The former mayor of Bridgewater, recounts Bernice Williams, had an apt metaphor for the medley of information available about services along the South Shore.
“He was always saying: “Who’s at the head of this octopus? And who’s managing all those tentacles?’” recalled Williams.
And now, Williams and colleague Penny Carver’s new research project, Taming the Octopus, will attempt to answer that question.
The project is aiming to understand and share information about the services available to seniors and adults while working with the various agencies across Lunenburg County.
“The title came about because those of us who’ve been involved in many of the seniors organizations in the county were realizing that there were many different tentacles out and about,” said Carver, adding that former Mayor David Walker coined the name.
Williams and Carver presented the project at a Municipality of the District of Lunenburg (MODL) council meeting on Nov. 27.
The research project, said Williams, is looking to survey a minimum of 500 individuals throughout Lunenburg County.
“It’s four simple questions but they can have a big impact in the information we share going forward,” she said.
The project is looking to identify what services are being accessed, where people are finding their information, what information is missing and what would be the best method of communication.
Carver said she realized the scope of the confusion while working with Mahone Bay’s Age Friendly Committee.
“I quickly learned that what was happening was region wide,” said Carver. “It’s all about connecting.”
The project will be collecting data until the end of January, 2019.
The results of the questionnaire will be pooled together and submitted as a report in April and both Caregivers Nova Scotia and 211 Nova Scotia have expressed interest in the findings.
“One of the things I’m really hoping for is inter-municipal, regional collaboration and sharing about how to make our information systems work well,” said Carver.
And Williams noted the information could be a vital resource to communities across the South Shore.
“I think it’s awesome because council could tap into this when a constituent phones them and says: ‘Hey, I’ve got this problem,’” said Williams.
“It’s not about the headbut about how the tentacles connect.”
Questionnaires have been made available at the MODL building located at 210 Aberdeen Road in Bridgewater.
