Face to face communications are vital
26 Feb 2019
Seniors Expo now its in 5th year provides one of the best opportunities in the NT for seniors to meet with service providers, businesses, community groups and each other
COTA NT received a few complaints regarding the closure of some Adult Night Classes and difficulties with the online payment only option and hearing the ads (on TV and radio). It’s well-documented that social isolation can cause depression, anxiety and other forms of illness. Adult Night Classes, besides being informative and educational, enable seniors to socialise and communicate with each other. While technology can (supposedly) simplify some things – and may be preferred due to costs – we run the risk of short-changing people, seniors particularly, if we over-rely on it.
As a community, we should remember that a smiling face and one-to-one contact go a long way in society and help to ease feelings of isolation. We would urge the Education Minister to provide face-to-face information and not stop these community classes.
As an organisation, COTA NT aims to provide information through different channels of communication, and we are now ramping up for our fifth Seniors Expo on Friday 31 May in Palmerston. As with our workshops and past expos, this event is all about conversation and face to face contact. We expect over 70 stallholders and over 1000 seniors to attend and to share and exchange views, news and information. Registrations are now open (through both online and printed forms). We urge any organisations or groups to register by 31 March (www.cotant.org.au or 08 8941 1004 for info).
Seniors Month grants open on the 1 March (and closing on the 29 March) and applicants will be asked to use the new Northern Territory ‘Grants NT’ system. The NTG will be publishing information soon. We highly recommend that you get your application prepared.
COTA NT’s Program Managers are across the NT visiting shopping centres over the next few months, having already been to Coolalinga Shopping Centre. For the full schedule, see our Facebook page, website calendar or call us.
~ Sue Shearer, CEO COTA NT
Tags: Seniors Voice
