With Aging Together as Community Haliburton Highlands (ATAC) now into its third year, co-founder Bonnie Roe said she’s proud of the things the organization has done to foster connection and improve life for seniors in the County.
Born out of a desire to educate the public about what she perceived to be a lack of care, and funding, for elderly residents in the province – first through the Haliburton Highlands Long-Term Care Coalition and now ATAC, Roe said her message has always been clear.
“We wanted to take a grassroots community perspective to get people to open up and share their stories, to find out what issues people are living through here and how we can try to help them,” Roe said.
2024 was a big year for the organization – last January it hosted a full-day conference at the Pinestone focusing on inspiring creativity and empowering change. Another event was held in June, bringing some of the world’s leading voices on dementia research to Haliburton County to help locals understand the disease and how best to cope with it.
After securing a $25,000 grant through the provincial Seniors Community Grant Program in the summer, ATAC hired Connie Wood to serve as its events coordinator. She launched a community survey looking for feedback from people on what they’d like to see from ATAC. The result was a five-part seminar series focusing on important issues for seniors.
The first, held in West Guilford in September, was all about using music to socialize and uplift people, with others investigating the types of healthcare services available in the County and the importance of maintaining an active lifestyle.
Around 75 people gathered at the Minden Community Centre Jan. 15 for a fourth event, with guest speakers offering tips on how to stay safe and connected online.
Haliburton Highlands OPP Const. Joel Imbeau spoke about the growing presence of online and phone scams, offering advice on how people can avoid being duped. He warned that things like caller ID, email addresses and websites can be altered to look legitimate, so never assume a name, or number displayed, is legitimate.
“Hang up and make an outgoing call when someone claims to be a financial institution, service provider, law enforcement, government agency or employer,” a recent OPP media release reads. “Never click on links received via text message or email… it’s always best to call the company or agency directly.”
Imbeau noted legitimate business or government officials will never ask someone to make payments via gift cards or cryptocurrency machines.
“If something does not feel right, it often is not,” Imbeau said.
Christine Keenan and Georgia Shank discussed opportunities available for people virtually through the Wellness Connection program, designed to help seniors learn healthy changes and choices to age well. The program is offered through Haliburton Highlands Health Services.
Graeme Soule, systems and technology coordinator with the Haliburton County Public Library, provided some general technology tips and promoted the resurgence of the library’s tech assistance program. People can book one-on-one or drop into group sessions at the Minden Hills, Dysart et al, and Wilberforce locations, he said.
“For a lot of people, it’s just help setting up new devices – this is a big time for that after the holidays. We also help with updating systems and software, helping people understand and learn how to use different programs,” Soule said. “I think this is a service there’s a lot of demand for.
“We want to provide a location people know they can come to, somewhere they can trust, to learn something and leave with a bit of a better knowledge of how to get the most out of things they use every day,” Soule added.
County resident Kim Stamp said despite not being a senior, she’s attended all seminars so far and has appreciated learning about new things.
“They’ve been incredible – I’ve learned how to play the ukulele, inspired after watching someone play Hotel California on one at an ATAC event. I’ve had urban pole walking lessons after learning about it at the health and wellness seminar, and now I’m going to sign up with the library to try and become more computer literate,” Stamp said.
Next steps
Next month, ATAC will begin the process of developing its first strategic plan, Roe said. That work is being done in collaboration with Haliburton County Development Corporation.
“Moving forward, we want to be clear about what we really want to achieve, what our goals are,” Roe said. “Like any group, we need to look back at where we’ve been and where we want to go. Not just over the next year – but in three years, five years, and more. We want to make sure ATAC is here for the long haul to keep helping and educating people.”
With a core leadership group boasting the likes of Roe, husband Greg, Brigitte Gebauer, Peter Ferri, Wood, Beth Hubbard and Paul Moore, and more than 500 people enrolled in a regular mailout list, Roe feels ATAC is filling a gap in the community.
“I’m really proud of what the team has done – we’re getting people involved in our communities, collaborating with different organizations to promote the amazing work and programs they do. Even something like our LGBTQ+ drop-ins we’ve been having at SIRCH – that’s created a place in the community where people feel safe and a sense of belonging,” Roe said. “We’ve come a really long way, but there’s still more to come.”
Another seminar focusing on strategies to balance support and living independently will take place March 21. For more information, visit agingtogether.ca.
