Inviting public input to plan an Age-Friendly Hamilton

Tomorrow we will host the last of six “focus groups” or conversations with older residents of the Greater Hamilton area to hear from them about how we can make Hamilton a more age-friendly city. We will be at Knox Presbyterian Church in Waterdown at 2:00. Please join us. We’ve had some rich conversations, hearing from a variety of people. Some are doing great and are concerned about the plight of others they see in their neighbourhoods. Then there are those determined souls for whom it takes a great effort to get out. Some are coming to find out what’s available for seniors. Others are happy to tell us how much they love the programming at Sackville Hill Seniors Centre, but worry about how they’ll get there if they should lose the ability to drive. You still have the opportunity to contribute your thoughts by completing the on-line survey on the http://www.coahamilton.ca website. Next step is to write a draft report, take it back to a few folks to check in that we’ve got it rightImage. On September 8 we will present it to the Community and Emergency Services Committee of Council. 

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Last week we hosted our first of two focused conversations that will help us develop Hamilton’s Older Adult Plan. Over 40 people gathered to put their heads together to come up with some innovative ideas on increasing social participation. One of the issues we’ve been hearing is how people may feel intimidated or nervous about joining an exercise class or a social group where they don’t know anybody. The idea has been raised that perhaps volunteers can be sought from within existing programs to act as a “connector” of sorts. People would be asked to take on the role of ensuring that new people are made to feel welcome and introduced to others. The key thing would be to get the word out that if you’re nervous about joining, there will be a friendly face to meet you. This is one of the “free” changes that could make Hamilton a more age-friendly community.

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The City of Hamilton has stepped up. They have commissioned the Hamilton Council on Aging to work collaboratively with the City and the community to develop an Older Adults Plan for Hamilton. For the last few months we have been figuring out how to do this. How do we mine the wisdom in the community? How do we ensure we are inclusive? How can we work closely enough with decision-makers to ensure there is buy-in and that the plan makes sense to them? That it’s achievable? That it won’t sit on a shelf, like these plans have in other communities? What’s working or in the works that we can build on?

We (my colleague, Mark Weingartner, from the City, our Steering Committee, the illustrious Age-Friendly Hamilton Committee) have had many conversations and planning sessions to plan for the plan. We conducted focus groups last summer, interviews have been done with City Staff. Past reports have been reviewed.

We are getting close.

We are launching in March with a series of conversations with those working to increase opportunities for Social Participation for Older Adults, and with leaders in communities who have something to say about how this is and could be done. March 5 from 1 – 4 pm at St. Peter’s Hospital in the auditorium. For more information email admin@coahamilton.ca. This will be followed by another conversations, one on Aging in Place, Improving Communication, Access to Information and Learning on March 20.

We will be posting meeting notes and updates on our website and I will be blogging regularly as we move ahead. You can also follow us on Twitter @AFH_Hub

Stay tuned!

Creating an Older Adults Plan for Hamilton

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