MINTO – The local Seniors Centre for Excellence (SCE) is seeking financial support to continue funding the centre’s ACE (Active, Connected, Engaged) coordinator position.
In 2021, the municipalities of Minto, Mapleton and Wellington North each provided $10,000 to fund the position, which was created after the centre’s in-person programs were halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March of 2020.
The centre moved to virtual programming, including telephone and Zoom video forums to keep seniors connected and engaged. The centre was able to secure initial funding to create the position, filled by Drayton resident Glynis Belec, but funding from the municipalities was required to keep it going.
SCE program coordinator Helen Edwards and a delegation from the centre appeared at the Dec. 6 meeting to request continued funding of $10,00 from the Town of Minto.
Mapleton council had previously approved a request for the 2023 funding and Wellington North council was also asked to consider a $10,000 donation.
Wellington North council formally considered the request at its Dec. 19 meeting, directing staff to adjust the budget for the $10,000 request, and to investigate options to minimize the impact.
Edwards told Minto council the ACE coordinator:
– facilitates two Zoom sessions per week;
– creates, monitors, and responds to SCE Facebook posts;
– uses various social media platforms to promote SCE and other community events of interest to seniors; and
– creates the monthly SCE newsletter.
Edwards said Belec, a local author and publisher, has turned a two-page, two-sided, single-sheet newsletter into a four-page, double-sided publication. Since the ACE position was initiated, the newsletter mailing list has doubled and the centre now distributes over 250 paper copies and 300 electronic copies each month.
“One of the seniors described that publication as receiving a letter from a friend in the mail or a magazine subscription,” she noted.
Edwards also pointed out that 100% of seniors polled during an SCE Town Hall session indicated that they wanted the Zoom sessions to continue, and that the sessions “helped them to feel more connected to their community and to their peers.
“And we know through research that seniors who are more connected to their community are more likely to report their health is good,” said Edwards.
“So, it’s very, very important to seniors to remain connected. And living in the rural area there are several barriers to attending in-person events. Not just the weather, but mobility issues and the lack of transportation,” she added.
Local senior Ruth Wilson told council of the positive impact the virtual programming has had since it was initiated at the height of the pandemic.
“Seniors were told ‘Don’t go out. Stay in. You’re going to get sick,” she recalls.
“And the way that the seniors were passing away in the (long-term) care homes, in the hospitals, it frightened all of us. So, we really did stay in,” Wilson stated.
“Some people were bored. They didn’t know what to do. They didn’t have too many visitors,” she added.
When the virtual programming began, Wilson explained, “we had actual faces coming into our living rooms, dens whatever … We had professionals from health care come and give us advice and help clear up our fears, answer our questions, as did pharmacists and nutritionists.”
“We were shown how to, and encouraged to do, many exercises, some of which could be done at your kitchen sink while you were doing the dishes. And without packing up a suitcase or leaving home we visited (through virtual presentations) England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Italy, seeing all the top tourist attractions,” Wilson pointed out.
Another program participant, Willa Wick, told council the program has helped many local seniors become more computer savvy.
“A lot of the seniors were really hesitant on joining Zoom. They didn’t know how it worked and Glynis and Helen and some of the others … got them on to it. It was very simple and they enjoyed it. There are seniors out there who barely even looked at their computer who now join in and try and make fun with everything,” said Wick.
“We certainly hope that we can get the funding to keep … the ACE coordinator position going going for at least another year,” she added.
Budget item
Noting the town has been supportive of SCE programming in the past, Minto Mayor Dave Turton said council would consider the request during 2023 municipal budget deliberations.
“We’re certainly well aware of the Seniors Center for Excellence and we’ve supported it for a number of years now,” said Turton.
“This is a budget item and we’ll be talking about it in the very near future,” the mayor added.
