Healthy Ageing

The words of Betty Friedan are true. There are more older people living, working and visiting Adelaide than ever before. The City of Adelaide recognises this, and through The Ageing in the City project investigated what people want from the city as they age, how we should plan for these things in order to realise the opportunities and respond to the challenges of an ageing population.

As a result, you can now choose from a range of opportunities and programs that support older residents to continue living independently, age healthily and to participate in community life.

Below are some of the services and activities available.

City of Adelaide’s Home Support Program (CHSP) is a short term service supporting people aged over 65 years (or over 50 years for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people) who need short term assistance to remain living independently in their homes. The program is designed to work alongside residents to support them to achieve their wellness and reablement goals.

The City of Adelaide’s Healthy Ageing team receives funding from the Australian Government to provide the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP). This funding provides short term services for residents over 65 (or over 50 years for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders) who need support to remain living independently in their homes.

The program is designed to work alongside residents to support them to achieve their wellness and reablement goals. A person-centred approach means the resident designs their Care Plan to meet their personal needs, within the scope of the funded program.

To be eligible to receive services through the City of Adelaide, you must be a resident of Adelaide or North Adelaide.

Anyone over 65 (or over 50 for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people) who requires short term support to achieve their goals to remain living independently may be eligible for CHSP funding.

To determine this, you must undergo a My Aged Care screening and assessment. Council's Healthy Ageing staff can help you with this process if required.

Council offers the following services to help residents achieve their wellness and reablement goals:

• Domestic assistance; such as ironing, linen changing, vacuuming, shopping from a list, spring cleans
• Home maintenance; such as replacing light bulbs or batteries, cleaning exhaust fans, gutters or windows and more comprehensive spring cleans
• Home modifications; such as installing grab rails and key safes
• Basic garden maintenance for items such as reducing vegetation that causes safety issues (no working at heights)
• Transport to medical appointments; within a radius of 10 kilometres of the Council area
• Social programs, such as exercise classes and Central Market Shopping Bus.

You’ll find a range of community events and programs that are suitable for seniors held at the City of Adelaide Community Centres located throughout the city and North Adelaide. You can choose from cooking classes, information sessions, and even outings. The Central Market Shopping Bus is a weekly kerb-to-kerb service available to Adelaide and North Adelaide residents for $2 per trip.

We recently partnered with the Council for the Ageing SA’s (COTA) social enterprise ‘The Plug-in’ to undertake research to assist our understanding of the experience of ageing well for city residents aged over 50, and to learn how to maximise the value of existing Council programs.

Key findings:

• Residents are seeking ways to participate in organised activities that are ‘new’ or ‘out there’, that they may have had limited access to in the past or may currently be difficult to find and join.
• Some residents would like better access to affordable exercise programs and group activities.
• For those who do not like gym environments, exploring the city and Park Lands on foot or by cycling was important for keeping active.
• Footpath maintenance and pedestrian crossings and signals are critically important for supporting residents to age well by keeping people safe, mobile and active.
• Age-related language for advertising events and activities is not always the answer. Focusing advertising on programs, activities and events on ability instead of on age is a more positive way of engaging with community.
• City residents are seeking consolidated communication to find out about events and activities. Many residents rely on word of mouth to find out what is on in their city, and it can be a challenge to get this information in a timely manner.

The research took the form of an online survey completed by over 100 people followed by a series of small focus groups.

The reports below provide the full findings of the research:

Qualitative Research

Quantitative Report

The City of Adelaide runs a variety of exercise classes tailored especially to the needs of older people. Classes and activities range from Easy Moves – chair-based exercises, to Strength for Life classes designed to increase strength and stability.

The Grapevine is the City of Adelaide’s newsletter for older city residents, their family and community groups or organisations who are interested in Healthy Ageing. 

It provides lots of information on ageing well in our city, and shares many activities, programs and practical information that may be of interest to older people. 

The Grapevine is distributed by post, or email, every 3 months.

If you or someone you know would like to receive the Grapevine, you can call 8203 7203 or email Healthy Ageing at the City of Adelaide. You can unsubscribe from receiving this newsletter any time you choose, just let us know.

Read the latest edition of City Grapevine

If you are interested in any of the programs and opportunities mentioned above, please contact the friendly Healthy Ageing team, Monday to Friday during business hours: