Seniors Outreach Ambassadors

1. Seniors Outreach Ambassadors South Burnaby Neighbourhood House Presented By: Talia Mastai, Seniors Outreach Worker

2. South BurnabyNeigbourhood House • Established in 1996 • Community-based social service agency • Provides a continuum of programs that promote community • engagement • - Childcare, ESL, family support, youth leadership, community outreach, legal and tax clinics, seniors programs • Mission: to make neighbourhoods better places to live • Goal: to enable people to enhance their lives and strengthen • their communities • “We are neighbours growing neighbourhoods”

3. Seniors Outreach Ambassadors Seniors Outreach Ambassadors are a trained group of senior volunteers (55+) who have the role of connecting with seniors in the community to provide information about community resources, to assist and support in connecting with needed/wanted programs and services, and to encourage community engagement and social participation.

4. Seniors Community Resource Card

5. The approach: • Train multilingual group of Ambassadors • “Champions from within” • Identify and go where seniors live and congregate • Word of mouth as a promotional tool to spread information • Help isolated seniors become connected and learn about the resources available to them • Ongoing education and skill development for Ambassadors

6. Ambassador Demographics • 31 active Ambassadors (South 21, North 10) • 7 Male, 24 Female • Aged 58-83 • Variety of major languages represented • English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, • Vietnamese, German, French, Dutch, Farsi, Punjabi, • Hindi

7. Program Statistics June 2011-June2012 • 1936seniors reached by Ambassadors • 2264seniors reached by Ambassadors & Outreach Worker combined • 53new seniors participated in SBNH programs due to connecting with outreach program (since September 2011)

8. How did the Ambassador program develop? • Voices of Burnaby Seniors (VOBS)Task Force conducted a survey in 2007 of Burnaby residents 55+ exploring housing, transportation, health and support service needs • Led to the development of: • Seniors Community Resource Card • Seniors Outreach Worker position • Seniors Outreach Ambassador Program

9. COLLABORATION is the key to success Steering committee VOBS Resource cards Burnaby Community Connections & SBNH Training Burnaby Seniors Outreach Services Society The program is housed at SBNH Funded by United Way of the Lower Mainland And continues to be…

10. How do we reach seniors who are isolated? That’s the challenge

11. Ambassador Outreach Activities • Presentations at Seniors Residences & Programs • Apartment complexes, BC Housing sites, Independent and Assisted Living • Health Alert Program at Seniors Centres • Community events & festivals • Healthy Aging Fair, Cargeiver Information Fair, Festival of Lights • Connecting with seniors out in the community • Coffee shops, shopping malls, grocery stores, park benches, bus stops, food banks, churches, temples, various community organizations • Accompanying outreach worker on home visits

12. Successful outreach is dependent upon a welcoming and inclusive receiving end

13. “I know that the program helped one isolated senior get out of the house – ME!” • Ambassadors reported that being an Ambassador: • 1) Reduced feelings of isolation and loneliness • “For me, it’s been very important and has also changed my life. Before I just stayed home, watched Mandarin TV, reading Mandarin books, and now I go out and speak English. I know that the program helped one isolated senior get out of the house - me!” • 2) Increased confidence, given them “the courage to approach and speak to others” • “After training, I find myself more open, less shy, socializing with people, even strangers, and interacting with people of different cultures and languages.” • 3) Provided “new friendship and fellowship”

14. 4) Increased feeling of connection to Canadian culture • “Many immigrants, their English is not very good, or for whatever reason they just stay home. The communities often stay together and do not interact with the local culture . Even though they live here, it’s like they live in another country, staying within their own community. As an ambassador, I finally feel like I really live in Canada, that I’m really a Canadian, even though I’ve had a passport for many years.” • 5) Made them feel more connected to their community • “I find it pretty meaningful for myself to work as a volunteer, I find that I have gotten connected to the community, because when you retire you can feel disconnected from society.” • 6) Provided further leadership and volunteer opportunities

15. From Ambassadors to Community Leaders Hans facilitates Canadian Diabetes Association healthy cooking workshops Ambassadors after completing the Translink Travel Smart for Seniors program

16. “From the training I was linked to a number of other organizations, like VOBS and their transportation committee, and informed of information sessions, conferences, and other volunteer opportunities. Its like a snowball affect of information. It’s rewarding that you feel like you are doing something positive, through these organizations we can influence politics.”

17. Collaboration Peer to Peer, equipping local seniors Welcoming and inclusive receiving ends Breaking down language barriers Training multilingual group, translating resource cards Addressing transportation & mobility challenges Providing free local transportation to SBNH programs Connecting seniors with other transportation programs in the community Why is it working?It’s a community approach

18. Thank you!