INNISFAIL --- Town council has given its staff the green light to pursue a trio of federal and provincial grant programs that would benefit the community's youth and seniors.
At council's regular Jan. 14 meeting, Karen Bradbury, the town's community and social development coordinator, presented a recommendation for the town to seek a $25,000 federal New Horizons for Seniors grant for the second year in a row.
Last year, the town received $24,110 from its application, and Bradbury's department was able to put $6,300 of it towards the successful first daylong seniors' conference at the Innisfail Library/Learning Centre. The free conference featured keynote speaker, Vancouver writer Brock Tully, and his internationally renowned kindness message.
The grant funds also went to support the free Lunch and Learn events, which emphasize education and awareness for the town's older adult and senior populations on essential issues such as elder abuse, dementia, the seniors' advocate and mental wellness. The Lunch and Learn event was held last November, with another scheduled for Feb. 11 at the Innisfail Royal Canadian Legion.
Council unanimously supported Bradbury's recommendation to apply for the federal grant.
"We would like to continue with education and awareness initiatives and that is part of the activities we have planned. I don't know if it's a conference per se or Lunch and Learn. Once we know we got the funding we will then continue the planning from there," said Bradbury.
She said the federal grant can also be used to create initiatives to engage more community volunteers with a training and support program. As well, Bradbury would like to build a supportive program for individuals and families, along with their caregivers, who are living with dementia.
"We would really like to see our volunteer program build this year," she said, adding they are looking at another senior-related event that would "bring them out in a social way."
"There are quite a few initiatives in that but a lot will depend on whether we get the funding," said Bradbury.
In the meantime, town council also approved Bradbury's recommendation for the Innisfail Youth Positive Assets Coalition (YPAC) to enter into a partnership with Alberta Health Services (AHS). Council was told the town successfully applied for a $5,000 grant from AHS Community Capacity Funding late last year. That money will help the local coalition with education and training, and sponsoring youth and young adult events.
YPAC is a group of individuals, programs and organizations whose mandate it is to identify and address issues for youth and young adults between the ages of 14 and 24. Council was told the local YPAC has 12 community partners, who are continuing to recruit new members, including two youth between the ages of 14 and 18 and two adults between 19 and 24 years old.
As well, council agreed to support Bradbury's application last November for a $100,000 grant under the provincial Aging Well in Community program.
Council was told it was a three-year program aimed to create a safe, age-friendly, dementia-friendly community where older adults, seniors and their caregivers have needed supports to age well.
While working with the current Age Friendly Ad-hoc Steering Committee, the vision for the program in Innisfail is to host information forums, conduct surveys, and continue to educate and bring awareness on important issues for older adults and seniors in the community. The program is also designed for collaboration with community partners to address identified community needs, and to implement programs and services to fill gaps.
As well, the program promises to support the community in planning wellness events during each of the three years, including National Seniors Day and National Seniors Week.
