by Stephen Thirlwall
This has been a year for community-based tea parties.
Most recent was a party hosted by two city councillors, Catherine McKenney and Diane Deans. Sixty or so seniors attended. While many already went regularly to the Good Companions Centre on Albert Street in LeBreton Flats, where the event happened, others came from further afield in the city.
This tea party, though, was not just for socializing and meeting new people. It had two other important purposes. One was to inform seniors of the many community services offered by the City of Ottawa, including the public library, public transportation developments, exercise and activity programs, and information on safety issues (e.g., how to avoid dangerous falls). The second was to gain direct public input from the seniors on their concerns and needs.
An interesting thing happened: at start time, the hosts were not present. They were delayed by over half an hour because of a prolonged council meeting, a continuation of the hearings on the new Salvation Army building in Vanier. But the tea party and consultation went ahead anyway and was very productive.
Notes were provided to the councilors once they did arrive.
Many seniors are aware of what’s happening around them in the city, and a good number don’t hesitate to voice their feelings and ideas. The foremost concerns raised were mobility, transportation and improved accessibility to a range of interesting places to go. These all help seniors maintain their independence and identities.
Although the theme of affordable housing also lurked in the background, it seemed that most of this group of seniors had fairly stable homes.
The first issue raised was the problem of winter sidewalks. Some are not plowed quickly enough and, when they are, they are never completely clean. They are often left with icy surfaces, especially where they are sloped at the ends of driveways. This is treacherous for everyone, not just seniors, and can make operating wheelchairs next to impossible at times.
My experience in Centretown and Dalhousie is that many people walk on the road surfaces of side streets because they are much safer than sidewalks. This, however, creates problems for motorists, especially at night.
A second regularly occurring issue is cyclists on sidewalks, especially in busy pedestrian areas. While this is actually illegal, many do not seem to know, care or realize the implications of any accidents.
One woman spoke of how she was knocked over and has continuing health issues as a result. The cyclist didn’t even notice. Fast-moving wheelchairs and scooters can cause similar problems.
Third, in trying to address social change in the inner city, seniors are calling for certain services to be completely free, free on more days or less expensive, and thus readily affordable for all seniors.
This is not because seniors feel entitled or just expecting a “free ride.” It is because they are aware that seniors are becoming a much higher percentage of the population, so the social status quo is being altered and needs are changing.
Seniors are already doing their part. Many seniors serve as volunteers in the community, providing services to others and essentially saving the City a large amount of money. Having free or far cheaper transportation, more options for transportation and increased accessibility to a wider variety of activities, services and venues will keep our elders more active, healthy, happy and involved in community life. This could in turn help to reduce certain social costs in the community.
The City does provide a certain level of service at present, but is it enough? Those who have been able to access these services are happy, but mot everyone has access. Many elders are unaware of certain services and so they don’t use them. As an example, some only found out at the tea party that the public library provides free delivery of books and other ordered materials to housebound seniors.
There are certainly many seniors who still don’t know this or may need assistance accessing it: for example, those who are not connected online. Certain services are also only accessible to a very small number of people on a “first come, first serve” basis.
Again, the public library provides free passes to the various museums and the National Gallery of Canada. But these are quickly snapped up, especially by families with young children. They are wonderful if you can get them, but there are too few and the chances are extremely slim of even seeing them on the shelf. Visiting certain museums for free on Thursday evenings only, especially in winter, is not a great option for many seniors.
It was acknowledged that while these issues cross various political levels their solution is critical to the elders of the community.
While some seniors are very mobile, there is still a large group with limitations. This is where low-cost or free transit could make a major difference to the quality of their lives, especially for those who are also on limited fixed incomes.
The councillors did arrive near the end of the consultation. They showed great concern for all the issues and gave a listening ear, meeting with individuals throughout the hall.
These kinds of interactions bode well for the advancing of conditions for seniors living downtown.