Yet another initiative to make our community a better place to live has been launched.
The ‘Age Friendly’ initiative is something which originated with the World Health Organization, and it is something when taken on by local people holds excellent ideals for a community.
It is after all very hard to argue against something where the goal is to make sure a community is inclusive of all ages, of all cultures, or those with special needs. Those are important if everyone is going to feel part of the larger whole.
But do we not already aspire to those ideals in Yorkton? Have we not already taken time to look at what we need for our community to be inclusive?
It was not so long ago, in terms of city development, then Mayor James Wilson held a community think tank bringing leaders from different areas of the community together to crystal ball what Yorkton should look like moving forward.
From that initial work and follow-up efforts by Council and City Administration came an official Community Plan, one which City department heads made an annual report on to show their initiatives mesh with what the Plan has laid out.
Next came a Cultural Plan for the community. It is a document which turns away from issues such as streets and sewer lines, and economic development, and instead focused on laying out a basic framework to ensure cultures and art are part of a future for the city.
It would seem the corporate City has a rather solid framework to build off of moving forward, a grand design if you will, about how to grow a Yorkton inclusive for all.
But in Yorkton it goes beyond the big picture story too.
A video shown to Council Monday showed how the Age Friendly initiative has worked in Manitoba, and from those speaking on the video, the effort has worked well there.
But much of what people were applauding, in fact practically all, is already in place in Yorkton.
The idea of an all-age band is a good one, and the Community Band fills that niche here with members from high school age, to seniors.
A community choir does much the same.
We already have a park with exercise stations for seniors, or anyone wanting to use them.
We have indoor walking tracks.
There are already paved outdoor pathways and a vision for more as funds allow.
The City has made a major investment in playground equipment for the disabled.
Culturally we have a Scottish Society, Ukrainian dance clubs, a cricket club and more.
So while the Age Friendly effort has merit, one has to wonder if locally it is not duplicating what has already come before, and may have as its goals things which are already well-established in our community.
