Connection New Brunswick: Together, Building Sustainable Community Programs for Vulnerable Seniors

The Connection New Brunswick (CNB) pilot project was developed and implemented to support older adults aged 65+ who are lonely, frail, or live in poverty. This community-based program aimed to enable older adults to remain at home, healthy, safe, and supported by their community. The overall objectives of the project included:

• Locate community resources and preferred approach to identify individuals at risk of having unmet needs based on socioeconomic status, health, and loneliness/social isolation.
• Develop an asset map of programs and services addressing unmet community vulnerabilities and identify current gaps.
• Conduct an umbrella review focused on community-based approaches designed to address loneliness and social isolation with focus on elderly people.
• Co-design and small-scale testing to contextualize interventions.
• Refine and contextualize approaches to identify individual vulnerabilities and deploy them in target communities.

The CNB program used system navigators to provide social and healthcare support for older adults. After visiting their homes, system navigators assessed the specific needs of the older adults and connected them to appropriate services. The CNB project team also worked with communities to understand their needs and the services and resources available. 93 older adults (aged 65+), including 63 women and 30 men participated in the evaluation of the pilot project. 21 identified French as their primary language and 72 identified English as their preferred language.

Overall, there is a strong need for a single source of information with knowledge of available services, programs, to support aging in place.

As a result of engaging with CNB, participants:

• were highly satisfied with the program and the support received from the Community Connectors.
• reported feeling less lonely and more connected to their communities.

The program improved access to data, information, and coordination of various programs and services within the community.

• Facilitate collaboration between service providers and community-based groups at early stages of program development and design to accommodate the needs of potential project partners.
• Consider coordinating efforts and sharing information with other projects addressing social isolation, loneliness, and supporting persons living with disabilities.

To learn more read the complete project findings (140 KB)