Appendix C – Engaging Seniors

There are many reasons to engage seniors (those aged 65 and over) in the development of local plans. For example, encouraging youth and providing them with opportunities to form relationships with seniors may help to reduce intergenerational gaps. Demographic aging is also impacting many Ontario communities as older persons increasingly make up greater portions of the population. The importance of safety and security for older Ontarians has been recognized under Ontario’s Action Plan for Seniors and a growing number of initiatives present opportunities to connect community safety and well-being planning to seniors and their service providers. This section was developed to assist partners involved in the community safety and well- being planning process to identify opportunities to engage seniors and create linkages with other activities that are already underway.

Benefits of Seniors' Engagement

Engaging seniors in the community safety and well-being planning process is a natural extension of the roles that they already play in their communities, as employees, volunteers, or members of various agencies/organizations. It may involve direct engagement with seniors themselves, senior’s agencies/organizations or service providers, and provide an:

• opportunity for new understanding of the lived reality of seniors;
• opportunity to breakdown stereotypes/assumptions about older people and the contributions they can make to their communities;
• long-term opportunity for creation of on-the-ground community policies and programs that are increasingly responsive to the needs of seniors and the shared benefits these may have for people of all ages;
• source for new ideas, energy, knowledge and experience; and
• opportunity to create healthy and positive community connections between people of all ages, leading to social cohesion.

Additionally, the following are benefits that engagement can have on the seniors themselves:

• provide opportunities to apply skills and share knowledge with other generations;
• maintain or enhance social connections; and
• build a sense of inclusion and voice into what is happening in the community as a contributor to a larger community purpose.

Building Connections

The following are some opportunities and considerations for engaging seniors during the community safety and well-being planning process.