The town has completed two public forums as the first part of its seniors' needs assessment to create an age friendly community for the elderly population, and now comes a detailed survey.
Last week, the town uploaded the 10-page seniors' needs assessment survey to its website (Innisfail.ca) and hundreds of hard copies have been distributed throughout the community.
The town did a community needs assessment in 2014, but that was considered a “general assessment,” which is still used to establish town priority areas for future planning. However, when that assessment discovered that almost half of the town's population was 55 and over in age, the town and Karen Bradbury, the community and social development coordinator, strongly felt that age group should be targeted with its own needs assessment.
The forums at the Innisfail Seniors Drop-In Centre were held Oct. 17 and 26, and while the feedback to the town was valuable, the survey will ask citizens targeted questions to find out what the priorities are for the town's aging population.
“We are hoping to get as much participation and feedback from the whole community as possible because we know that 46 per cent of the population is 55 and over,” said Bradbury. “We want feedback on what they feel they are going to need in the next five to 10 years.
“We want to be preventative or responsive versus reactive,” she added. “We want to determine what the needs are now because the population is continuing to age.”
She noted there are also many citizens of retirement age now moving to Innisfail, and it's important for the town to determine what services it has, what is working, what is not and what will be needed in the future for the aging population.
Bradbury said citizens will now have an opportunity to put in detailed information on a “personal level” where the forums were more of a “community voice.”
The 10-page survey covers outdoor spaces and buildings; transportation services; housing; leisure; recreational, social, cultural and spiritual activities; respect and inclusion in community life; employment and volunteerism opportunities; communication and information; what they feel is needed for community and health services; and what they consider are the top priorities that need to be addressed.
“We are asking as many community participants to participate because even though they might not yet be 55, they will be in the next three to five years, or they may have aging parents, or they may be working with that population,” said Bradbury, noting the survey is in line with the eight key areas for seniors that are being worked on and promoted by the World Health Organization.
She said the completed surveys need to be back to the town by Nov. 18. Bradbury said they should be compiled by Christmas. She said a contracted outside consultant will present the findings to town council either in December or in January.
With those findings, the town can then start planning to address the identified needs.
“We are not saying we will be able to address every single need, but by getting this information we can at least set strategic priorities for the next few years,” said Bradbury. “We look at it and evaluate, and say, ‘what can we look at? Where can we start? Where are the priority areas?'”
Karen Bradbury, the community's community and social development coordinator
"We are hoping to get as much participation and feedback from the whole community because we know that 46 per cent of the population is 55 and over. "We want to have as much feedback as possible on what they feel they are going to need in the next five to 10 years."
