The Gatekeeper Project is a partnership between Age Friendly Guelph and the Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington to help identify socially isolated and underserved seniors in the community who may be at risk of abuse. Gatekeepers are frontline community workers like postal workers or store cashiers who regularly interact with at-risk seniors and can receive training to identify potential issues of neglect, physical abuse, or financial abuse. By raising awareness among gatekeepers and different community sectors, the program aims to help vulnerable older adults and prevent abuse.

1. The Gatekeeper Project
by Karen McElroy, Age Friendly Guelph Leadership Team member, CEO Boardroom Metrics Inc.
Age Friendly Guelph is a partner with the Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo
Wellington (CMHA WW) to launch the Guelph Wellington Gatekeeper Project, an important
initiative aimed at helping vulnerable older adults who are at risk within our community.
Statistics from elderabuseontario.ca show that 2%-10% of older adults will experience some
form of abuse or neglect each year. A growing number of these seniors lack any kind of
family or agency support and their need for assistance goes unrecognized in the
community.
The goal of the Gatekeeper Project is to help identify socially isolated, under-serviced
seniors by increasing community awareness to help ensure they are safe.
‘Gatekeepers’ could be any person on the front lines of community service who regularly
interact with these at-risk individuals - an EMS worker, bank teller, postal delivery person,
store cashier or a neighbor. In these front-line roles, gatekeepers have a unique vantage
point. With effective training on how to identify and report potential concerns for an at-risk
older adult, the Gatekeeper Project strives to inform and protect the vulnerable within the
community.
Abuse has many forms - neglect, physical abuse, financial abuse and suicide risk. The
Gatekeeper Program helps enhance local awareness for all front-line service providers, and
aids in the intervention and prevention of abuse. By increasing community awareness and
developing integral partnerships between sectors that currently don’t exist, it’s possible we
can all make a difference for the vulnerable.
In Guelph/Wellington, 25.6% of our current population is aged 55+ and this demographic is
slated to grow to 34.8% by 2031 (cityofguelph.ca/agefriendly).
Most of us go through life solving our day-to-day problems without needing help. However,
if you are interested in protecting yourself, becoming a Gatekeeper or hosting a training to
help protect vulnerable citizens, please contact Manon Germain, Project Facilitator, CMHA
WW: 1-224-820-0835 or mgermain@cmhaww.ca
This article is sponsored by Venture Guelph Publications Ltd., a community collaborator of Age Friendly
Guelph. For more information about how you can support or get involved with Age Friendly Guelph, get in
touch via agefriendly@guelph.ca or visit guelph.ca/agefriendly