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Safer communities > Provide information and learning opportunities
Provide information and learning opportunities
You can provide your members with information and tools to make them more aware of problems in their neighbourhoods and communities. You can also help them be proactive about hazards. Your members should know that they can, and should, report hazards to the proper authorities. Discussion groups, posters, bulletin boards and newsletters are all tools to share information.
Discussion groups
Have members share their stories. What features in the community do they fear might increase their risk of falling? Ask them what makes it difficult or easy to be active.
Introduce members to Resources: Program Tool 10 - Is your neighbourhood safe and activity-friendly?
- Encourage them to use the checklist and share their findings.
- Discuss various ways of drawing attention to uneven surfaces that increase the risk of falls until they can be fixed. For example, use chalk to highlight the hazard.
- Invite representatives from the municipality to your centre to discuss how they fix hazards related to traffic, crosswalks or sidewalk maintenance.
- Invite representatives from other groups who might be interested in creating safer communities to meet your members and share their information.
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Who should I call to report a hazard?
- In apartment buildings,
stores, or restaurants contact the owner or manager.
- In a shopping mall contact the mall
authority.
- In your centre contact the centre health
and safety division, the director, manager, or president.
- On city streets or sidewalks, or in
city-owned buildings, contact the local municipality.
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Posters
Post reminders for members to be aware of hazards outside of their home and of how to report them.
Encourage members to be proactive. Post information on who the appropriate authorities are and how best to contact them. Provide a phone number for local municipal authorities.
Bulletin boards or newsletters
Inform your members of ways in which your centre is working to create a safer community and how they can help.
Let members know of other groups that share their interest in working towards a safer community.
Display a phone number that they can call if they find hazards in their neighbourhoods.
Share tools that might help them be proactive such as Resources: Handout 12 - Hazard report form or Program tool 23 - Template for a letter to city hall.
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Real life example of how letter writing
can help:
In the winter of 1993-94, two older adults fell on winter sidewalks while returning home from an exercise and crafts program in Ottawa, Ontario.
Upset, they wrote to their city councillor. These letters described dangerous winter sidewalk conditions and requested a meeting to discuss winter sidewalk safety.
A public meeting was held. Sixty-five older adults, city councillors, staff from three Community Health Centres and the Manager for Road Operations for the City of Ottawa attended and set up a Winter Sidewalk Safety Committee. This resulted in some changes!
- Sidewalks were better maintained.
- Snow-banks were removed more often.
- A "Safe and Active Winter" program was implemented in the region aimed at reducing the risk of falls by promoting the use of assistive devices (e.g. canes, walkers, ice grippers for boots), encouraging older adults to stay active in winter, and increasing public awareness of winter sidewalk safety.
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