Innovation Guide - 2022 - 10

Innovation in Parks
and Recreation
ach year, the NRPA Innovation Awards recognize and honor the
park and recreation professionals, and their agencies, who are making
the latest advancements in the field of parks and recreation. The
2022 Innovation Award winners highlighted below exemplify the inspiring
work park and recreation professionals are doing in their communities.
Innovation in Health -
Tallahassee (Florida) Senior
Center, UPSLIDE
It
is well-recognized
that
loneliness
is a persistent public health issue, and
one that was exacerbated during the
coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
due to physical distancing and stayat-home
mandates. To address this
issue, park and recreation professionals
at the Tallahassee Senior Center
created the Utilizing and Promoting
Social Engagement for Loneliness,
Isolation and Depression in the Elderly
(UPSLIDE) program to combat
loneliness and isolation in older adults.
The program takes a holistic
approach by providing no-cost
individual counseling, therapeutic
support groups, transportation
E
assistance, social engagement support,
resource connection and social events.
It also features Friends Connection
groups that provide meaningful
social interaction, both in person and
virtually. " UPSLIDE is unique for
addressing loneliness and isolation
long before COVID-19, " says Ashley
Edwards, director of Tallahassee
Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood
Affairs. " Services are flexible and
individualized, and quality mental
health counseling is available at no
cost, which has literally saved lives.
UPSLIDE has helped over 500 people
become part of a community, thus
improving their mental health and
overall quality of life. "
The UPSLIDE program engages
trained mental health professionals
to assess and identify individuals'
complex issues, as well as provide
intervention, care, support and guidance.
The program also provides essential
mental health counseling to
underserved populations at no cost,
so they can improve their quality of
life by combating the negative social
determinants of health. According
to UPSLIDE staff, they prioritize
knowing
and
understanding
the
unique personalities and needs of
Park and recreation professionals at the
Tallahassee (Florida) Senior Center created
the UPSLIDE program to combat
loneliness and isolation in older adults.
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Parks & Recreation | 2 0 22 INNO V AT ION GUIDE | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
WARIDSARA/ADOBESTOCK
PHOTO COURTESY OF TALLAHASSEE PARKS, RECREATION AND
NEIGHBORHOOD AFFAIRS
Innovation Guide - 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Innovation Guide - 2022
