By Cheryl Jahn

It’s National Seniors Day!

Oct 1, 2024 | 2:58 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – It was another busy lunch hour at the Elder Citizens’ Recreation Centre, where a hearty meal is served up daily at an affordable cost. And that is one of the issues seniors express the greatest concern: The ability to pay for food. But housing runs neck-in-neck.

“Having enough money to put a roof over your head, but also eat something to be able to get out and around and enjoy your life and still have that roof over your head,” says Susan Scott, Co-Chair of the Community-Based Seniors’ Services with the United Way of BC. And the seniors population locally is growing.

“People no longer relocate to be closer to family necessarily. It’s difficult because those, like those grandkids, are going to grow up and they’re going to move somewhere else again. And you don’t pull up stakes and keep following.”

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But that creates its own set of challenges, especially in rural communities.

“We’re seeing an aging demographic across the country, but also here in northern British Columbia,” says Shirley Bond, who has advocated for seniors for years. “Many seniors are choosing to stay where they have worked or raise their kids. And that creates new challenges for us, especially in smaller rural communities. If you think about places like Valemount and McBride, where seniors want to stay, where their homes have been, how do they do that when there aren’t appropriate types of housing options for them?”

But Bond says not only are there fewer housing options, but even fewer options for at-home care. Another source of concern is the findings of a report from the Alzheimer Society of Canada, which says the incidents of dementia arising at an alarming rate. It says that every day, more than 350 people in Canada develop dementia. That’s more than 15 people every hour.

“When you think about the special kinds of care that people with dementia require, we need to make sure that’s a priority in our province and across the country and also the need to take care of caregivers. When you stop and think of the challenge of caring for someone who has dementia, it’s it’s very, very difficult for people.”

In the end, though, National Seniors Day is about recognizing the accomplishments and contributions seniors have made and reflect on what, now, we can do for them.