| News

Mérite Ovation municipale contest

Pointe-Claire honoured for its Aid for Seniors Program

The mayor of the City of Pointe-Claire, Morris Trudeau, is proud to announce that Pointe-Claire has won the “Social Development” award at the Mérite Ovation municipale contest for its Aid for Seniors Program. The award was given by the Union des municipalités du Québec (UMQ) as part of its 2016 annual conference held in Québec City last week.

“This award is a tribute to City of Pointe-Claire program that has created closeness and mutual support between generations in Pointe-Claire,” says Mayor Trudeau. “This is quite unusual – a public program so completely attuned to the community that people take it to heart and it becomes an intergenerational way of life for young and old.”

Since the program was established in 1984, learning, mutual support and partnership have developed between seniors and young people between the ages 16 to 25, to the point where they have become part of daily life beyond the framework defined by the program. The program has been extended over time to answer the evolving needs of a growing population of seniors. Today, over 18 programs, events and services involving the dedication of 35 young people are offered to 3,500 seniors.

“What is so characteristic of the program, and makes it unique, is that the young people are personally involved with seniors in the community,” explains the mayor. “Participants have become friends, cronies – you could even say they’re a kind of recombined family.”

The Mérite Ovation municipale awards are given every year to municipalities that have distinguished themselves by a project, a program, or achievements that improve residents’ lives.

“Our Aid for Seniors Program reduces the isolation often experienced by seniors, and it helps young people grasp our seniors’ wisdom and experience,” says Mayor Trudeau. “We’re proud of this program that brings a better quality of life to people in our community.”

Merite-ovation-municipale
Mr. Bernard Sévigny, UMQ president and mayor of Sherbrooke, Ms. Marie-Pier Paquette-Séguin, Mr. Mathieu Lapierre, Ms. Patricia Strati and Ms. Kathleen Finn of the City of Pointe-Claire, Mr. Morris Trudeau, mayor of Pointe-Claire, and Mr. Richard Shearmur, professor at McGill University. Photo: Normand Huberdeau / Groupe NH Photographes

 

Source: City of Pointe-Claire
Information: 514-630-1200, communications@pointe-claire.ca