INNISFAIL - The Town of Innisfail wants to create an age friendly community for its senior population.
The town recently held a forum on Oct. 17 at the Innisfail Seniors Drop-In Centre to obtain feedback from older adults and seniors to discuss their current needs and anticipated future needs within Innisfail. With about 40 seniors attending the forum, a second is planned for the evening of Oct. 26 at the drop-in centre. Once both forums are complete a survey will be distributed to the community to collect feedback on areas of priority.
Preliminary information on seniors' needs was gathered through an assessment by Family and Community Support Services (FCSS). Karen Bradbury, community and social development coordinator with the town, was joined by Penhold consultant Linda Yargeau.
“The town wanted to start a conversation about how Innisfail could become more age friendly,” said Linda Yargeau.
“If you look at the population of Innisfail, which is around 8,000, about 3,000 are over 55. That's a big chunk of the population,” she told those in attendance.
Participants gathered in groups and discussed a variety of topics, including outdoor spaces and buildings, transportation, housing, social participation, communication and information.
The assessment and forum were designed to help define what an age friendly community is and what it should look like, as well as identify the availability, accessibility and awareness of services for seniors and any potential concerns as they age in the community.
“It's important to understand what their ongoing needs will be as this population continues to age,” said Bradbury. “The feedback from the assessment will assist FCSS with setting strategic priorities and initiatives that will continue to support this growing population.”
One of the participants in the seniors' forum on Oct. 17 was Innisfail resident Albert Hanna, a former councillor for the Town of Trochu.
He briefly spoke to seniors about his concerns over the recent firing of Innisfail's fire chief Dean Clark and the workings of a municipal government.
“I believe that we certainly could have much better public relations coming out of the town office, politely and clearly,” he said. “That's not saying they're bad people, but we could do better. All of us could do better without so much controversy.”
“I have found very clearly that none of us can ever settle anything if we're upset. We need to calm down and be sensible,” he added. “We sure could use a little of that in Innisfail,” said Hanna, noting he hopes his presentation will generate some discussion among community members.
“I'm trying to improve the relationships in our community,” he said. “Between the town and the community. That includes the fire department.”
Karen Bradbury
"It's important to understand what their ongoing needs will be as this population continues to age."
