| May 03, 2017


Last fall, Northern Frontenac Community Services (NFCS) surveyed seniors in North and Central Frontenac and Bedford district of South Frontenac on what kinds of recreational, social and wellness type activities people were interested in pursuing.
“Our agency has been focusing our attention on the health of seniors for many years, with the community support services we provide. But now we are wondering what else people are interested in seeing from us. So we did a survey to find out what people are doing and what they would like to be doing if it was available,” said Catherine Tysick, the Manager of Adult Services for NFCS.

415 people responded to the survey, which Tysick found encouraging.

“We really worked to get the surveys out to as many people as we could, and with that number we had enough data to learn quite a bit.”

She said that by using the existing network of people that NFCS is connected with through its services and the monthly diners clubs the surveys went out to people throughout the small communities in the area.

“59% of the people who responded to the survey have never used our services, which is a good thing because it means we have data from people we don’t know and who don’t even know who we are in some cases,” Tysick said.

26% of those who filled in the survey are between 55-64 years old, 41% were between 65 and 74, and 33% were over 75.

The survey results have been tabulated and analyzed since they came in late last year, and Tysick is ready to go back to the community to “disuss and brainstorm and see where we should go from here,” she said.

The first focus group that is getting together to look at the survey is set for Sharbot Lake at the St. Andrews Anglican Church Hall on Elizabeth Street on Friday, May 12 at noon. Everyone is invited to attend and Tysick will be calling the people who she leaned on in every community to try and get a cross section of key people from all the communities in North and Central Frontenac out to the meeting. She will share her report on the survey results and will seek further input. Workshops will then be scheduled in the other communities.

“We want to hear from some of the people on the 12th before setting dates and locations for the other meetings,” she said “they will help us to determine how to bring this to the community.”

At this point Tysick said NFCS  needs to find out if they should bring on new programming to satisfy the desires that were captured in the survey, if someone else is better suited to do so or if those activities are already available.

“The process is pretty open ended,” she said.

Everyone is invited to attend the workshop on May 12. Please phone 613-279-3151 and ask for Catherine if you want to attend as a light lunch will be served.

Support local
independant journalism by becoming a patron of the Frontenac News.