2024 Positive Ageing & Wellbeing Awards - Award Booklet

AWARD SPONSOR

POSITIVE AGEING & WELLBEING 2024 AWARDS

ABOUT THE

AWARDS

Formerly known as the Active Ageing & Wellbeing Awards, LGPro’s Positive Ageing & Wellbeing Awards have been rebadged to reflect Local Government’s refocus from service delivery to capacity building in promoting health and wellbeing as they strive for an age-friendly society.

These awards recognise the individuals and teams working in Victorian Local Government that have made significant contributions to positive ageing and wellbeing, with councils nominating in the following two categories:

• Outstanding Program or Project – Grant-based (externally funded)

• Outstanding Program or Project – Non-grant (Council funded)

AWARD CRITERIA

Key judging criteria considered in both awards include:

• Program/project objectives and outcomes

• Program/project management

• Service improvements and/or health and wellbeing benefits achieved as a result of the project/program

• Demonstration of an effective/innovative approach

• Barriers and costs

• Sustainability/transferability of the program/project

WINNERS HIGHLY COMMENDED & FINALISTS

(Listed in alphabetical order based on council)

Outstanding Program or Project – Grant-Based

WINNER

Golden Plains Shire Council

Create and Connect Project

HIGH COMMENDATION

Bayside City Council

Bayside Chatty Café Project

Boroondara City Council

Cultural Connections

FINALIST

Indigo Shire Council

Dementia Sensory Garden

POSITIVE AGEING & WELLBEING AWARDS

OUTSTANDING PROGRAM OR PROJECT – GRANT-BASED

Golden Plains Shire Council Create and Connect Project

Golden Plains developed and delivered a suite of programs to promote brain health, supporting residents at risk of dementia in partnership with Geelong Regional Library Corporation. The Create and Connect Project aimed to enhance residents’ quality of life, reduce barriers for people with dementia, bolster library resources to provide enrichment opportunities, and create dementia supportive environments.

Along with providing staff dementia awareness training and implementing dementia-friendly infrastructure improvements, the two organisations hosted a series of interactive art and storytelling sessions for library patrons to promote brain health and social engagement.

POSITIVE AGEING & WELLBEING AWARDS

OUTSTANDING PROGRAM OR PROJECT – GRANT-BASED POSITIVE AGEING & WELLBEING AWARDS

Bayside City Council

Bayside Chatty Café Project

The Bayside Chatty Café Project was established to combat social isolation and loneliness experienced by older Bayside residents. Bayside City Council teamed up with The Chatty Café Scheme Australia, a volunteer-based organisation working with community and hospitality venues to host ‘Have a Chat’ tables that encourage conversation and social connection.

The project increased community wellbeing and connectedness for older people and volunteers while also generating economic benefits for local hospitality venues, particularly pertinent in response to earlier pandemic lockdowns that severely impacted businesses and during which many older residents lost confidence to connect with others, with most volunteering opportunities ceasing.

POSITIVE AGEING & WELLBEING AWARDS 2024

OUTSTANDING PROGRAM OR PROJECT – GRANT-BASED

Boroondara City Council Cultural Connections

The Cultural Connections project built the capacity of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) senior clubs to deliver cultural events in the community whilst increasing collaboration and social cohesion amongst the broader senior club cohort.

Through a series of sessions, four CALD senior groups co-designed a toolkit which was then used to plan and deliver a series of Cultural Connections events across Boroondara. The toolkit supported clubs to deliver safe, inclusive, larger scale community events. Ten events were held over nine months with a total of 1,205 attendees across all events.

AGEING & WELLBEING AWARDS

POSITIVE AGEING & WELLBEING AWARDS

OUTSTANDING PROGRAM OR PROJECT – GRANT-BASED

Indigo Shire Council

Dementia Sensory Garden

Indigo Shire Council partnered with Indigo North Health to deliver a package of initiatives to support people with dementia and their carers. This included the unique construction of a dementia-friendly garden at the Chiltern Neighbourhood House. The garden’s design created a safe yet stimulating environment for people of all abilities, while allowing their carers to relax inside a dedicated carer room or in the garden with them.

