We are called by God to be a welcoming church where we respect differences and build Christian community as we learn, grow, celebrate, and reach out in faith

prime time in kanata Seniors Outreach Project GCUC We are called by God to be a welcoming church where we respect differences and build Christian community as we learn, grow, celebrate, and reach out in faith

Goals Meet GCUC commitment to a focus on community-based outreach Make a significant difference to the well-being of people in our community Do something that no one else is doing We are called by God to be a welcoming church where we respect differences and build Christian community as we learn, grow, celebrate, and reach out in faith

A Time of Many Transitions Our Senior Years - Life’s Final Journey We are called by God to be a welcoming church where we respect differences and build Christian community as we learn, grow, celebrate, and reach out in faith

A Time of Personal Challenges Reduced or fixed income Loss of career/purpose Life style change Less energy and mobility Fewer friends and family Care and/or death of parents, spouse, friends Stress of children’s university, career, marriage, home, moving , grandchildren, divorce, Challenges increase with age while our ability to deal with challenges decreases with age We are called by God to be a welcoming church where we respect differences and build Christian community as we learn, grow, celebrate, and reach out in faith

Major Life Issues Financial Health Housing Legal & Logistics We are called by God to be a welcoming church where we respect differences and build Christian community as we learn, grow, celebrate, and reach out in faith

Looking for Help Hundreds of agencies, businesses and groups offer help to seniors, for example: Fifty-Five Plus, “Ultimate Guide to Retirement Living”, 2016 Ottawa Edition lists 766 entities which provide services to seniors Ottawa Community Support Coalition lists 28 organizations providing services for seniors and adults with physical disabilities Kanata Seniors Council web-site provides links to 118 organizations providing help to seniors as well as a list 26 of recommended retailers and 31 service providers We are called by God to be a welcoming church where we respect differences and build Christian community as we learn, grow, celebrate, and reach out in faith

A Blizzard of Information The problem is not the lack of information or service agencies; rather the problem is: Identifying the Senior’s real need Finding the right information Having someone provide guidance through the process We are called by God to be a welcoming church where we respect differences and build Christian community as we learn, grow, celebrate, and reach out in faith

Everyone Is Unique Everyone is at a different stage on their personal journey; we each face a different set of challenges and life issues. Person-to-person communication is the most effective way to identify individual needs and establish trust – everyone has a story. We are called by God to be a welcoming church where we respect differences and build Christian community as we learn, grow, celebrate, and reach out in faith

Listening is the key to understanding Communicating with seniors is not always easy: Seniors often do not know what they don’t know Seniors often do not know what they really need Seniors often can not articulate what they need Listening is the key to identifying what a senior needs Asking the right questions will lead to the right answers We are called by God to be a welcoming church where we respect differences and build Christian community as we learn, grow, celebrate, and reach out in faith

Proposal Develop a program of “Life Coaches” for seniors Four basic elements: 1 on 1 communication (Life Coach and Senior) Identify and articulate the Senior’s real need(s) Find relevant information and someone to help Follow-up with the Senior to monitor success We are called by God to be a welcoming church where we respect differences and build Christian community as we learn, grow, celebrate, and reach out in faith

Program Goal The ultimate goal of the Life Coach is not to solve the problem for the Senior, but rather, to find an existing agency or service than can deliver a solution, and To make personal contact between the Senior and a responsible person who will commit to working with the Senior, and Follow-up with both parties to ensure success. We are called by God to be a welcoming church where we respect differences and build Christian community as we learn, grow, celebrate, and reach out in faith

Life Coaches The first building block of the program will be to find, train and mange Life Coaches: Hire a part time social worker to manage program and train coaches Coaches can come from: Placement requirements for College and University Social Work Programs Senior volunteers with experience and skills We are called by God to be a welcoming church where we respect differences and build Christian community as we learn, grow, celebrate, and reach out in faith

Matching Seniors and Coaches The second building block will be to develop a system to link Seniors to Coaches Information and advertising campaign to seniors groups and support agencies in Kanata Establish referral process from service agencies, seniors residences, churches, clubs and health providers in Kanata Sponsor a series of information sessions for seniors on pressing topics. We are called by God to be a welcoming church where we respect differences and build Christian community as we learn, grow, celebrate, and reach out in faith

Prime Time Coaching The third building block will be build a home for the program: Create a GCUC Working Group; establish a budget Hire a professional part-time manager Build a web-site Develop a Coach’s training program Acquire technology to track Seniors and Coaches We are called by God to be a welcoming church where we respect differences and build Christian community as we learn, grow, celebrate, and reach out in faith

Next Steps Apply for start-up funding from granting agencies – Successful – raised $75,000 Budget approval from GCUC Council – Jan. 2018 Hire program manager – Jan. 2018 Train coaches – Feb. 2018 Launch Prime Time program – Mar. 2018 We are called by God to be a welcoming church where we respect differences and build Christian community as we learn, grow, celebrate, and reach out in faith

Questions? We are called by God to be a welcoming church where we respect differences and build Christian community as we learn, grow, celebrate, and reach out in faith

Seniors Helping Seniors We are called by God to be a welcoming church where we respect differences and build Christian community as we learn, grow, celebrate, and reach out in faith