MADA – Senior Citizen Friendly Municipal Policy (Municipality of Shigawake) — full text

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MADA SENIOR CITIZEN FRIENDLY MUNICIPAL POLICY MUNICIPALITY OF SHIGAWAKE 2022-2025 TABLE OF CONTENTS Mayor's message 3 Acknowledgements 4 Steering committee 4 Setting the context 5 Orientations, definition of a senior and values 6 Municipal portrait 7 Community resources 9 Action plan 10 Abbreviations and references 12 3 It is with great pleasure that the Municipality of Shigawake presents its Senior Citizen Friendly Municipal (MADA) policy. The municipality firmly believes in implementing measures to promote the well-being of citizens and to keep seniors and their families in their community. We are committed to the active ageing of the population and are proud of the work In closing, I would like to thank everyone who has worked to make this project a success. I hope that it will continue, so that our seniors can flourish in their own community. done under this policy. With this in mind, a committee was set up over the past year and has met several times to carefully consider and design a policy that reflects our community. A survey and a public consultation were also part of the process, in order to identify the specific needs of our residents. The results of this work are presented in this policy. It sets out a number of objectives and specific actions to improve the quality of life and safety of seniors in our community. It was designed for us, by local people. It is your policy, and I invite you to participate and collaborate in its implementation. The municipal council will work with its partners to ensure that it is monitored and implemented. ROLANDE C BEEBE Mayor of Shigawake and Council representative for seniors' issues MAYOR'S MESSAGE MADA 2022-2025, Shigawake 4 MADA 2022-2025, Shigawake Rolande Beebe, Mayor Joseph Blais, senior citizen representative Maria Marroquin, Director General Audrey Acteson, senior citizen representative Marie-Ange Roussy, senior citizen representative Georgette Chapados, senior citizen representative and Municipal Councillor Jeffrey Vautier, Municipal Councillor Karen Audet, MADA Development agent, MRC of Bonaventure STEERING COMMITTEE The process of updating and developing a Senior Citizen Friendly Municipal (MADA) policy in Shigawake required the involvement of several stakeholders and citizens who generously gave of their time and insight in order to work closely together. We would like to thank the members of the steering committee for their involvement and their desire to make this policy a model that meets the needs of local seniors and promotes active aging of the population. We would also like to thank the municipal council and staff of the municipality of Shigawake, the MRC of Bonaventure, Espace Muni, with the support of Danielle Perreault, as well as the Quebec government and the Secrétariat aux aînés. Finally, a big thank you to the residents of Shigawake who took the time to complete the survey and who made it possible to record and analyze the data that would be used to develop this policy. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 5 JUNE 2019 Application submitted FEBRUARY 2020 Signature of agreement MRC/Secrétariat aux aînés NOVEMBER 2020 Projet manager hired SPRING 2021 Creation of the steering committee AUTUMN 2021 Municipal elections DECEMBER 2021 TO FEBRUARY 2022 Change of resource at the MRC AUTUMN 2022 Adoption of policies and actions plans MADA 2022-2025, Shigawake In 2019, the MRC of Bonaventure launched a project to update and develop the "Senior Citizen Friendly Municipal Policy" for all municipalities in the region. The Shigawake municipal council passed a resolution to revise its previous policy, which had been adopted in 2012. Then, in the autumn of 2020, the MRC hired a resource to support the participating municipalities. The process began in winter 2021 with the creation of a steering committee. The members' mandate was to evaluate the realizations of the former action plan, to update the MADA policy and action plan for a minimum period of 3 years and to ensure that implementation and follow-up mechanisms for the MADA policy and action plan were put in place. Public consultations took the form of written and online surveys. The participation rate among respondents aged 50 and over was 24.7%, for a total of 42 questionnaires answered. Once the results had been analyzed, the committee members, with the support of the MRC resource person, then proceeded to draw up the action plan. It is important to note there were significant delays in the process timeline: constraints related to the Covid- 19 pandemic, the change in human resources and the municipal elections in November 2021. In short, the municipality is now proud to present its "Senior Citizen Friendly" municipal policy, which aims to promote the active ageing of its seniors aged 65 and over. SETTING THE CONTEXT 6 ORIENTATIONS The MADA policy includes areas of intervention linked to the principles of active ageing, namely participation (inclusion, volunteering, mobilization, involvement), safety (caring environment, safe environment) and health (well-being, adapted services, responses to needs). These areas of intervention are as follows: Housing and living environment Security Social participation Transportation and mobility Respect and social inclusion Health and social services Leisure Open air spaces and buildings Communication and information DEFINITION OF A SENIOR CITIZEN A senior is an individual who is still active depending on their degree of autonomy, and who wishes to pass on their values and knowledge. Seniors have a life yet to live and want to enjoy these years in their own home. VALUES MADA 2022-2025, Shigawake Respect Mutual aid Trust Security inclusion communication and socialization The municipality of Shigawake is characterized by the natural beauty of its landscape and its predominantly English-speaking population. It was in 1924 that the municipality separated from Saint-Godefroi to form