When it comes to connecting healthcare providers to community-based services for seniors, there can be many obstacles large and small.
The Municipality of Jasper’s Community Development Department is now part of a provincial initiative to make the process faster and easier.
It’s called Social Prescribing, but community outreach worker Kacie Whyte likes to think of it in another way.
“It's not just about providing information,” she said. “It's really walking alongside them and providing that support along the way to ensure that they're successful in accessing whatever supports or services are required.”
There are many non-medical determinants of health that can range from navigating the complexities of filling out forms on websites to being able to shop for something that will improve one’s well-being.
Social prescribing helps to formalize the pathway between health and human services.
Jasper was recently selected as one of seven additional communities involved in the second phase of this program after Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge were considered successes. Healthy Aging Alberta has provided funding through to the end of September 2025.
It’s not a new concept – Community Outreach Services was based on the same idea, Whyte said – but the funding is new because there is a greater push toward the institutional philosophy.
Social services in larger cities can be vastly different than those in smaller towns like Jasper.
“In a small community, sometimes we have to fill in the gaps,” she said.
There are many examples of how residents can benefit from this new program. If someone came in with any kind of mental wellness concern, Whyte could help connect them to local mental health supports and community social programs, even helping with applications for financial assistance and directing them to other resources.
Whyte can be there every step of the way. She can work through the forms with you. She can go to the store with you. She walks alongside you to make sure you get what you need.
“I think the unique thing about what we offer in general in this office is, whatever support you need in whatever area, we just work with that,” Whyte said.
“We meet the client where they’re at,” added client services co-ordinator Anna DeClercq.
If a senior is recovering from a broken hip and needs help with meals and transportation, Whyte can help them navigate toward the right supports.
“We would be taking in what the needs are, where the gaps are, and then trying to be creative and filling them with the resources we have here,” DeClercq said. “This is going to be a learning curve for us. At this time, when we're just starting, we're not saying no to anything. We're going to try to help them figure it out.”
Jasper’s Social Prescribing program will be evaluated after its test period is over. As far as Whyte is concerned, it is already a success because Social Prescribing makes sense.
“We’re only eight clients in. It's neat to see the diversity of needs and their goals and what they need supports with. It's been a great learning opportunity for me just to put my creative hat on and say, ‘How can we make this happen? How can we overcome these barriers?’ Because nothing is straightforward.”
