Duane Hicks
Residents of all ages, including members of town council, are being urged to fill out the ongoing “Age-Friendly Community” survey before the end of November.
The survey is part of the “Age-Friendly Community” project being conducted by a committee consisting of 12 community partners along with co-ordinator Ian Simpson.
“As a councillor, to me it’s very important that the rest of council endorses this, and freely and clearly shows that they are interested by filling out one of these surveys,” said Coun. June Caul, who sits on the committee.
“This is our first step in getting all of the planning that we’ve been doing for the last year or so moving forward,” she noted.
“Getting the results of the surveys is so important,” she stressed. “[It] will give the committee direction to give council direction in the future as far as this goes.
“We’re not asking people to fill out this survey just because you’re a senior citizen,” Coun. Caul added.
“This involves anybody in the community who needs assistance in any way.
“Age-friendly doesn’t just mean seniors,” she explained. “It also means that it might be people [with] disabilities and have trouble getting off of a curb when they’re trying to cross the street.”
Essentially, anyone between the ages of “18 and 155” are asked to fill out the survey, Coun. Caul remarked.
“It would be great if council could complete the survey,” agreed Simpson.
“We are intent on aligning with council and aligning with the strategic plan, and working with council to make Fort Frances an age-friendly community.”
The survey is available online at fort-frances.com/age-friendly and fortfrances.ca/age-friendly
Copies of the survey also can be picked up at the Memorial Sports Centre, Northwestern Health Unit, Sister Kennedy Centre, and Fort Frances Public Library Technology Centre.
The survey asks about access to outdoor spaces and buildings, transportation, housing, social participation, respect and social inclusion, civic participation and employment, communication and information, community support, and health services.
It likely will run until the end of this month, but the committee will meet Nov. 23 to determine whether it has enough completed surveys or whether to extend the deadline to get more feedback from the public.
The survey results will help inform a custom needs assessment to help determine the “age-friendliness” of Fort Frances, as well as identify what is working well for older adults and what are the challenges, Simpson noted.
Other tools the committee expects to use are a checklist, forums, and focus groups.
The next step then will be an action plan.
Simpson said the committee will analyze the data from the needs assessment and identify specific strategies to eliminate any barriers to the town becoming an age-friendly community.
These strategies will be formulated into an action plan with specific goals and objectives.
The committee then will look at implementation.
The project, made possible through a provincial grant and several donations from partners, is scheduled to wrap up in March.
