Christine Boyczuk, Moose Jaw Literacy Network

Carolyn Graham, Community Citizen, retired, Librarian

Gwen Fischer, Moose Jaw Public Library, Head librarian

Angela Sereda, Paramedic, Medieve Ambulance

Éric Lefol, Vitalite 55 +, General Manager,

Ronda Wedhorn, community citizen

Alice Kelly, Saskatchewan Housing Authority

Ghislaine Rensby, community citizen

Bert Hunt, community citizen

We are grateful for community organizations who partner with us to provide supports for older adults in our community.

• Moose Jaw Community Living Association (Provide a social group for their older adult clients and others)
• Family Service Bureau, (Provide a social group for older adults in the community)
• Salvation Army (Partner in grant applications)
• Library (Administer facebook, provide support with technology for older adults, participate in letter writing campaign, provide venue for events)
• Saskatchewan Health Authority (Provide community development support, work to develop programs such as Age Friendly Businesses, letter writing campaign, intergenerational programs)
• Local news media Moose Jaw Express (Publication of monthly articles)
• Moose Jaw Literacy Network (Host zoom, facilitate programming, and in-kind support)
• Timothy Eaton Centre (Provide location of meetings and events)
• Friendly City Optimist Club (Member of club, provide communication network)
• Moose Jaw Wakamow Rotary Club (Member of club, provide communication network)

Formed in 2015.

Terms of Reference

On April 12, 2021, Moose Jaw City Council passed the following resolution:

“THAT City Council agrees to support and endorse the Age Friendly Community Organization established here in Moose Jaw; and

THAT the City of Moose Jaw will agree to work in partnership with the Age Friendly Moose Jaw organization to promote, support and participate in their initiatives to improve accessibility and inclusivity for all ages and abilities.”

Article in “Moose Jaw Today”

Between September 30 and October 31, 2019, Moose Jaw residents aged 55 or over were invited to participate in a survey based on Age-Friendly Saskatchewan’s Assessment Tool.

The survey was made available through community organizations and online, and was advertised through local media as well as other online venues throughout the month of October 2019.

Data was collected from 58 respondents in total. Anecdotal information was added.

Some items of concern that emerged were

• Dissatisfaction with road/street maintenance
• Dissatisfaction with signage for public washrooms
• Some concern about disabled parking space monitoring/availability
• Some concern about availability of drivers for those who need transportation
• There was uncertainty around questions in the area of Respect and Social Inclusion/Participation with many responses of “Don’t Know.”
• Some concern that information for older adults regarding services and events isn’t fully communicated

In 2015, members of a previous group, which had focused on older adult health and fitness, established an Age-Friendly committee, and participated in Seniors’ Week.

In 2019, the process of becoming an Age-Friendly Community began in earnest.

• Held monthly learning sessions
• Identified needs in the community
• Survey was distributed and results analyzed
• An additional survey of non-profits was carried out
• Older adult isolation, loneliness, and mental health issues, became a priority – particularly in view of the COVID-19 pandemic

Meetings began to be held via Zoom, due to the pandemic

Previous accomplishments, most of which are ongoing, include

• Monthly learning sessions (currently on hold due to the pandemic): Committee has applied for funding to for a facilitator to continue these sessions. Goal is to provide stimulating learning opportunities and experiences for older adults in our community that appeal to a broad range of interests such as fraud prevention, falls prevention, healthy aging, gambling, loneliness, tax info/clinics, etc.. We promote a community where we can discover new ideas from speakers who are well informed and learn with others in a friendly environment.
• Establishment and Maintenance of Age-Friendly Moose Jaw Facebook page (monthly posts)
• Establishment and Maintenance of Monthly Articles submissions to local Moose Jaw Express newspaper. Goal of Article Series is to support ongoing education on topics relevant to Older Adults (IE. Falls Prevention; Aging in Place; Physical Activity; Fraud prevention, etc.). Contribution to articles supported by committee members and relevant agencies/stakeholders offering expertise on topics.
• Supporting our Seniors-Virtual Letter Writing Campaign: See linked PDFs for more information (Social Media Poster and Virtual Letter Writing Campaign Summary 2020)
• Seniors Cheerup Boxes: In May 2022, Age-Friendly Moose Jaw supported Salvation Army Moose Jaw, Community and Family Services in successful application to United Way COVID-19 Seniors Response Grant for funding to support purchase and development of Senior Care Packages and Activity Kits that were distributed by Moose Jaw Housing Authority to at-risk seniors within their six low-income senior housing complexes in Moose Jaw. Additional committee support provided to implement initiative.
• Supporting local initiatives for older adults – we hold a place on the agenda to hear from organizations providing programs for older adults and we try to help or assist if needed (support development of grants)

The current action plan is approved annually and reviewed monthly, and is made available publicly by posting in Senior Associations and residences, through the City of Moose Jaw, and in the Community-Based Coalition (CBC) newsletter a twice monthly community newsletter sent very widely via email in the region.

Action Plan 2020-2022

Current work includes:

• Partner organizations (SHA, Moose Jaw Literacy, Family Service Bureau, Community Living Division, Moose Jaw Express, Salvation Army) were called upon to address isolation and food insecurity April 2020 and again in September 2021 to increase capacity of our committee which led to sustainable change as it applied to needs of seniors during the pandemic (volunteer with presentations, provide information, provide ideas, write monthly articles, provide books and other materials through our organizations).
• Actions undertaken because of assessments: addressing isolation (Seniors Without Walls, letter writing campaign, program and coffee social groups) and food insecurity (Salvation Army).
• Letter writing campaign focusing on breaking social isolation during the pandemic was carried out by the committee in partnership with the library and Senior homes, SHA residences and in some cases schools and school partnerships. Click here to read an article in Moose Jaw Today about this campaign.
• We have taken several steps with Age-Friendly Businesses: spread information via media, conducted a pilot in banks and pharmacies, and will be meeting with the Chamber of Commerce February 2021. We have applied for a summer student who may be able to continue the on-the-ground work. We are conducting research on training businesses to be Age-Friendly.
• Our workplan now includes Aging in Place and Intergenerational Programs. We will be working on specific actions to be undertaken.

Several items (posters, sample letters, etc.) were created for the letter writing campaign:

Invitation to Keep Connected Poster for Social Media

Keeping Seniors Connected Invitation to Writers

Virtual Letter Writing Sample 1

Virtual Letter Writing Sample 2

Holiday Virtual Letter Writing Poster

A PowerPoint presentation was created to introduce the Age-Friendly concept to the Rotary Club of Moose Jaw.

Note: the PowerPoint has been saved as a PDF for this link.

PowerPoint presentation

Monthly articles through the Moose Jaw Express, and online with Moose Jaw Today, provide regular connection with the community, and regular involvement of people beyond the Age-Friendly Community.

A recent article bears the headline Age-Friendly Sask. provides awareness, advocacy, resources for seniors. You may read it at this link.

Other examples of these articles include coverage of

• Awareness, advocacy, resources for older adults
• Age-Friendly Recognition
• Letter-writing campaign
• Winter safety and fall prevention
• Movement and aging
• Age-Friendly businesses

There is also an Annual 24 page insert in the Moose Jaw Express which includes services for seniors and articles.