ElderCare for Apsley & Region

1. ElderCare for Apsley & Region If we build it, they will stay

2. Coming of Advanced Age • A high proportion of Apsley & region residents are at, or nearing the age when they will have to decide where they can live when they can no longer keep up a private home • Health, taxes, finances and physical limitations will make relocating an unavoidable reality

3. Decisions, Decisions … • The first decision is to accept that moving from where they live is not optional • The second decision is where to move … and, WHY • Each decision is independent…. Because …

4. … One Decision does not make the other • The decision to leave a family home, does not automatically make the decision to remain in and around the Apsley region • There must be influences and attractions which make that decision reasonable and comfortable

5. Needs … • Seniors must continue to be needed and utilized so that their presence and intellectual skills can contribute to the whole community • They will stay where they have friendships, associations and activities which are difficult to re-establish in a new, perhaps alien community • They need the means to meet and socialize with the entire community, young and not so young … In addition to

6. … Housing and Activity Facilities • They need to be able to stay in their homes longer; supported by the Age in Home Program (MOHLTC - LHINS) • They need ‘transitional’ housing which allows freedom from upkeep, yet permits extended Independent Living • Seniors will eventually need Long Term Care in a purpose-built facility

7. … Recreational and Activity Focal Points • The ministries of MOHLTC and Culture and Recreation must redefine ‘Recreation Center’ to include all age groups in the potential user population • It requires more than a rink and a bingo hall to fill these needs • Exercise, therapeutic recreation, life-style support and amusement should be available in a rural Recreation and ACTIVITY Center

8. For the Young (at heart) - indoor • Ice Sports: Including hockey, figure skating, short-course speed skating • Aquatic Sports: Swimming, diving and life-saving instruction • Floor Sports: Basketball, floor hockey, badminton, volleyball, martial arts, gymnastics, etc.

9. For the more ‘Mature” - indoor • Ice sports: Leisure skating, old-timers hockey, coaching team sports • Aquatic Sports: Swimming, diving, aqua-robics, warm-pool exercise • Floor Sports: Age-defined volleyball and badminton, Yoga and Calisthenics, dancing, off-season golf instruction, card games • Plus …

10. ‘Mind-space’ facilities, for … • Book clubs and cultural discussions • Musical and arts-crafts instruction • Counseling – diet, exercise and medications; social adjustment, grief, health issues • Youth-Seniors interchanges related to local history, life-style & career advice, ethics and values

11. The first vital piece in the puzzle • Before we put up residences and other facilities, we must have a centralized place where most activities can take place. • That makes the new Recreation and Activity Center vital to ElderCare quality!

12. The Bricks and Mortar • When the activity and cultural amenities are in place, the need for seniors’ accommodation can be addressed • This need not be ‘public’ or ‘charity’ based • The public purse should only play a minimal part in the development of seniors’ accommodation

13. The Bricks and Mortar (cont’d) • ‘Transitional’ accommodation is envisioned to be a campus of ‘senior-friendly’ small bungalows or single storey town houses. • This recognizes the need for independence and the fact that this group still has functional health and is ‘auto-mobile’

14. The Bricks and Mortar (cont’d) • Another building unit would be for people requiring health supervision, and some living assistance • This structure would also house ‘full care-dependent’ residents • This building would provide ‘first-response’ medical attention through either resident staff or an on-call contract (24/7) with the Medical Center.

15. More Bricks and Mortar • The ‘transitional’ housing and the Full Care facility would not be publicly funded • With a proven market, private operators would seek to provide these facilities with non-monetary public assistance • The complexities and liabilities attached to operating a Seniors’ facility should be left to professional operators, not the local government

16. What’s in it for the Senior? … • The option to remain in a locale they love, enjoy friends and local services, and retain their rights to make life decisions • Seniors would still be able to pass on talent and experience to the young • Seniors would continue to make a valuable contribution to the Apsley region socially, economically and politically

17. Seniors will have money. • The economic activities of Seniors would assist the area to develop • The leadership and knowledge offered by Seniors is a mentoring resource • Employment.The desire to retain more of our young people would be realized through new careers and service jobs related to serving seniors in all phases of this project (Construction, trade services, care-giving)

18. What’s in it for Apsley & Region? (cont’d) • In addition to the economic activities of seniors, the creation of needed utilities will open the town for more commercial development • This would be in the form of services and vendors to residents, tourists and Signature Park trail-users • This would expand the tax base beyond residential and lakefront owners

19. What can we do now? • Conclude that we all face the coming of senior-hood and will need facilities not yet present in this region • Talk and promote the idea of Apsley as a potential model rural Seniors’ center. • Make sure your elected representative knows what is needed • Support the creation of utilities that will serve all regional citizens (ie. water & sewage systems) … plus

20. What can we do now? (cont’d) • Form alliances and connections to the Provincial Ministries and the agencies that can help expedite our ElderCare initiatives • Create a working group by March 2008, made up of seniors’ activists and members of Council; to form strategic alliances and be energized to bring action to these proposals

21. … Determine what we have • Inventory all activities that take place under different roofs so that we can promote them to the community • Inventory the available township lands that could be used to create the physical buildings and plant • Decide the area from where we draw ElderCare clients and how many there are in that area

22. Hey, won’t this take a long time and a lot money? For some this will be like planting an Maple tree for later generations to enjoy the shade • As to money, the public purse has ways to provide the utilities and to house various activities while sharing the cost with other levels of government • Actual seniors’ residences can be privately funded while accommodating a targeted user-fee structure

23. If they build it, they will stay • Unless, the community wants to see retirees move away with their intellectual and economic power, building a seniors’ infrastructure in Apsley is The right thing to do. • Most of us will stay if we can retain our friendships and associations, be free of the toil and strife of a house and grounds and be able to exercise body and mind within this community • And, that’s the bottom line --- to be continued.