Evaluating the impacts of a community strategy to increase resilience of seniors and access to the services they need in their language, involving a target group of Francophone seniors in Greater St. John New Brunswick

Francophone seniors in the Saint John region have limited access to French-language services and community support. For many of these seniors, using English becomes more difficult as they age. Because they live in a predominantly English-speaking region, this loss of English creates a language barrier that can lead to social isolation. The Association Régionale de la Communauté francophone de Saint Jean (ARCf), the Horizon Health Network (community development), and Famille et petite enfance francophone Sud partnered to address this challenge. After performing a needs assessment, the project team created a community centre that offers services for seniors, allowing them to socialize with their community in their own language. Among the services offered were information sessions on topics such as disease prevention, understanding long-term care, mental health, preparing a tax declaration and fraud recognition. A support guide on community health and social services was developed to help caregivers find relevant French-language services for the seniors in their care. This project evaluated the impact of the Francophone community centre on local seniors. 140 participants (including seniors, health and social workers, and informal caregivers) attended activities at the center – 94 Francophone women, 43 Francophone men, 1 Anglophone woman and 2  Anglophone men.

The community center became a valued hub where seniors could create a Francophone community and access learning opportunities. Through information sessions and social activities, this initiative facilitated community support and personal skill building, while emphasizing the seniors' role in managing their wellbeing and potentially reducing feelings of social isolation. Overall, this type of community centre could help seniors live safely at home for longer by increasing their autonomy and enhancing their quality of life.

The project team recommends that community hubs of this type continue to be offered to Francophone seniors, providing them with opportunities to access training, services, and social activities in the language of their choice. The team also recommends performing a needs assessment beforehand to ensure that the needs of the local seniors will be met.

To learn more read the complete project findings (PDF 138 KB)