The Dubbo region’s senior citizens have shaped the community we live in today as active citizens, workers, volunteers, employers, carers, neighbours, family and friends. This Seniors Week, Dubbo Regional Council (DRC) will celebrate seniors by showcasing some of the organisations in the region that provide incredible services for our older residents.
Deputy Mayor Richard Ivey said seniors are invaluable to our community and have contributed so much, “Age is an opportunity and not a disadvantage. We should be embracing age, and embracing those older than us; there are many things we can learn from our older residents by listening and observing their life experiences,” said Councillor Ivey.
“I’ve spent an enjoyable morning at the Senior Citizens Centre in Wellington in the lead up to this year’s Senior’s Week, and while I am familiar with a lot of the faces here already, it’s good to talk about the things we can do in our role as Councillors to reconnect with our older residents,” said Councillor Ivey.
DRC’s Manager of Community Services, Christy White said it was a difficult decision to cancel the annual Seniors Expo this year but safety came first. “It was a difficult decision made by the Dubbo Aged Services Interagency members not to hold large community events this year, however, services and organisations felt very strongly that the impact and prevalence of the COVID-19 Omicron variant in our area was still too high a risk for our most vulnerable in the community.
That being said, we still wanted to showcase to the wider community the valuable services and groups that are accessible in our region. The creation of a digital Seniors Week Expo was a way to show the wonderful benefits of ‘Reconnecting’ with services and groups in our local area and we thank the services who have been featured in these videos,” said Mrs White.
DRC engaged a variety of services within Dubbo and Wellington to compile some short videos to distribute through aged facilities, community organisations, families of older people, and local library branches. The short videos promote what is available for seniors which can help them to ‘reconnect’ — this year’s Seniors Week theme — with their wider community. Not only do the videos showcase to seniors what is available, they are just as much a promotion and education resources for friends and families of senior citizens, those who may not know about or need those services themselves – but should be aware of.
“It is so important for residents of any age, but particularly our valued seniors, to keep connected to our community and know that there is support and fun to be had with others,” said Mrs White.
Seniors Week begins Friday 25 March 2022, Dubbo Regional Council will publish a short video or photo series each day on DRC’s website, Facebook page and other digital channels for family and friends to show their seniors.
