2nd annual Elders Day campaign launched in Nunavik

The Nunavik Elders Day campaign is back for a second year.

The campaign offers activities and resources to help keep elders safe and healthy, announced Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services, the organizer for the event, in a news release this week.

It started Wednesday and runs all month.

The campaign addresses elders’ safety and wellness concerns ranging from mistreatment and neglect to isolation and limited access to care and services, said Josée Duplantie, who works in elder’s wellness planning and programming for the health board, in an email.

It’s a regional adaptation of an international campaign generally celebrated on Oct. 1 in Canada. At the Nunavik health board, the planning and programming department decided to extend the initiative for the entire month.

Magnetic dry-erase notepads, contact cards and reflective armbands will be distributed to elders across the region to help them stay safe. This was inspired by Julia Saint-Aubin, the elders co-ordinator in Kangisualujjuaq, who introduced it during a separate event last June.

“During last year’s Elders’ Safety Day, Julia identified a need expressed by both elders and health and social service staff in her community,” Duplantie said.

Safety at home and in the community is a priority.

“Many elders worry about falls, not having emergency contacts easily accessible, or not knowing where to turn when they feel unsafe,” she said.

A new workshop, based on a day in the life of an elder, will be launched in selected high schools to help students better understand the realities of growing older. The health board is working with Kativik Ilisarniliriniq, Nunavik’s school board, to choose which schools and communities will host the pilot project.

If successful, the health board hopes to gradually expand the initiative to more schools in future years, Duplantie said.

“The idea is to have the workshop integrated into the curriculum for all Nunavik schools,” she said.