Creative Pathways to Healthy Aging, Senior and Youth Engaged

Introduction

Jenna welcomes Judy Murphy, Executive Director at Elizabeth Fry New Brunswick, and Cecile Proctor from the University of New Brunswick to discuss their project using the creative arts to create intergenerational connections between low-income youth and seniors.

We’re all aging, and everyone’s talking about it!

Key Takeaways

[:41] Jenna welcomes Judy Murphy and Cecile Proctor to discuss the project they are co-piloting, Creative Pathways to Healthy Aging, Senior and Youth Engaged which works with older and younger generations.

[1:27] The Bridging the Gap project was the inspirational starting point for this research. Judy talks about the electric last day of Bridging the Gap.

[3:12] Low-income seniors face particular problems that this project attempts to tackle.

[5:12] Cecile talks about the goals of the project and how the research hopes to have an impact.

[7:48] The project team was unlike anything Cecile had ever worked with, she shares how the multidisciplinary sources of input created a wonderful depth of collaboration.

[10:05] Judy speaks about the way this project attempted to flatten the power balance and find a way to make everyone comfortable connecting. She touches on the adaptations COVID-19 required.

[15:00] Judy recounts a shared moment between school children and seniors when they found a connection despite uncooperative weather.

[17:41] The toolkit for adults was born out of the participation of both the youth and seniors in the project and is an interactive idea resource collection of the most popular activities.

[20:20] The program is completed, and Cecile shares how the data is being compiled and some of the results they are seeing.

[23:12] Judy explains what the toolkit requires to be finalized.

[24:20] Judy and Cecile share their parting thoughts and hopes for the program in the future.

[30:00] Jenna thanks Judy Murphy and Cecile Proctor for sharing the information and touching moments to come for this program, and signs off until the next episode. Thank you to all listeners!

If you enjoyed today’s episode, make sure to subscribe, rate us, and visit our website at agewell-nih-appta.ca/mileage-podcast for more information.

Mentioned in this episode

The MileAGE Podcast

Healthy Seniors Pilot Project

Elizabeth Fry New Brunswick

More about your hosts

Jenna Roddick at APPTA

Jenna Roddick on Twitter

Jenna Roddick on LinkedIn

More about our guest

Judy Murphy is the Executive Director at Elizabeth Fry New Brunswick and is excited to draw on her experiences in professional and volunteer leadership roles in national and provincial non-profits to work collaboratively with staff and volunteers at Elizabeth Fry New Brunswick and partners in the community. With her Masters’ in Adult Education, she appreciates a work environment that integrates a feminist, holistic, and participatory approach that is inclusive, creative, and kind. She is a dreamer of innovative projects that invite the whole person to learning, an advocate for Human Rights and social justice issues, especially for vulnerable, yet strong, women and gender-diverse people who yearn to have a voice for personal and community change. She loves having the opportunity to play outdoors with friends, family, and dogs.

Tweetables (edited)

“The bottom line was that not everybody had access to that technology, to begin with.”

“It doesn’t matter what you do [in terms of creating connection], it all works as long as you’re creating the conditions for support and make space for diversity.”

“Trust the process and it will be wonderful whatever you do!”

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