Information, community services and income and affordability are the top issues for local seniors, following two community meetings hosted by Voice of Burnaby Seniors.
The two events held in mid February drew a total of roughly 60 people, who shared their ideas on what mattered most to them as seniors. The topic areas were housing transportation, income security, health and home care and social and recreational opportunities.
"The turnout was engaged and dedicated," said Mariam Larson, the coordinator for Voices of Burnaby Seniors, a local planning table set up to address local seniors' issues. "It's exciting to see people taking an active role in improving lives not just for themselves but for others."
The first main concern - information - pertains to seniors not knowing about services available in their communities.
According to Larson, this lack of information is a longstanding issue, despite the availability of community guides.
"People want to reach isolated seniors, but by their very isolation, it's hard to identify them, it's hard to reach them," Larson said. "The dialogue sessions were a wonderful opportunity for seniors to make that connection, and they will take that information back to their particular group of friends or family, and it goes from there."
Dialogue participants also identified community services, such as local seniors' centres and neighbourhood houses, as an issue, as well as income and affordability when it comes to things like housing, pensions and prescription costs.
Voices of Burnaby Seniors held the two sessions to gather information to renew the group's priorities and invite more participation from the community.
The next Voices of Burnaby Seniors meeting is on Tuesday, March 17. To attend, call Larson at 604-515-1718.
