Seniors Wellbeing & Engagement Program

With the aging population in African descent communities continuing to grow, the need for initiatives that support seniors in the community is a priority for the Africa Centre. Africa Centre identifies social isolation among seniors as a key issue and the program is designed to address it through enhancing the general well-being of African-descent seniors, increasing social connection and promoting skill development.

Program Description:

• The program supports and creates opportunity for seniors who may be isolated due to barriers such as language and/or lack of family support
• Seniors are provided with the opportunity to connect with others, participate in various activities, have access to information on resources, enjoy friendships, and connect to services that are available in the community.

Program goals:

• Promote health and wellness, build supportive social relationships, and create cross-cultural understanding and harmony by providing a variety of organized activities for seniors from diverse backgrounds
• Increase access to cultural and recreational activities, conversational English, computer literacy classes, and cooking together. Also the program equips seniors with skills enabling them to transfer intergenerational knowledge to the youth. 
• Enable age friendly environment for our immigrant seniors to gain new skills, knowledge and wisdom.
• Equip seniors with skills enabling them to transfer intergenerational knowledge to the youth and kids

What we do:

• Provide housing information, community resources, assistance in applying for financial support and filling out government forms etc. 
• Healthy exercises, arts and crafts like bead work, cooking together, games, knitting, crocheting etc. 
• English classes and conversational circles
• Workshops on seniors’ issues
• Community visits such as meeting with seniors and their doctors for important appointments
• Community outreach where if seniors are unable to come into our office, a social worker will meet them in their Edmonton-area home

For more information contact us through email on acsp@africacentre.ca

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