio gardening for those with limited space.
Committees will be formed to: promote use of the Seniors’ Drop-In Centre at DLCC by all seniors in the area; make up a welcoming committee; arrange for inter-generational activities; and more. Since the NHSP grant will end on March 11, 2016, the idea is to have volunteers who will continue to promote these ideas in the months and years after that.