Compassionate Communities Neighbourhood Program

The Compassionate Communities intervention is catalyzed by professional facilitators who visit communities with high concentrations of elderly and vulnerable residents, and recruit those who are interested in a project to identify their own health and social needs, assets and priorities; to collectively work to support each other in achieving these; and to implement a neighbourhood exchange to more easily match offers of help to people who need help. The mobilization work starts with the facilitator, who is employed by a community or social service organization, but increasingly draws on the energies of the mobilized initial participants as volunteers who conduct further community outreach in their community, attracting and mobilizing other residents, peers, and neighbouring resources in the work. Participants also plan and implement a broad range of activities identified by the residents as their priorities for neighbourhood building. Participants and their caregivers have the option of receiving more in-depth 1:1 coaching support to work on individualized goal setting, more detailed navigation support or advanced care planning following the sessions.