Two North Simcoe municipalities want to do more for the seniors in their communities.
That's why the Town of Midland and Township of Tay have combined efforts to conduct a survey around an age-friendly community plan. Both municipalities received $9,277 each in funding through the 2019 Simcoe County age-friendly municipal grant program.
Larry Ferris, chair of Midland Seniors Council, said the survey will have questions directly related to a senior's life by addresing communications, isolation, transportation and housing.
"We're finding that as we look into it more, everything is interconnected," the 63-year-old Midland resident said, noting that even though the town has a number of great programs being offered through various local non-profits, there seems to be a lack of communication around their availability.
"I don't think people realize they're available," he said. "With seniors, they don't use social media that much and rely more on word-of-mouth. We want to be able to bridge that gap."
The Seniors Council, which currently has eight members, has set up a Facebook page to help spread the word. The council encourages people from different professional backgrounds, either seniors or those with experience working with seniors issues, to consider joining the group
"With the results of the survey, we can understand better what are some problems and what are some solutions to them," said Deborah Dion-Smith, vice chair of the Seniors Council.
"I believe that with the demographic in this area, and more seniors coming to the area, we need to really look hard at the services available to them," said the 65-year-old. "This should hopefully help us see where some of the weak areas are so we can build from that."
Where most of the content of the survey is the same for the two municipalities, Tay will be approaching transportation differently, said Cate Root, seniors advisory committee for the township.
The 71-year-old said most government funding around transportation goes towards urban centres, which have transit infrastructure, but that leaves out the seniors living in smaller areas such as Tay.
"How are we going to get seniors into nearby urban areas so they can catch a bus?" said Root.
Other categories in the survey include access to food and safe public places.
"I think we have some wonderful parks, which are quite accessible," said Root. "I think the township has tried to keep them up and maintain them well. I think we need public spaces because we don't have shopping malls."
She said she was looking forward to receiving the results of the survey because participants will be able to detail issues the committee may not even have considered, which will given them a further plan of action.
"If we don't start planning now, we be we won't be ready (for our seniors)," she said.
The survey will be mailed to residents and will also be available online until August. For more information on the Midland Seniors Council, visit them online.
