Community Aid positive about golden age consultation
According to Leigh Hortop of the Lennoxville and District Community Aid, this past Tuesday’s public consultation on how to fill the void left behind by the end of the Lennoxville Golden Age Club was productive, even if only a small group showed up.
“There was lots of feedback and lots of ideas,” she said, explaining that those who were in attendance were given individual surveys, followed by a small group discussion which led to a wider group discussion afterward. This model, Hortop explained, gave people time to formulate their own thoughts while also building ideas together as a group.
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“There were some people there who weren’t aware of us and our services and there were others who were connected to us and heard about it through word of mouth from us or one of our groups but hadn’t attended the golden age club,” she noted, pointing out that the resulting mix of people offered an interesting range of perspectives on what sorts of activities could replace the former club.
“At this point we’re just going to take some time to go through the discussion and the key pieces that came out.”
Sylvie Gilbert Fowlis, the Executive Director of community aid explained that the group is meeting next week to go over the feedback they received and start talking about what could be done.
“All the people who were there voiced different opinions, which was nice,” she said, adding that refelction on what was said is key to making a plan that serves people’s needs without reaching outside of community aid’s mission or duplicating something that is already being done. “We just want to make sure we do things right.”
The executive director was not concerned by the small turnout at the event, noting that this is a busy time of year for many people, and added that she has been getting phone calls from people who missed the meeting but still want to offer their perspective. On that note, and in light of the fact that the group doesn’t meet to discuss the feedback until next week, Gilbert Fowlis said that others are welcome to phone Community Aid at 819-821-4779and offer their suggestions if they have feedback to give.
Although the aim is to provide local seniors with the services they need, the executive director pointed out that any plan that is made will also need to be approved by the organization’s board of directors before it can move forward, meaning that it might still be some time before any clear action can be taken.