Surrey seeks to benefit from its seniors with new program

The City of Surrey wants to preserve the wisdom of its seniors in a lasting way.

The city is inviting local seniors to come forward and record their stories, advice and experiences for young people in what they're called an "Elder Bank:" an oral history project, accessible to the public, but aimed at young people pursuing similar interests or career pathsas those seniors.

"This program is going to [give] our seniors the opportunity to continue making contributions to their community in a meaningful way," Mayor Linda Hepner said in a statement.

The program will cost $600,000 over three years, split between the city and the province.

• Women over 65 double participation in workforce, Statistics Canada finds
• Serial retirement - the boomer approach to leaving work
• B.C. wildfires: Kelowna senior volunteers to fight fire threatening his home

Coun. Barbara Steele says Surrey considers seniors an untapped resource, and in addition to the Elder Bank stories, the City will use the money to connect them with more volunteering opportunities to make use of their skills and experience.

"Instead of always dwelling on what we can do for seniors, it's a little bit focusing on what the senior population can do for the rest of the city," she said.

She says various departments and agencies in the city could benefitfrom seniors' experience.

Some examples might be, connecting a grandmother who knows how to cook on a budget, with single mothers who need some guidance, or someone with experience around the house could help the fire department with smoke detector installations.

Surrey's efforts are being funded as a three-year pilot program, and Steele says the goal is to demonstrate whether similar programs would fit withother communities.