By Andrea Thompson
Help for lonely seniors is just a phone call away.
Earlier this month a phone number was released citywide that residents can call if they know, or are, an isolated senior.
John Cheeseman volunteers with the Friendly Visitors Program, run by the Good Companions Seniors’ Centre, to spend a few hours each week with an isolated senior. It’s an activity he says, that has been good for both of them.
“He’s not someone who would go out and get help himself,” Cheeseman says. Which he thinks is the issue for a lot of seniors, “they just don’t want to be a bother.”
It was this shared concern for seniors on their own that brought local faith and community agencies together to address the problem. A network of groups, led by Help the Aged Canada, created the Reaching Out to Isolated Seniors program as a pilot project in 2003.
The project identifies isolated seniors in the community and helps them access the services they need says Help the Aged Canada’s Marjorie Milloy.
And in Ottawa, they’re definitely needed.
Ten per cent of the city’s seniors are living in isolation according to a recent study. About 9, 000 of them may be suffering from loss, illness, mobility issues or other problems that keep them from taking advantage of help in their community.
Even though services for seniors already exist in Ottawa, access to them can be difficult for those who live alone and have little contact with others, says Milloy. She says one thing that makes the program unique is the the new phone number. A caller can talk with an outreach worker who will set up a home assessment to determine what services would best help the senior.
And there’s lots of help out there.
The program includes a diverse network of 80 organizations. The Alzheimer’s Society and the Canadian Hearing Association are just two groups connected to the program. All these people working collectively, makes for a “bigger bang for your buck,” says Milloy.
Judy Bedell, of the Good Companions Seniors’ Centre, says it is important to have many groups involved since isolated seniors can face a variety of challenges.
One of these is “tea and toast syndrome,” says Bedell.
“Living alone, people often don’t take the time to make a proper meal,” she says, which is why home visits are sometimes suggested by Reaching Out to Isolated Seniors. Home care workers can check to make sure the senior is eating right, manage their health and get them out of the house.
But transportation is yet another hurdle for isolated seniors, who Bedell says “stay housebound because they feel safer.” If they cannot drive or find buses too daunting, many opt to stay in. Not only can this create health problems by missing out on fresh air and exercise, but it means the senior is not interacting with others, says Bedell.
These are problems that Reaching Out to Isolated Seniors is designed to solve.
But participation is voluntary and seniors who don’t want to take part don’t have to, Bedell says. Anyone concerned about a senior can contact the program at 562- 6381.