SOUTHSIDE SENIORS’ CENTRE BURSTING AT SEAMS
BY HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
MCLAUGHLIN.HEATHER@DAILYGLEANER.COM
15 JUNE 2012
Madeline Gaudet, a board member of the Stepping Stone
Senior Centre, presented the group’s five-year plan to the city’s community
services committee Wednesday.
The plan urges the city — which owns the Saunders
Street building that the seniors use — to work co-operatively to find a bigger,
newer facility, or at the least work with seniors to source satellite locations
where they can hold their activities and fundraisers.
Mayor Brad Woodside said it shouldn’t come as a
surprise that demands are growing among an aging population.
“The city should adjust to this because this is a
matter that’s been so predictable for so many years,” he said. “Right now, the
largest demographic in the country, if not in North America, is the baby
boomers, which are going to require more health services, more housing, all of
those things.
“We have a group of seniors who are very committed to
wellness, and that’s a good thing. I think that our two facilities have been so
popular with the increase of the demographic that they’re getting cramped for
space. It’s very smart that council look at the future of these facilities and
how we can best provide for the seniors who are such a large group in the city
right now.”
Seniors are also organized on the north side of
Fredericton at the Johnston Avenue Seniors Centre.
“I think this is something that has the ear of
council,” Woodside said. “They’re letting us know they’re running out of space,
but they’re not running out of seniors.”
The mayor said knowing that seniors’ concerns will be
on the rise, he has formed a new advisory committee specifically to hear
concerns and issues facing senior citizens.
“It will keep us on top of any of the issues that
could come up in the foreseeable future,” Woodside said.
Provision of good services for seniors can enhance
Fredericton as a retirement destination for many retirees.
Gaudet said in 2011, the Stepping Stone centre had
20,000 visitor sign-ins for the 50-plus crowd who are welcome to participate in
events.
The seniors’ club has more than 500 members who pay a
modest $20 annual fee.
Gaudet said the Stepping Stone centre needs to find
more space, figure out ways to prevent volunteer burnout and source better
public transit options for its members and visitors.
There’s a demand for evening and weekend programs, but
the group is strapped by a lack of funds to pay for staff, although the group
does fund the salary of a full-time co-ordinator.
“We’ve expanded our programs, memberships and
activities to the point where some of the programs are at capacity while others
are on the risk of exceeding capacity,” Gaudet said. “Space limitations is the
key barrier right now.”
The cost of renting other facilities hasn’t been
feasible, but Gaudet said the seniors are open to talking about satellite
locations to offer services or hold fundraising events.
“A vibrant seniors’ centre is going to enhance the
city’s ability to attract retirees to the city,” Gaudet said.
Gaudet said they’re open to the idea of a
multi-generational facility to find new funding sources to expand.
Coun. Mike O’Brien, chairman of the community services
committee, said he appreciates the co-operative, supportive tone of the group’s
requests.
“They’re certainly reasonable requests and
expectations and demands, so keep pushing us,” O’Brien said.
The Fredericton Task Force on Seniors in 1996
recommended that there be a southside seniors centre. In 2001, the city offered
a small room in its recreational building at Wilmot Park on Saunders Street so
seniors could meet. In 2004, the seniors were handed the keys to the building
and given $40,000 in city funding to renovate and take over all the space in
the building.
In 2007, the seniors raised funding for one full-time
staff member. In 2011, the Steppping Stone centre celebrated its 10th
anniversary
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