Led by Indigo Shire’s Ageing Well Officer, this approach demonstrated the Council’s commitment to health partnerships and its Ageing Well Strategy implementation which prioritises support for residents with dementia and their carers.

WINNERS HIGHLY COMMENDED & FINALISTS

(Listed in alphabetical order based on council)

Outstanding Program or Project – Non-Grant

WINNER

Mount Alexander Shire Council

Earn and Learn recruitment and retention in aged care

HIGH COMMENDATION

Maroondah City Council

Maroondah GenConnect

Merri-bek City Council

Merri-bek Intergenerational Program

FINALIST

Monash City Council

Friendship Fridays

POSITIVE AGEING & WELLBEING AWARDS

OUTSTANDING PROGRAM OR PROJECT – NON-GRANT

Mount Alexander Shire Council

Earn and Learn recruitment and retention in aged care

To ensure the organisation had sufficient staff to deliver services to the aged community of Mount Alexander Shire, the Council partnered with a registered training organisation and a traineeship organisation to develop and implement an ‘Earn and Learn’ model.

Mount Alexander Shire was successful in bringing new staff into the aged care sector, with the model resulting in nearly half of its staff base having entered the sector through this unique arrangement. The ultimate beneficiaries, their clients now have access to a fully staffed service of well-trained staff.

POSITIVE AGEING & WELLBEING AWARDS

OUTSTANDING PROGRAM OR PROJECT – NON-GRANT POSITIVE AGEING & WELLBEING AWARDS

Maroondah City Council

Maroondah GenConnect

GenConnect is an intergenerational program aiming to emphasise the benefits of building and maintaining meaningful relationships between children and seniors, promote inclusion and diversity, and create a sense of belonging. The GenConnect program was developed in collaboration with Maroondah Occasional Care (for children aged 0 to 5) and Kerrabee (seniors supported social programs).

It evolved from the identified need for intergenerational programs in the community and has been successful in removing barriers of ageism while increasing social connection in the community.

POSITIVE AGEING & WELLBEING AWARDS

OUTSTANDING PROGRAM OR PROJECT – NON-GRANT

Merri-bek City Council

Merri-bek Intergenerational Program

The Early Years Intergenerational Program is a collaboration between Council’s Social Support and Early Years Resource Unit and early years centres from across Merri-bek. Through the program, older people are supported to connect with the children, families, and staff of early years centres. Participants are included in activities with children over eight weeks, creating intergenerational learning opportunities and social connection.

Council provides transport and social support to older people to attend while supporting staff to ensure safe and meaningful social and learning interactions. In addition to significant positive wellbeing outcomes, the program strengthens social cohesion and capacity.

OUTSTANDING PROGRAM OR PROJECT – NON-GRANT

Monash City Council

Friendship Fridays

Monash City Council committed itself to supporting its community to lead healthy, happy, fulfilled lives, with the aim of fostering a strong and connected community underpinning their work. Maintaining social connections is essential for all aspects of health and wellbeing, and the risk of social isolation increases with age.

Their Friendship Fridays program aimed to foster new relationships delivered through an interactive space designed to be flexible and adaptable to the changing needs of the community. Friendship Fridays has been providing a space to bring the community together in a casual, consumer-driven program.

POSITIVE AGEING & WELLBEING AWARDS

OUTSTANDING PROGRAM OR PROJECT – NON-GRANT

Hepburn Shire Council

‘No Barrier’ Positive Ageing Strategy 2022-2030

Campaspe Shire Council

Bringing back the ‘ring of confidence’

Casey City Council

Social Prescribing Model

Greater Bendigo City Council

Greater Bendigo Every Age Matters

POSITIVE AGEING & WELLBEING AWARDS

POSITIVE AGEING & WELLBEING AWARDS

OUTSTANDING PROGRAM OR PROJECT – NON-GRANT

Port Phillip City Council

Proudly Port Phillip Community Transport

Knox City Council

Seniors Exercise Park

OUTSTANDING PROGRAM OR PROJECT – NON-GRANT

Maribyrnong City Council Book and film chat: a program for the older LGBTI community

Stonnington City Council Meet U There Social Lunch Program

OUTSTANDING PROGRAM OR PROJECT – NON-GRANT

Wyndham City Council

Wyndham City Community Connectors Program