Whistler Seniors To Benefit from Better at Home Program

 

 

Minister of State for Seniors, Ralph Sultan, joined the United Way of the Lower Mainland to announce that the Better at Home program is more than tripling the number of sites, adding 38 new locations including First Nations communities around the province.

The Better at Home program is designed to help seniors age 65 and older live in their own homes longer by providing simple services delivered by local non-profit agencies. The program is managed by the United Way of the Lower Mainland and funded by the government of British Columbia.

Whistler will participate with Squamish, Pemberton and Mount Currie to bring services to seniors in the Sea 2 Sky Corridor under the sponsorship of Sea to Sky Community Services and yet to be determined local agencies.

MAC has been lobbying for collaborative programs and services for seniors within the Sea 2 Sky Corridor and is thrilled to see initiatives such as Better at Home recognizing and embracing the need for our residents to age in place.

Full Press Release can be found at http://www.betterathome.ca/sites/default/files/Better%20at%20Home%20expands%20to%2056%20sites.pdf 

For full details on the program, go to www.betterathome.ca.

June 2012 Update

As you can see from the happy faces of the MAC Focus Group, we are thrilled to be the proud recipients of $16,000 from the New Horizons for Seniors program. The New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP) is a federal grants and contributions program that supports projects led or inspired by seniors who want to make a difference in the lives of others and in their communities.


Our "Town Hall" meeting in late March clearly identified the need for a space to hang our hat, so to speak, and receiving this funding will go a long way to creating a 'heart' for the seniors of Whistler. the goals of the Seniors Intergenerational Activity Centre project are:


1. To present an innovative, creative approach to address the isolation of seniors in the community
2. To offer opportunities for socialization
3. To attract, recruit and retain seniors as volunteers including those with an interest in working with youth on mutually determined projects
4. To provide opportunities for intergenerational learning and relationship building
5. To become a caregiver support resource
6. To provide information and referrals about community resources
7. To facilitate access to services and programs that promote successful ageing
8. To remain viable and dynamic as programs and activities respond to the changing demographics of the area to meet the needs of current and future seniors
9. To become self sufficient and sustaining through program fees


After many discussions with various agencies and groups in our community (RMOW, Arts Council, WB Foundation and WCSS) we determined that a partnership with Whistler Community Services Society would be the most sustainable model over time and a great place to start. If we outgrow the space at the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation Social Services Centre (the old Spring Creek Daycare building), we will be in the fortunate position of having the numbers to support any requests for expansion to new premises in the community.


We are also in the early stages of forming a community partnership with Whistler Secondary School to bring intergenerational activity opportunities into the mix. We as seniors have so much to give to young people, and they in turn have a knowledge base and skill set that can make us all less isolated and comfortable with the social media of today's world!


The Focus Group's Phil Mitchell is busy purchasing furniture and equipment for the space at WBFSSC under the watchful eye of WCSS and our lovely SNAP, Melissa Deller, and we anticipate the official opening of the area to be early September. We are working with our federal member of parliament, John Weston, to officially cut the ribbon along with our own Whistler Mayor and Council. Our shopping list includes laptops, printer/scanner, sofas, chairs, Wii and games, board games, card tables and chairs, ping pong table, large screen TV, storage units, bookshelves and so on.


And last but not least, we have a little money to redesign our website and will be posting a tender call in the local papers this week. Again, our goal would be to have this new site in place by early Fall.


With the advent of this blog we hope to keep you updated on things that are happening as a result of the Town Hall meeting last March, and welcome any comments and ideas for continuing blogs. Our new website will feature a bulletin board so you can all start talking to one another, and we are working with a local newspaper to re-instate our Seniors' Voice monthly column ... all ideas you threw out at our meeting and which we are diligently working to implement.


Keep the ideas coming, and keep in touch ... send this link to anyone you know who might be interested ... Stats Can tell us that in 2011 there were 1,975 permanent residents over the age of 50 in Whistler ... let's get connected!

The Whistler Seniors Blog is Live

Welcome to the Whistler Senior's Blog presented by MAC (Whistler Mature Action Committee). New posts will be uploaded soon.