Our Story: How did it all start?

The ElderNET initiative began in the fall of 2002 when a group of service providers and funders met to explore new and better ways of planning and working together for the benefit of Calgary seniors. These agencies understood that Calgary seniors would benefit from an integrated, less fragmented service delivery system.   As a first step, the Seniors Services Intersectoral Planning (SSIP) Steering Committee was formed with the intention of creating an intersectoral planning model that is representative, responsive, collaborative and accountable.

Since the inception of the SSIP committee much was achieved.  During 2003 and 2004 the SSIP committee, with resource support from the Calgary Health Region, FCSS and the United Way, reviewed intersectoral planning models and facilitated four community consultation events that would help guide the development of a planning model for Calgary.  The community consultations involved hundreds of stakeholders and the resulting dialogue identified five key areas for representation on the SSIP committee.  These areas were seniors, their associations and families, service providers, the community at large including business, cultural associations, religious and educational institutions, funders and policy makers.  The consultation talks also identified six primary issue areas that would be further examined by sub-committees called planning tables. The issue areas identified were transportation, housing, health, income, social connections/lifelong learning and access to information.

In Spring of 2005 the issue of transportation was chosen as the first focus area for the SSIP committee.  As a result of a community brainstorming session involving fifty people that was held at Canada Olympic Park on May 25th, there were many ideas generated to initiate planning in this area.  Following this consultation, a nine member Transportation Planning Table committee was established with representatives from service providers, private business and seniors. The planning table's primary goal was to address the generated ideas from the community consultations regarding the transportation issues that were proposed.

Shortly after the spring of 2005, the SSIP committee changed its name to ElderNET Calgary.  At that point, a formal  21 member organizational body was established, a logo branding was created, and the SSIP group was transformed into the ElderNET Calgary Coordinating Committee that would be the governance and operational model for ElderNET as it would explore new and better ways of working collaboratively with the community at large for the benefit of Calgary's seniors.