Seniors Active Living Centres (SALCs) are a key strategy in maintaining wellness within elder demographics, principally because the group activities they offer are a proven method to reduce social isolation.
Jeff Letourneau, the Chief Financial Officer of Arnprior Regional Health made a presentation to Township of McNab-Braeside Council January 16th to connect all the dots.
The local SALC has about 375 active members and offers residents the equivalent of 1000 attendance days per month in activities.
Letourneau says all of the administrative partners- from the Ministry, to lower-tier partners and ARH itself, are responsible to fund the Arnprior McNab-Braeside Seniors Active Living Centre.
The ARH CFO says his ask of 20 thousand dollar from the Township is identical to the previous year, but because of conflicting fiscal year-ends, the request is for 2024-2025, beginning this September.
While the ask is for 20 thousand dollars, it is for the delivery of fewer services.
Letourneau’s Power Point presentation and clear enunciation of his ask did not prompt any questions from Council, and the only comment came from Mayor MacKenzie, who conceded that a recent birthday now includes him within the demographic.
Under the SALC Act, any overage of its annual local budget must be covered by funds from Arnprior Regional Health.
By Rick Stow