Thank you for having me here. My name is Kascha Cassaday. I am the executive director and one of the co-founders of Cyber-Seniors.
Cyber-Seniors is a non-profit that was founded in 2015. Our mission is to bridge the digital divide and connect generations using technology. We envision a world with digital equity, where everyone has access to technology and the skills to use it.
Cyber-Seniors provides tech training for older adults using an intergenerational volunteer model. Teens and young adults are trained as digital mentors through lessons and learning activities, and older adults are provided with tech training and partnered with these volunteers, enabling them to practise what they have learned. The results are enriched intergenerational communities that keep both the older adults and the young people socially connected and engaged.
Cyber-Seniors programs are delivered both in person and virtually. By offering both of these options, Cyber-Seniors is able to ensure that high-risk, vulnerable older adults are kept connected and remain self-sufficient even if they are unable to leave their homes as a result of disease outbreak, lack of transportation or physical limitations.
A 2020 Government of Canada study demonstrated that there is a significant increase in subjective feelings of isolation among older adults in rural communities compared to those residing in urban communities. Social isolation and loneliness are serious public health risks as they concurrently increase the risk of depression, anxiety, mortality, rehospitalization, falls and dementia among older adults.
The Cyber-Seniors intergenerational model for training older adults has been proven to be highly effective. While older adults are experiencing increased levels of digital equity, the young people helping them are learning valuable transferable skills. On a collective level, the program provides a significant boost of feelings of community enrichment and inclusion. Many young people who have participated in a Cyber-Seniors program feel as though their place in the community is validated through their participation.
In the past three years, we have supported tech training for over 25,000 older adults and have accommodated over 280,000 attendees in tech training sessions. We also have trained over 5,000 volunteers to work as tech mentors. We are invested in this issue, and I thank you for inviting us today, because we've seen a number of issues that sometimes make it difficult not only for young people but for older adults to participate in programs such as ours.
One issue is that youth, especially right now, are torn between work opportunities and volunteering. A volunteer experience might be more rewarding and provide more experience, but many would not and can't pass up the opportunity to earn money.
Also, transportation is a major factor for participating in person a lot of the time, not only in our program but in any kind of volunteer space. Youth and older adults don't typically have access to reliable transportation. They might rely on public transportation like ride-sharing, taxis and public transportation, but all of these can be out of their budgets.
On recognition for youth, again, when our young people are volunteering, to some extent they're doing it because they have to for school, or if they want to do it, they're doing it for some sort of accreditation. We have varying degrees of training and have certificates that we offer young people. They take them and put them in their applications for school and for work experiences. However, youth are always looking for federally recognized certificates that employers and schools will recognize during application processes.
Of course, there's also the economic benefit of volunteering, and without consistent funding and support for volunteer management and operational costs, organizations struggle to support their biggest economic benefit, which is their volunteers.
Thank you very much. I do have points as to how those types of issues can be accommodated and solved, hopefully, but I will leave it there.