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Lloydminster and area seniors will be all the wiser for attending an upcoming information fair about local services and supports available to them.Â
The Lloydminster Learning Council Association and Family and Community Support Services are hosting a seniors’ fair on Feb. 11 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Rebecca Robinson, the Learning Council’s program coordinator, calls the Friday event a one-stop information shop.
“It’s to bring recognition to the services and supports that are available for seniors in the community like recreation programs, safety, transportation, living accommodations and things like that,” explained Robinson.
The RCMP will be on hand to talk about seniors’ safety concerns and answer questions and representatives from Saskatchewan and Alberta housing authorities will have a booth as well.
“There will be a musician playing and refreshments will be served,” added Robinson.
She thinks the fair will be an important refresher for seniors who have been stuck at home for two years during COVID-19 and may not be aware of how to access services and programs that cater to them.
The Lloydminster Concerned Citizens for Seniors Care Society also plans to set up an information booth at the event.
“We will have a table there and promote our organization and our group and what we do and some of the things that we have done, and of course, what we are working on,” said president, Graham Brown.
“It might be a really good thing to attend because there would be a number of seniors support groups or activities that would be useful to have a look at.”
Brown notes they will also have some membership sign-up sheets if anyone wants to join.
“The more members we have, the bigger voice that we have when we lobby,” he added.
The fair is the final funded event for seniors in partnership with FCSS in the current fiscal year.
“We were fortunate to receive funding from the federal government from the New Horizons for Seniors,” said Robinson.
“We’ve hosted a few seniors events using that grant money.”
Some of the programs included a video series calling for seniors or anyone to post a video story on an “Imaginareum” YouTube channel supported by a donation by the Lloydminster and District United Way.
“We also did an inter-generational pen pal program that is still running. So we match seniors with elementary students through both school divisions,” said Robinson.
Another program was free tech tutoring for seniors to brush up on their digital communication skills.
The seniors’ fair was originally planned as part of an attended event slated for Seniors’ Day on Oct. 1, but that was downsized to just an online speaker due to COVID gathering restrictions.
“Now, we’re doing the in-person part, which was to have happened in October,” explained Robinson.
The Learning Council has applied for another federal grant for the 2022 fiscal year.
