HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1995-01-04, Page 8Page 8
Times -Advocate, January 4, 1995
Results of study conducted in rural Lambton County
PETROLIA - The facts and fig-
ures are in. Lambton Elderly Out-
reachiL.E.O.) has just released the
findings of a study it conducted
with residents of rural Lambton
County aged 50 plus.
The study was initiated by
L.E,O. to determine people's ser-
vice needs in rural parts of the
County and to investigate volun-
teer patterns. Some 375 people
completed questionnaires for
L.E.O. which is a non profit home
support agency serving older
adults and people with disabilities
throughout Lambton County.
Survey participants were asked
if there were any services that they
need or want. Home maintenance
services, adult day programs and
physical fitness programs were the
most frequently requested servic-
es. Friendly visiting and congre-
gate dining programs also figured
prominently in the results.
Home maintenance services such
as heavy cleaning, yard work, han-
dyperson jobs and snow removal
accounted for 38.7 percent of the
services suggested by respondents.
L.E.O.'s Executive Director Patri-
cia Kelly says that she is not sur-
prised by the results. "Clients of
L.E.O. have been requesting this
type of service for some time. The
study, which involved people from
the community who are not current
clients of L.E.O., confirmed what
we believed to be a need in the ru-
ral county."
Patricia Kelly explains that a
home maintenance service is more
than simply a means of keeping
the yard looking good. "Should
home upkeep become a challenge
in the later years of life, an afford -y
able home maintenance service
can help give a person an option of
remaining in their own home in-
stead of forcing them to move to
lower Inaintenance dwelling such
as an apartment or retirement villa.
While some people look forward
to the freedom and amenities that
such dwellings offer, other people
find giving up their home a trau-
matic and undesirable experience.
The service gives people a choice
so that they can remain happy and
independent in their own homes."
A home maintenance service is
available in the city of Sarnia but
this type of service is not available
to residents throughout the rural
county.
Patricia Kelly is also not sur-
prised that day programs stood out
in the results as a service need.
Adult day programs exist in Sarnia
and Forest and a specialized day
program for people with Alzhei-
mers is operated in Petrolia. L.E.O.
is now administering a new day
program in Petrolia to investigate
the viability of such a program.
However, day programs are still
not being operated in the areas
south and east of Petrolia and in
the northern parts of the county.
Adult day programs offer older
people with special needs opportu-
nities to socialize, improve their fit-
ness level and have some fun par-
ticipating in a variety of
recreational activities. Participants
are served a hot, nutritious meal
and wheelchair accessible transpor-
tation is provided to and from the
program, The program benefits
caregivers by offering respite.
Caregivers can take some time for
themselves knowing that their
loved ones are among friends in a
caring and safe program environ-
Sury participants were asked
about the participation as volun-
teers. 46.1 percent of respondents
indicated that they volunteered
anywhere from one to 30 hours per
week with an average commitment
•
Busy Christmas season
Friends and families
got together for Christ-
mas celebrations.
By Mary Peterson
CENTRALIA - Happy New
Year, and welcome to winter. If
you received a Christmas present of
a new sled or cross-country skis,
you may soon be able to try them
out in some of that light, powdery
white stuff.
Christmas in the Centralia area
was a busy and happy time with
carolling and celebrations of wor-
ship and friends getting together to
share warmth and laughter. We en-
joyed the company of a friend from
Australia for a while. He may have
to come back next year, though,
siihe missed a white Christmas.
Euchre
In Crediton, there were 12 tables
of card players on December 19.
Lone hand winners were Mary
Moser and Harry Noels. Dorothy
Bullock and Harvey Latta won for
High Hands, and 011ie Essery and
Bessie Caldwell were Low Hand
winners.
Church meetings
U.C.W. meetings will be held at
Zion on Wednesday, January 4 at
8:30 p.m. and at Centralia on
Thursday, January 5 at 8:00 p.m.
The Stewards from both Zion
and Centralia will hold a joint
meeting Wednesday, January 4 at
Centralia.
