Climate change will affect almost every aspect of our daily lives, from higher temperatures and lower average rainfalls to more intense and extreme weather events.
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The impacts are already being felt by the most vulnerable in our community, especially seniors.
Out of the 49,000 people living in Wingecarribee Shire - one quarter are aged over 65 years of age.
Many retirees who move from the city to our towns and villages leave behind family, friends and established social support networks. Extreme weather events like floods, windstorms, or fires can exacerbate the problems of social isolation, limited mobility and age-associated health issues leaving them vulnerable.
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During Senior’s Week, council ran a workshop aimed at building resilience to extreme weather in seniors by helping them understand how forward planning can bring peace of mind when extreme weather hits.
The workshop also armed participants with practical preparation resources which leverage existing skills and community resources.
The workshop which looked at forward planning, energy usage, preventative home maintenance, insurance and the preparation assistance already available to seniors was a huge success.
On its strength and the encouragement of the Office of Environment and Heritage, council applied for and was awarded a Community Resilience Innovation Program Grant.
The grant will help council to develop the workshop into a transferable module for the use of other local government areas and service providers.
The project which kicked off in September and will run for 12 months is looking for seniors to both interview now and be part of the short workshops scheduled for February and March in 2019.
Interviews will be set up for a suitable time for participants and all information collected will remain private.
Information from interviews and surveys is purely for the purpose of ‘localising’ workshop content.
To be involved you must be over 65 years of age and be living independently.
Details: Email Amanda Lawrence at amanda.lawrence@wsc.nsw.gov.au or call (02) 4868 0867.