Ø Supporting transportation initiatives
It is important that all levels of government support and
develop transportation accessibility initiatives targeted to seniors. If we increase
the availability of transportation alternatives to seniors, particularly rural
seniors, we can reduce isolation and loneliness. Many rural seniors have
farther to travel for based health and social services, and whose
transportation difficulties may be exacerbated by adverse weather and road
conditions. Lower-income seniors, who have recently given up driving and are
unaware of alternatives, may also need help with transportation
It is important to explore the options for service
delivery presented by new technology. Contact through telephone and email is a way for seniors to get social support. Internet use is on the rise by seniors,
and that almost every household in Canada has a telephone, these modes of communication
are tools for maintaining beneficial connections between isolated seniors and
their social networks or service providers.
If services are not promoted properly, they may not be
used as intended. It is important to improve information about available
supports for seniors to the community at large.
We have found in our research that many of our seniors who
are willing to use a service often find out about it very late, because of lack
of awareness of what is available in the community. There is also research
findings showing that a low volume of social service utilization by elderly
people, especially low-income minorities, was found to be due more to lack of
knowledge, perceived availability (or unavailability) of social services, and
restricted access, then to the abundance of informal support.
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