A new program at Kootenay Family Place (KFP) hopes to bridge the generation gap in a new way.
The Grandpals program came about after local seniors advocate and IRIS (Increasing Recreation Involving Seniors) coordinator Sandi McCreight got together with Gent Harrison and Lynnene Lewis from KFP to discuss ideas for getting seniors involved in some of KFP’s Neighbourhood House programs.
McCreight was able to secure a United Way grant that will help launch the program that will bring seniors from IRIS together with with the children and families at KFP.
"We already run some amazing free drop-in programs for parents with preschool-aged children like CAPC Parent Education and Support, and CPNP Beautiful Beginnings, so we modelled the new program off of that," said Harrison, who is KFP's executive director.
"Basically we set up an inviting space, have friendly staff, plan activities, serve food, and let people make friends."
The goal of the Grandpals program is to build intergenerational connections.
"We know that many families in the area do not have relatives nearby and we also know that we have seniors in the area without relatives nearby and we thought it would be a great chance to try and help build some relationships," explained Harrison.
The hope is that that the new connections will extend outside of the group gatherings as relationships build between the two parties.
This mixing of generations benefits all involved," says McCreight. "Benefits to seniors include increasing socialization to battle loneliness and it's negative health effects, increasing connectedness to prevent elder abuse, and to challenge ageist beliefs against seniors. Intergenerational programming, in our experience at IRIS, has been very beneficial and enjoyed enormously by all who participate."
So far, 16 seniors and seven families have signed up for the first Grandpals sessions that begin on Sept. 20. KFP is looking for a few more families with preschool children to join, but has filled all of the senior slots. The group will meet on Fridays through Dec. 13 from 10 a.m. to noon at Kootenay Family Place Neighbourhood House at 767 11th Ave.
If you are interested in participating, contact Paris at Paris1@live.ca or call 250-365-8448.
Harrison says that if the first pilot program is successful, KFP is looking to make the group an ongoing program.
