EMO—Seniors and older adults in Emo and the surrounding area will have a shorter distance to travel this year to participate in a seniors’ expo, with an event scheduled for Sept. 26 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Emo Legion.
Organized by the Emo-La Vallee-Chapple Healthy Communities Coalition and sponsored by the District Mental Health Services Older Adults program, the 55+ Seniors’ Expo is being held to showcase services for older adults and their caregivers in the Emo area.
“Certainly there have been seniors’ fairs or seniors’ expos in Fort Frances and being part of the committee in Emo, we even had the handi-van at that time available for seniors,” noted Jolene Morrisseau of the Older Adults program.
“But many of the seniors in Emo didn’t necessarily want to come to Fort Frances for the day or didn’t know if the services would be as relevant for them,” she added.
Morrisseau explained while it’s likely some seniors from Emo attended the events in Fort Frances in the past, no one used the handi-van and there weren’t many participants from the surrounding communities that they knew of.
“We thought it would be nice to have services that were specific to Emo or the surrounding area,” she noted, adding the services featured will be those that either are located in the communities or will travel to the areas to do their job.
Some of the services confirmed to participate in the upcoming seniors’ expo in Emo include message therapy, foot care, mental health, palliative care, libraries, and insurance brokers.
“There’s a variety of different ones who will be involved,” said Morrisseau, noting they currently have 18 booths that will provide information on 23 different services.
When planning for the seniors’ expo first got underway, Morrisseau said the committee had hoped for at least 10 booths. Now they’d like to have as many as 20.
“And we’re hoping to have a great turnout,” she added. “Anyone who is interested in the services that are available for the older adults in the area are welcome to come out.”
A free lunch and refreshments will be offered at noon, and a number of draw prizes will be up for grabs. The first 50 people to attend the expo also will receive a cloth bag to collect all the information in.
In addition, the district handi-van will be available for transportation to and from the event. Any seniors requiring a ride are asked to contact Kim at 487-9914 to make arrangements.
For more information on the expo, call 274-9400.
(Fort Frances Times)
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
