Article Submitted by: Constables Aida Rodriguez, Rita Raj, and Julie Gilmore
The Seniors Health and Safety Fair was very well received by the community. We had presenters ranging from our Financial Crime Unit to the Alzheimer’s Society. We were able to bring together many organizations and services that are geared toward serving our senior citizens and provide our guests with a wealth of information that was very relevant to them.
Our guests were pleasantly pleased that they were provided with a light meal and a place where they could sit and discuss with each other the importance of services they were learning about.
On numerous occasions we had guests expressing to us how grateful they were that the Vancouver Police cared enough about them to put an event like this together.
We asked our guest for their thoughts and their names. One guest stated the following, “My name is not important. What is important is that you know how much this [the event] means to me.” She went on to say that she wished this event occurred more often.
We were privileged enough to serve approximately 300+ individuals throughout the day. While we believe that we gleaned a lot of information on how to better improve the event, we are certain that it had a tremendous impact on those who attended.
Timothy Duncan Macleod stated, “If you hold this event again, I promise you that I’ll bring 50 seniors.” He was so enthusiastic about having a place to not only learn about what services are out there to assist him during his golden years, but he appreciated being able to “connect” with others.
Some of the feed back we received from participating organizations are as follows:
- “We hope that this event will be organized in the near future, and to take part again.” – Lin Chen, BC First
- “Overall, I think it was a very successful event for information/knowledge sharing and networking across many sectors of community practice. I would be glad to participate in such an event again.” – Nancy Woltjer, Vancouver Coastal Health
In our estimation, this event was a success and only possible because of the Vancouver Police Foundation’s generosity and dedication to making our communities better and safer.
Thank you for your support and participation in what we hope is the first of many Seniors Health and Safety Fair.
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The Vancouver Police Foundation supports programs and initiatives that fall under one of four pillars: Youth Programs, Mental Health & Addictions, Community Outreach & Engagement, and Technology & Special Equipment. You can help build a safer Vancouver by donating to the Vancouver Police Foundation.
