Organizations working with seniors in the northern regions of New Brunswick have received a boost from the federal government.
The Member of Parliament for Madawaska-Restigouche, René Arseneault, announced on Friday that the Government of Canada, through the New Horizons for Seniors program, has invested $213,254 to fund 10 projects in the region.
“The New Horizons for Seniors Program supports projects that truly improve the lives of seniors and their communities and provides opportunities for seniors to pass on their knowledge, skills and experiences, so that others can benefit,” said declared Mr. Arseneault.
“By helping our seniors come out of isolation, by getting them to begin, after a pandemic, to interact in person with our communities, it makes our communities much more enriched and alive.
The following projects were chosen:
- Les Aventuriers de Charlo, to develop a year-round accessible trail system to promote health among seniors;
- North West University of the Third Age Inc., to organize workshops on the use of tablets, cell phones and social networks;
- Le Cercle de fermières d’Edmundston, for the purchase of iPads and accessories to help seniors acquire and share new knowledge;
- The Golden Age Club of Saint-Jacques Coop ltée, to build an accessible bathroom;
- The Mgr Morneau Golden Age Club, to purchase a refrigerator;
- La Coopérative Radio Restigouche Limitée, for the purchase of materials to build access ramps to their radio station in Balmoral and to their studio in Campbellton;
- The Golden Age Club of Atholville, to renovate the bathrooms;
- The Golden Age Club of Saint-François, to pave its parking lot;
- The Société Culturelle de la Baie-des-Chaleurs, to produce testimonials on cultural and heritage elements;
- The St. Louis Seniors Club, to carry out renovations to improve the accessibility and efficiency of the building.
According to the former mayor of Atholville, Michel Soucy, this type of investment is necessary to provide support to organizations such as seniors’ clubs that often experience financial difficulties. “Often, they don’t have the capacity to do the necessary renovations to ensure that our seniors can have activities. Sometimes we leave that aside and neglect these places.”
For Gaétane Duval, of the Golden Age Club of Saint-François, these almost annual announcements from the federal government are always well received.
“It’s like winning the jackpot, once a year.”
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