As most of the members of the Rotary club of Hyde Park are over the age of 65, those of us in this age group who are currently residing in the City of Unley represent part of 45% of its total constituency.
This figure was provided by our very knowledgeable guest speaker Judith Lowe, who is the current Project officer for the council.
Judith produced some very interesting facts and figures relevant to current programmes initiated by Unley Council, several relevant to our aging demographic, demonstrating that us “Oldies" are still in people’s thoughts.
Judith (pictured here with Past President Gerry Greenway) is one of several hard working council officers striving to have Unley recognised as a World Health Organization age friendly city, initiating projects such as “ The forget me not program", whilst also actively developing active ageing strategies for young and old with its entrepreneurial incentive schemes and community support drives.
Unley Council supports “Proactive Aging" policies, remembering also that situations such as isolation, loneliness, mental health issues and loss of confidence and self worth are key underlying issues citizens are experiencing daily.
The two loneliest age demographics are the 18-24 year-olds and those between 50-60.
Judith is hoping to tackle these statistics head on, encouraging community support projects introducing home support visits, initiating community cafes, pay it forward vouchers and recognising there is no place for ageism in this society and what to do to tackle it.
As the speaker so eloquently presented her very informative oration to our small yet captivated group, it left this resident of the City of Mitcham hoping that if she were to go to her own council with questions on their ageism agendas we will be met with similar encouraging pursuits.
