Positive Ageing Strategy launch on International Day of Older Persons
Napier City Council’s Positive Ageing Strategy is being launched on 1 October - International Day of Older Persons. The Strategy outlines an age-friendly approach for Napier with the overall vision of people ‘living well and ageing well’.
“Our city’s senior population is steadily increasing, and our Positive Ageing Strategy will help Napier to be ready as our elderly population grows,” says Councillor Greg Mawson.
The Strategy, which covers the years 2020-24, considers the impacts a growing elderly population may have on Napier. It has seven city-wide priority areas that contribute to its overall vision of “Living Well, Ageing Well – Kia Tika Te Ora, Kia Tika Te Tipu”.
“We developed the Strategy alongside a host of agencies and providers who offer services to older people in Napier. We also had input from a group of residents with a lived experience of ageing,” says Cr Mawson.
Just over 10,000 people aged 65-plus live in Napier. In 20 years' time, possibly earlier, one in four, or just over a quarter of Napier’s population will be aged over 65.
Copies of the Positive Ageing Strategy are available at Napier’s libraries and Council Customer Services Centre, and online.
To celebrate International Day of Older Persons and acknowledge launch of the Strategy, Napier City Council, Grey Power and Age Concern are hosting tours of Kennedy Park’s beautiful rose gardens. The walking tours will run for 30 minutes on Thursday 1 October, or Friday 2 October if wet.
Bookings are essential as group numbers are limited – call NCC on 836 5607 to book a time slot.
ENDS
Lisa was born in Auckland at the start of the 1970s, living in a small campsite community on the North Shore called Browns Bay. She spent a significant part of her life with her grandparents, often hanging out at the beaches. Lisa has many happy memories from those days at Browns Bay beach, where fish were plentiful on the point and the ocean was rich in seaweed. She played in the water for hours, going home totally “sun-kissed.” “An adorable time to grow up,” Lisa tells me.
Lisa enjoyed many sports; she was a keen tennis player and netballer, playing in the top teams for her age right up until the family moved to Wellington. Lisa was fifteen years old, which unfortunately marked the end of her sporting career. Local teams were well established in Wellington, and her attention was drawn elsewhere.