Looking for feedback!

[CanadianGirl]

The Executive Director of my local MS Society is always looking into ways to create new community programs and tap into government funding.

The ED has been talking to me about a government call for funding applications. She would like me to help her with this over the next week. I am hoping to pick your brain for input and ideas.

Right now any proposal will have to be directed at seniors with a broadened scope to include people with disabilities secondarily to meet the current call for proposals.

Here are the criteria for this application.

The NHSP supports projects that aim to address one or more of the following five program objectives:

promoting volunteerism among seniors and other generations;
engaging seniors in the community through the mentoring of others;
expanding awareness of elder abuse, including financial abuse;
supporting the social participation and inclusion of seniors; and
providing capital assistance for new and existing community projects and/or programs for seniors.

Ideas we have been toying with include:

*A teaching program that enables children to learn to use safety equipment including mechanical lifts, bath seating, etc to provide assistance to relatives with a physical disability safely in between visits from community nursing care programs to enable families to remain intact in the community and decrease the need for institutionalization.
*A self defense program teaching seniors and vulnerable women self defense techniques and strategies.
*A program where youth teach seniors (and MSers) to use computers focusing on up to date software, the internet, social networking, email etc.

What do you think? Do you have any suggestions about a program you would be interested in attending that would meet one of the above criteria? Does one of the ideas above appeal to you?

[KalikaLily]

Hi Canadiangirl (I'm Canadian too!!!)

Are these programs just for seniors??? I am only 24 and I am sure I could benefit from some of these types of programs as well. I find that most of these government programs are geared towards seniors and it is frustrating because I can't apply because of my age!!
And are these all for the Canadian government?? You may have much better luck posting in the Canadian forum

Stay well
Heather

[CanadianGirl]

Hi Heather.

The proposals need to be directed towards seniors but our effort is to create a proposal that solves the problem you have identified. That is, to provide these programs to individuals with disability and/or seniors.

What I am looking for is ideas about what kind of program you would be interested in attending. So ideas could come from anyone (US, Canadian, what ever citizenship).

So what kind of program would you benefit from?

Self Defense
Gardening?
Art?
Equipment safety for your kids?
Cooking?

Thanks in advance for your input.

[KalikaLily]

There are so many things that would benefit

A lot of them that I think that would help are things like:
Painting classes geared towards people who have troubles using their hands
Cooking classes for people who are in wheelchairs or need to learn the use of special equipment in the kitchen
And I LIKE the idea of self defense. Lord knows that these days people will take advantage of anyone they can including the disabled
And i also like the classes for teaching kids all about using special needs equipment. Not even for the fact of helping out the parents/guardians, but also to help them be aware of what the equipment is and what it is needed for and why we need it in our every day lives.

One thing I DO wish we had was transportation for people in small communities. I live in a small town about 45 minutes outside of Edmonton, and there are soooooo many things that I want to do but can't. For example... There is a aquatics course at the UofA geared specifically to those with MS. However I am unable to get to it because I can't drive. I think there should be some sort of program for that.

I had a ton more for you, but I have MS brain and they ran out on me. But as they come, I will for sure come back for ya!!!!

Stay well
Heather

[onlyairfare]

One thing MSers and seniors often have in common is need for assistance with "ordinary" daily activities.

Transportation is one of them, as both seniors and MS patients commonly have problems making them unable to drive themselves to doctor appointments, shopping, movies or other entertainment, church, etc. Others:

Help with shopping, and if it is grocery shopping, help with bringing the bags into house and help with putting them away.

Installing aides such as handrails, bathroom grab bars, ramps at the entrance instead of stairs.

Small household repairs - those million-and-one little things that pile up - patching a hole in the wall or a screen, replacing a broken pane of glass, rehanging pictures and artwork, fixing a leaky faucet.

A half day of meal preparation, where a week or two of meals can be prepared and then frozen, to be thawed as needed - much easier on a senior or disabled person than preparing a whole meal from scratch every day.

Help with heavier housework such as scrubbing floors, cleaning rugs, cleaning drapes/curtains (including taking them down and putting them back up), cleaning bathrooms, spring cleaning where you want to give everything in the house a sprucing up.

My town had a program where 5th graders went to the senior center to help older adults learn to use computers. Kids have used computers all their lives, while to older adults they may seem foreign or scary.