On January 11, the Official
Board will meet at Centralia at
8:00 p.m., or if weather conditions
cause a postponement, on January
18 at 8:00 p.m. If you cannot at-
tend, send a written report of your
committee's activities.
Don't forget the upcoming annu-
al meetings, January 31 at Zion
West and February 5 at Centralia
U.C. Written reports should be sub-
mitted as soon as possible, and fi-
nancial reports are .due January 15.
Bible Study will begin Sunday,
January 15 at 7:30 p.m. at Centralia
Church. Sessions will also be held
on Mondays at noon beginning
Monday, January 22. Participants
are to bring sandwiches, and soup
will be supplied for this Soup 'n
Sandwich Bible Study.
■
Cannily of Ilibmeerta
Call for Suppliers
The County is creating a Suppliers List,
and suppliers of materials and services
are asked to add their names to the
list by writing the County.
The purpose of the Suppliers List is to facilitate
the purchasing process by identifying and
keeping a list of potential suppliers who
will be asked for quotes for purchases.
The County of Huron purchasesa variety
of materials and services such as printing,
office supplies and office equipment,
automotive materials, maintenance supplies,
and health care supplies.
Suppliers are asked to submit in writing their
name, and the materials and services they
produce. All submissions should be
addressed to the Clerk -Administrator.
Clerk -Administrator
County of Huron
Court House, Goderich
Ontario, N7A 1M2
FAX: (519) 524-2044
1■
■
of 5.6 hours. The majority of peo-
ple (65.7 percent) indicated that
they commit their time to one or
two organizations. 18.6 percent
said they volunteered for between
four and eight organizations. Peo-
ple stated that they volunteer for a
wide range of reasons however
most people said that they volun-
teer because they want to help oth-
ers, it makes them feel productive
and it gives them a sense of accom-
plishment.
Current volunteers are not neces-
sarily the best targets for volunteer
recruitment campaigns since most
of them (83.9 percent) said that
they are satisfied with the amount
of time they commit to volunteer-
ing and they are not interested irr.
increasing their commitments. The
good news is that only 2.7 percent
of volunteers want to volunteer
Tess. Voluntary agencies can for
the most part, expect to continue to
receive ongoing service from their
volunteers. But while organiza-
tions in Lambton County are fortu-
nate to have such dedicated volun-'
teers, they still require more
volunteers to help meet increased
demands for service at a time when
budgets are being reduced or fro-
zen.
Nearly 54 percent of respondents
indicated that they do not presently
volunteer. This group includes peo-
ple who have never volunteered
and those who used to volunteer
but presently do not. When asked
why they do not volunteer, some
people indicated they simply have
no interest in volunteering or that
they prefer to keep their leisure
time unobligated. Other people ex-
perience certain barriers or con-
straints to volunteering. Half cited
poor health or challenges associat-
ed with their disabilities as being
the #1 reason why they do not vol-
unteer, and 20.6 percent pointed to
their responsibilities related care -
giving for family members or
friends. Other reasons cited for not
volunteering include lack of confi-
dence in oneself and fcar of what
people may be getting themselves
into if they commit. The study
findings show that it is not neces-
sarily true that non volunteers do
not volunteer out of lack of interest
or caring for others. In fact, 14.5
percent said that they would like to
volunteer now and 32.5 percent
said that they are interested in vol-
unteering in the future. The find-
ings imply that certain segments of
the population may require addi-
tional support in order to over-
come barriers or constraints to vol-
unteering.
Patricia Kelly says that the re-
sults of the study are being shared
with the Lambton County District
Health Council. The data may be
beneficial to the Long Term Care
Committees of the council for
planning purposes. County resi-
dents and agencies that service
people aged fifty plus may obtain
a copy of the study results by con-
tacting Lambton Elderly Outreach
in Petrolia at 882-1068 or toll free
at 1-800-265-0203. The project re-
port also contains the results of a
study that assess the need for a
volunteer bureau in rural Lambton
County and a survey cqnducted to
investigate what local corporations
are doing in the way of retirement
planning and employee volunteer
programs.
Storewide Savings
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