OLDS — A handful of seniors recently gathered in an Accredited Supports to the Community (ASC) building to test their creative abilities.
They participated in an art class, part of ASC’s pilot of the Connect Seniors Supports program.
“We wanted to put on something for seniors in the community to get them together to kind of just do something fun and also to get the word out about our program,” ASC senior supports and systems navigator Medi Olson said during an interview with the Albertan.
The ASC’s Connect Senior Supports program has been running since about June, through funding from the United Way’s Healthy Aging Alberta program. That funding runs out in March.
Connect Seniors Supports offers several services for seniors:
• system navigation in which seniors get help to figure out how to get information or access they’re looking for;
• escorted transportation to and from shopping errands, medical appointments or social outings;
• a service to enable seniors to spend time at home with someone doing activities they enjoy;
• social support connections, where they’re transported to and from community events, visits with friends or other activities;
• respite to provide family members with a break from care-giving;
• home-making, in which seniors get help with meal clean-up and general tidying; and
• meal support, where seniors can receive help shopping as well as planning and preparing meals.
The art class fell under the social support connections portfolio.
“Our main goal is to keep seniors in their homes as long as they can, so providing all those supports in their home and meeting them where they're at,” Olson said.
