Let me begin by commending the Courier newspaper for your efforts to inform older members of the community about the needs and interests of seniors and older adults. There are a number of ways to reach people today, but print is a comfortable method for many of us.
I have had the honour of serving as chair of the City of Vancouver’s Seniors’ Advisory Committee for the last year and working closely with a dedicated group of volunteers who contribute their time and talents to provide city council and city staff with our best perspectives on the issues at hand.
At the beginning of each term, city council appoints community volunteers to provide their knowledge and expertise to a wide variety of advisory committees. The process involves advertising and asking for interested individual to make an application. A special selection committee reviews the applications and makes recommendations to mayor and council ensuring the committees have a wide variety of skills, experiences, ages, genders and academic backgrounds.
Members of the current Seniors’ Advisory Committee represent a range of ages from older adults with life experiences to younger individuals with strong academic experience in gerontology. We are 15 members of the public with interest, concern and experience in aging-related issues. Our experiences include working professionally with seniors — representing senior-serving organizations — and researching adulthood and aging.
We use our professional and personal experiences to:
· Provide advice and information to city staff and council about various aging-related issues such as age-friendly housing and accessible transportation.
· Ensure the needs of older adults and their families are addressed in the city’s programs and projects.
· Advise and work cooperatively with civic departments, boards and commissions whose activities affect older adults and their families.
· Share information with seniors’ organizations and the community-at-large on civic issues and programs affecting older adults and their families.
· Facilitate feedback from older adults and their families, and share their comments with city staff and council.
We have encapsulated a great deal of our effort under the headings of transportation and mobility, housing and community engagement. We encourage staff to present us with projects and policies so we have an opportunity to incorporate a seniors’ perspective. We address city council from time to time on issues and projects that we feel will have a benefit or create a disadvantage for seniors.
The committee members take our responsibility very seriously and spend many hours in meetings and discussions to strive for the best outcomes for seniors in Vancouver and for the larger community. We are dedicated to making Vancouver an age-friendly city.
For more information on the committee visit vancouver.ca.
