Seniors stay connected following positive response

Published on Wednesday, 25 August 2021 at 10:55:12 AM

Members of the Shire of Coolgardie Seniors Staying Connected program

Shire of Coolgardie President, Malcolm Cullen is pleased to announce an extension to the Seniors Staying Connected program.

The Seniors Staying Connected program has proven a success following overwhelming take up by the community. Cr Cullen said it was rewarding to see everyone socialising and building a strong sense of community.

“The positive response and the success of the program has lead Council adopt to continue this initiative for the 21/22 financial year.. We are happy to announce the continuation of the Seniors Staying Connected program,” said Cr Cullen.

“We would like to thank the Department of Communities for the initial funding under the Age-Friendly Communities Social Connectivity Grants Program that enabled the start of this program .”

“We’ve noticed a huge improvement in socialisation as well as improved happiness and overall mental wellbeing of seniors through the Shire run program,” said Cr Cullen.

“Thank you to the service providers and bus drivers who provided their support to this program for the benefit of the community.”

He added, “we look forward to continuing the Senior Staying Connected program to further fostering social connectedness and good health outcomes for the Shire of Coolgardie.” 

First introduced in March 2021, the program aimed to support and reconnect seniors in the local community following the isolating effects of COVID-19, by hosting up to 20 senior residents and taking them on weekly outings. 

The Shire identified the  need for a program to promote connectedness through its Meals On Wheels program which is funded by industry partners.

Already running for four months, the Seniors Staying Connected program has been hugely successful in helping seniors reconnect with the community, providing an opportunity to socialise with other community members.

The free weekly outings have also helped to prevent the negative impact that social isolation can have on mental health. For example, for some seniors, this was the only outing they had each week that gave them the opportunity to meet new people and socialise with other residents.

The Shire of Coolgardie partnered with stakeholders and service providers to deliver activities on a weekly basis, including morning tea at the local café, a Coolgardie Museum tour, senior’s yoga, lawn bowls, Widgiemooltha lunch and tour, and more.

Caption: Members of the Seniors Staying Connected program enjoying a Community Garden visit

The seniors actively contributed to the program’s success, by sharing ideas of what outings they were interested in.

The Shire has received some positive feedback from the program members:

“We feel very spoilt to be living in the Shire of Coolgardie” “I register for every activity as it gets me out of the house” “Thoroughly enjoyed, well done by Shire” “Excellent, 10/10”

Coming up in September, the seniors will be participating in a beginners Bootscooting class on September 9th and a Wildflower bus trip on September 23rd.

To learn more about the Shire of Coolgardie’s Senior Staying Connected program and to find out what’s coming up in the program calendar, please visit https://www.coolgardie.wa.gov.au/community/seniors/seniors-staying-connected.aspx

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