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Summary

City of Salisbury is a World Health Organisation Age Friendly City and is currently in its fifth year of implementing the Age Friendly Strategic Plan. One initiative of the Age Friendly Strategic Plan is the establishment of Salisbury Seniors Alliance (SSA); a network of older active citizens who regularly meet with Council staff to discuss and improve the age friendliness of City of Salisbury.  This paper outlines the contributions the Salisbury Seniors’ Alliance have made to City of Salisbury as an Age Friendly City in 2019.

The purpose of the Salisbury Seniors Alliance is to work with the City of Salisbury in promoting, engaging, advising on and monitoring Salisbury’s age-friendliness and the Implementation of the Age Friendly Strategy 2015-2020. The Alliance also provides valuable opportunities for the voices of older residents to be heard and integrated into decision making within the Council. Opportunities for older people to participate in Local Government decision making is a key component of Age Friendly Cities.

Older people can apply to be a Volunteer Member via expression of interest callouts which are frequently advertised in the Salisbury Seniors Magazine, Health and Wellbeing Newsletters, word-of-mouth and other Council publications. Prospective members are required to have an interview and reference check to ensure they are a suitable fit for the Alliance, that they share the corporate values of City of Salisbury (Respectful, Accountable, Collaborative, Helpful) as well as an appreciation for the World Health Organisation eight principles of an Age Friendly City.

Salisbury Seniors Alliance currently has 10 volunteer members who collectively offer a diverse range of skills, interests and lived experience that greatly assists Council in the implementation of the Age Friendly Strategic Plan. The Alliance meets with Council staff on a quarterly basis, with the role to promote age friendly communities, advocate on behalf of the broader community, work with Council staff to evaluate progress and priorities, and advise staff on the implementation of the Strategy. Meeting agendas are co-designed by members and staff, and vary greatly throughout the year to reflect member-identified priorities.

Throughout 2019, the key focus areas for the Salisbury Seniors Alliance were the design of the Salisbury Community Hub, seniors car-parking, age friendly exercise, gopher safety and environmental sustainability.

The Salisbury Community Hub is the new Council administration, library and community building and the Salisbury Seniors Alliance were highly engaged throughout the design process. They met regularly with the project manager and design team to advise on the age-friendliness of the building design and advocate for key features suitable for older residents. Members were able to have their ideas heard and be involved throughout the process and have since enjoyed exclusive tours of the building by the design team to show where and how their input has materialised.

Environmental sustainability is of increasing importance, and a sub-group of passionate SSA members was formed to design and deliver an environmental awareness project on single use plastic. The Environmental Sub-group collaborated with local primary school students, NAWMA (Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority) and the local library to curate an educative display on the impact of single use plastics and practical ways to reduce consumption. Primary school students crafted posters that portrayed the value of our natural environment and the harmful impact of overconsumption. Seniors Alliance members showcased their handmade reusable shopping bags made from recycled cushion covers, reusable bottles and coffee cups and other homemade and affordable options to use instead of single use plastic. NAWMA supported this project by providing their informative posters and BioBag generously supplied sample bio-compostable samples. The members enjoyed curating the display and visiting the library regularly to talk with interested citizens with an estimated 3000+ viewers.

Transport age-friendliness in terms of seniors car-parking and gopher (mobility scooter) safety is of continuing importance and relevance to the Salisbury Seniors Alliance as it impacts a rapidly growing demographic. Salisbury Seniors Alliance have met with City Development and City Infrastructure departments of Council to initiate an investigation to allocating seniors-priority car parking places in popular destinations throughout Salisbury.

The Alliance has also raised gopher safety as a priority as many members and their connections have identified that several areas of the local and broader environment lack age-friendliness and accessibility for those with mobility aids. The Alliance assisted in preparing a grant application to seek funding for a gopher-safety awareness project, however was unsuccessful but hopes to continue advocating in this area throughout 2020.

Lastly, the Alliance have enjoyed learning about age-friendly exercise opportunities available to older people and are looking forward to further investigating age-friendly outdoor exercise equipment in 2020. Members have met with Council open space planners and wellbeing program coordinators to learn about and discuss suitable places for age-friendly outdoor exercise equipment. They have also met with a local guest speaker who shared their experience with Strength for Life which is an exercise program designed specifically for people over 50.

