HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1978-11-22, Page 4Pop 4—Lwow smine.lhatiompt sivesisq410!11'
"The role of the Board" was one of four clinics at the conference
Education In Bruce '78 and Beyond, held at the Walkerton District
MO School on Saturday. A panel consisting of, left to right, Maitland
Warder, Lions Head, mid Cameron MacAuley, Ripley, previous
chairmen of the Bruce County Board of Educadon, Lloyd Ackert,
/Woes, present cimskoman of the boisrd, and Bruce Director of
rvices for
lots
needed in
small tools
education, Jack Bowers, answered quesdons-from those, who took part
in the clinic. Approximately 300 educators, representatives of
community organizations, students and interested citizens attended
the day long conference, sponsored by the Bruce County Board of
Education [Sentinel Staff photo)
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Figures on population trends point up the
urgent need for priority on planning to meet
the housing, medic -A, transportation and
other social needs of senior citizens in .small
towns and villages. The indications, are,
however, that the problems now being .met
in small centres will be more general within
25 years. Present efforts to meet those needs
in smaller centres should help in dealing
with problems that will arise in larger
centres as their percentage of senior citizens.
increases.
Towns like Exeter,. Clinton, Listowel.,
Wingham, Mitchell, Harriston, and 'Luck -
now have between 15 per cent and 24 per
cent of their population over the age of 65.
By comparison, local townships range
between seven and 12 per cent senior
citizens, and cities like Mississauga are as
low as four per cent. In Canada as a whole,
just nine per cent of the population is over
the age of 65.
Experts tell us that by the year 2001 the
national percentage of senior citizens will be
about 12 per cent, and by 2031 it is expected
to reach 20 per cent.
The Rural Development Outreach Project
(R.D.O.P.) of the University of Guelph,
which is working in the local area, has met
with local agency personnel who suggest
that a comprehensive study of the needs,
concerns, and expectations of senior citizens
should help provide immediate answers for
the local community. At the same time, they
expect such efforts to point the way for
future planning to meet the needs of
Canada's elderly.
The Rural Development Outreach Project
has already begun to accumulate informa-
tion on the elderly in parts of Huron County,
and plans to continue in the hope of
providing a clearer understanding of the
problems of an aging population in a rural
area. The facts and opinions already gather-
ed have confirmed the view that an emphasis
- on the -needs and concerns of senior citizens
would be an appropriate and useful way for
the University of Guelph to support rural
_development in Huron County, and indeed
throughout the .province.
The preliminary efforts show clearly that
the problems relating to quality of life for the
elderly in a rural community are many.
Finding solutions will demand cci-ordinated
and concerted effort.
Here are some of the findings to date:
Retired citizens attending a workshop on
the elderly, sponsored by the R .D.O. P. of
the University of Guelph, identified the
following difficulties facing seniors in a rural
area:
Changes in the rural pattern of living were
seen as factors which affected all ,parts of
society but created special problems for
senior citizens who often found it difficult to
change and adapt to them.
Lack of communication with other seniors
was observed as an alienating factor and
contributed to feelings of isolation.
While improved health facilities are
available to the community, seniors felt that
in some areas the lack of a "local doctor"'
created an uneasy situation for them.
Transportation is dependent in large part
on the wishes of others and at their
convenience - sometimes vehicles, whether
private or public are not suitable to seniors.
In a survey of the Wingham and
Turnberry Township area, 20 per cent of the
Seniors said they were not satisfied with
services available. In the same survey,
answers indicated a lack of transportation for
seniors, and a lack of information about
services that were available in the commun-
ity.
Local agency personnel within the com-
munity have outlined a number of areas of
concern to seniors. These include:
Isolation and loneliness were observed as
predisposing factors to many types of
chronic illnesses.
No central information service for seniors
exists. Some assistance to persons with
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