As many as 15 new seniors’ programs may be offered by Strathroy-Caradoc this coming fall.
Municipal councilors were updated July 18 on plans to expand the municipality’s seniors programming to include activities such as birding, pole walking, skating and more.
The municipality began to expand its seniors programming in partnership with the seniors’ council following the closure of the Strathroy and Area Seniors’ Centre, which was declared surplus on Dec. 21, 2020. The center had faced challenges through the COVID-19 pandemic as a lack of membership income brought a halt to programming, which ultimately led to a decision from the Strathroy and area seniors’ council voting to vacate the facility.
“We were, in all honesty, a little slow getting out of the gate,” said community services director Rob Lilbourne. “That was primarily due to the pandemic and the restrictions that were put on programming and activity levels and person-to-person contact.”
Lilbourne said the municipality is already offering programs such as aquafit, darts, badminton and more. He said registration for the current programming has exceeded 1,000 participants, and there have been over 3,500 unique visits from seniors to the programs.
“That’s an important milestone for us,” he said.
As many as 15 new programs could be added in the fall, some of which will be offered through partnerships with local groups such as the Victorian Order of Nurses, which has an indoor walking program and SMART fitness program in development.
As previously reported, local groups such as Strathroy Probus were concerned about the closure of the seniors’ center and how their facility needs would be accommodated by the municipality.
According to Lilbourne’s report, programming offered at the seniors’ center was “general sedentary and not activity based,” and the majority of that programming could be accommodated at other recreation facilities in Strathroy-Caradoc.
Lilbourne wrote in his report that the municipality is “very pleased to be able to meet the needs of this important segment of the community and look forward to expanding our offering and, once again, helping the seniors’ council develop sufficient capacity to be an important part of program development.”
“I’m glad to see the variety of programming starting to come out, and to hear that the numbers are what they are,” said Coun. Steve Pelkman. “Those are pretty healthy attendance numbers for seniors’ activities.