the municipality we know today. The Mi'kmaq origins of the name Shigawake mean the land of the rising sun, the name originally given to the river that runs through the municipality. There is a footpath running alongside the municipal beach and another leading to a magnificent river waterfall in the heart of the forest. Shigawake is a predominantly residential municipality, with a music festival and agricultural fair that have been attracting visitors for over 100 years. Shigawake is also the birthplace of renowned producer, director and writer Paul Almond, with over 130 television productions in the UK and Canada to his name. He is also the author of The Alford Saga, a fictionalized account of the history of his ancestors. He died in 2015, unable to complete this work. His grave is behind St Paul's Anglican Church in Shigawake. The results of the latest Statistics Canada census for 2021 show that there are 333 people living in Shigawake, a significant increase of 14% since 2016. The MADA policy, which is aimed at the population aged 65 and over, will have an impact on subsequent generations. It should be noted that this age group represents almost a third (30%) of the residents of the municipality of Shigawake. The gender ratio is 55 women to 50 men. Of the population aged 15 and over, 150 residents live in couples and 125 are single. In 2020, the median income for this population was $30,000 per year. With a majority of English-speaking residents (59%), the municipality's activities and leisure activities are influenced by this characteristic, resulting in an interesting cultural mix. PORTRAIT OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF SHIGAWAKE MADA 2022-2025, Shigawake 7 age 0 - 24 age 25- 49 age 50 - 64 age 65 + 150 100 50 0 1 9 9 6 2 0 2 1 8 POPULATION BY AGE SEGMENT POPULATION VARIATION BETWEEN 1996 AND 2021 PRIMARY LANGUAGE SPOKEN AT HOME MEDIAN AGE 65 years + 30 % 50-64 years 18 % 0-24 years 25 % 25-49 years 27 % 43,2 53,6 49,6 MRC of Bonaventure Shigawake Québec MADA 2022-2025, Shigawake 80 135 80 55 110 120 65 75 English 58 % French 39 % Bilingual 3 % COMMUNITY RESSOURCES The municipality of Shigawake provides the municipal services needed to maintain the infrastructures and facilities used by its residents. To obtain essential services such as groceries, a pharmacy or a gas station, it is necessary to travel to neighbouring municipalities, as none of these businesses are present in the municipality. However, there are a few businesses in operation, such as a truck maintenance garage, the southern Gaspésie fishermen's association, a restaurant and a number of agricultural and market-garden farms. Fire services are provided by the town of Paspébiac. Transportation is a key issue in rural areas. Some services are available, such as the RÉGIM, but travel by personal vehicle is the norm. There are no residences for seniors who are losing their autonomy, so residents who must leave their homes have to go to facilities in New Carlisle, Paspébiac or Caplan, which is quite far from their home and their families. Several organizations are active in the municipality, including one that organizes the agricultural fair and the music festival which attracts thousands of visitors in mid-August. To access health services, you must travel to the CLSC in Paspébiac CLSC, the hospital in Chandler to the east or the hospital in Maria to the west. The homecare service agency is located in Bonaventure and provides services throughout the MRC. MADA 2022-2025, Shigawake 9 HOUSING AND LIVING ENVIRONMENT MADA ACTION PLAN Ensure that older people can live in their own homes for as long as possible, with services adapted to their needs, by developing supportive apartment or intergenerational housing. Support local initiatives aimed at developing small-scale services for the elderly. OBJECTIVES SOCIAL PARTICIPATION OBJECTIVE Encourage the recruitment of volunteers and civic involvement. 1 0 MADA 2022-2025, Shigawake RESPECT AND SOCIAL INCLUSION OBJECTIVES Include seniors in the municipality's priorities and activities. Support the deployment of the Voisins Solidaires approach. Adapt a range of activities for all seniors, in partnership with stakeholders in the MRC's eastern municipalities. Encourage inter-municipal exchange in the organization of and participation in sport, leisure and cultural activities. OBJECTIVES LEISURE OPEN AIR SPACES AND BUILDINGS Ensure that community infrastructures meet seniors' needs and are also accessible and safe. Provide seniors with a place for intergenerational socialization and exchange.. SECURITY OBJECTIVES OBJECTIVE Ensure that senior citizens live in safety and security in their municipality 1 1 MADA 2022-2025, Shigawake TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY Ensure that senior citizens have access to the transportation they need. Support the implementation of the pilot project to improve public transport services, initiated by RÉGIM in collaboration with the MRC. OBJECTIVES HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES OBJECTIVE Share information about services offered by the CISSS and community organizations. COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION OBJECTIVE Ensure that the population is informed, in both languages, of all the activities, programs and services available in the municipality and the region. MADA Municipalité amie des aînés (Senior Citizen Friendly Municipality) MRC Regional County of Municipalities CLSC Centre local de services communautaires ( Center for local health services) RÉGIM Régie intermunicipale de transport Gaspésie-Îles-de-la- Madeleine (Coordination for intermunicipal transportation) CPTAQ Commission de protection du territoire agricole du Québec (Commission for the protection of agricultural zones) Abreviations References Statistics Canada : Census 2021 Municipality of Shigawake (website) MRC of Bonaventure (website) Québec Amérique Municipalité amie des aînés 2022-2025 - Shigawake TO ACCESS THE POLICY ONLINE https://municipalityshigawake.com/fr/documentation/politiques/