The Salisbury Seniors Alliance are a significantly valuable advisory group for Salisbury in implementing its Age Friendly Strategy and continuing to be an Age Friendly City. Evidence continually shows how beneficial volunteering can be, particularly in older people as they enter retirement. Their input has been highly insightful and valuable for Council staff to identify key priorities based on the lived experience of older people. The Alliance is also an excellent way for Council to recognise the value of each members’ lived experience, skills and knowledge. The Salisbury Seniors Alliance look forward to continuing working in 2020 and exploring new initiatives, such as linking with the City of Unley’s Active Ageing Alliance and collaborating with another Age Friendly City.

*SSA: Salisbury Seniors Alliance

*NAWMA: Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority

Website: https://www.salisbury.sa.gov.au/Live/Healthy_Living/Living_Well/Community_Health_and_Wellbeing_News/Salisbury_Seniors_Alliance

Key facts

Main target group: Older people in general

Sector(s): Other

Other sector(s): Civic Participation

Desired outcome for older people:
Learn, grow and make decisions

Other issues the Age-friendly practice aims to address:
  • Ageism
  • Accessibility
  • Ageing in place
  • Intergenerational activities
  • Inclusion
  • Participation

Contact details

Name: Vesna Haracic

Email address: vharacic@salisbury.sa.gov.au

Age-friendly practice in detail (click to expand):

Engaging the wider community

Project lead: Local authorities

Others involved in the project:
  • Volunteers

How collaboration worked: Salisbury Seniors Alliance works collaboratively with Council staff through the following ways: – Volunteer members drive the focus of the Alliance and staff ensure meeting agendas reflect member interests – Staff are transparent and clear about the Age Friendly Strategy to encourage member interest and involvement – Coordinator collaborates with relevant staff and departments as well as other organisations to ensure members have access to information sharing and learning opportunities – Direction of the group is guided by the Age Friendly Strategy and the World Health Organisation’s age friendly city theory and domains

Older people’s involvement: Older people were involved in the age-friendly practice at multiple or all stages

Details on older people’s involvement: All members of the Alliance are older people who live in or are involved with the City of Salisbury. They drive the areas of focus of the meetings and the Alliance as a whole. One older resident member is Deputy Chair of the Alliance. They inform every stage from promoting the Alliance, providing feedback on how it’s run, carrying out projects and more.

Moving forward

Has the impact of this age-friendly practice been analysed: Yes

Was the impact positive or negative:
Positive

Please share with us what you found in detail:
Members value the opportunity to volunteer with Council, have a platform to share their voice with Council staff, have their say in Council projects and decisions, appreciate that Council has provided opportunities for the Alliance. Members also said they hope to promote the Alliance more to celebrate and recognize their work and attract further members.

Feedback:
Feedback from members is welcome at any time, with members knowing they can provide this in person, during meetings, via phone, email or letter to the Coordinator of the group or alternative staff of the Council. Dedicated agenda items are included in meetings to welcome and discuss feedback by asking members for ideas for improvements, areas of focus, goals and reflecting on the Terms of Reference. Feedback is captured both anecdotally and formally.

Expansion plans:
The Salisbury Seniors Alliance has been established on an ongoing basis and continues to operate. The Salisbury Seniors Alliance is currently planning expansion in developing a marketing plan to promote the alliance and attract new members. Examples of this include developing a flyer and marketing collateral, establishing a voice in Council publications (e.g. Salisbury Seniors Magazine), and investigating opportunities to be involved in more community events.

Looking back

Reflections:
The Salisbury Seniors Alliance has been a great way for older members of the Council area to have their voice heard and feel involved in important decisions relating to age friendliness. The Alliance, with staff support, is working to increase awareness so they can be more involved in the community and the decision making process.

Challenges:
As the Alliance is new, a challenge has been attracting and retaining volunteer members. Membership of the Alliance is unique in that it only requires attendance at four meetings per year, so it requires careful planning to ensure members feel engaged throughout the year and not just at meetings. A successful solution to this has been the formation of smaller working groups of 2-4 members who focus on specific areas of interest on ‘mini projects’. In 2019 the Environmental Awareness working group was formed to work on their project of curating a exhibition for the Len Beadell Library, and more recently in 2020 a Magazine Working Group has been formed to develop articles on the Salisbury Seniors Alliance to be published in Council magazines e.g. Salisbury Seniors Magazine and Salisbury Aware.