Our Stories

The group of residents have been walking for nearly an hour, ever searching, knowing that the moment they take their eyes off the device their prey could evade them.

Pokémon could be hiding anywhere.

“It was great, I loved it,” said 91-year-old Kay Bergrie, a resident at Cedarvale Lodge. “I found two Pokémon. One of them just as I was coming out of the building, and the other one was around the building – and Tina [another resident] was just so devastated because she went all the way around and she never got one.”

Pokémon Go, the summer’s smash-hit smartphone game arrived at Cedarvale Lodge Retirement Residence in Keswick only nine days after its release in Canada. Since then, it’s gained popularity and found its way onto the activities calendar. It’s also been added onto group outings, such as a recent picnic.

“Everybody who tried it was talking about it,” Kay said.

Emily Curcuruto, lifestyle consultant at Cedarvale Lodge, first thought of introducing the game after residents asked her about it.

“They’ve been asking about it because they keep hearing about it in the news. They were really, really curious about it, and I was just like ‘alright, let’s go Pokémon Go-ing’.”

Emily downloaded the game onto her smartphone and approached Kay and her friends the next day. The five friends were quickly drawn into the game, and all of them took a turn catching Pokémon.

“I really wasn’t that interested in the game until the residents were asking me questions about it and seemed really eager and excited when I said we would play,” Emily said. “Then I thought about what a great learning and bonding opportunity it would be for the residents and myself to conquer this game together.”

One problem they ran into with conquering the game was that there isn’t a PokéStop close enough for the residents to get to. In Pokémon Go, PokéStops are places where you can pick up essential Pokémon items, such as Poké Balls, which you throw to catch Pokémon. If you don’t have any Poké Balls, catching Pokémon is impossible. Luckily, Emily has a PokéStop just outside of her condo, so she can pick up Poké Balls on her way home.

Pokémon Go features the same 151 characters that appeared in the original Game Boy games, giving it a high nostalgia value for anyone who grew-up in the 90’s. Due to its popularity, the original game had a variety of equally popular adaptations including various movies, comic books, a trading card game, and a cartoon series that is still running today.

Emily played the game when she was younger, and her favourite Pokémon was Squirtle. She’s been trying to find Pokémon hotbeds for the residents to visit, and hopes that as they go on more outings they’ll find more.

“I think it’s more interesting,” Kay said when asked how Pokémon Go compared to the games she played as a kid. “Because you have to seek first. You have to find the Pokémon first... So it makes it more interesting. I was just fortunate they stayed around the building.”

 “I like to play it when there are a few people and we’re all walking together,” Kay said. “You see the Pokémon come up on the phone and it’s great fun.”
 

The eggs didn’t move.

“It was very nerve wracking actually,” said Diane Toth, Lifestyle Consultant at Peninsula Retirement Residence in Surrey. “We all kind of congregated throughout the day, but they just didn’t hatch.”

Diane said some staff even came in on their day off to see the chicks hatch, but left disappointed. It had been 21 days since their arrival, they were due to crack, but the eggs looked content to stay eggs.

Then, a little after 9 p.m., Lady Cluckalot came into the world and began to live out her namesake by clucking… a lot.

“She was the noisiest,” Diane said.

The rest of the chicks were born the next day. Residents and staff visited the incubator often, and a few residents pulled up chairs and waited for the chicks to hatch. The chicks’ station is decorated with egg-shaped information cards and reminders that Peninsula’s newest members are still growing.

“It’s been kind of a focal point,” Diane said. “The chicks are just off our main dining room, so as residents go in and out of lunch they check on the chicks.”

“It’s been great, and sort of like an icebreaker,” Diane said. She said that while residents watch the chicks they start talking, often finding out that they have things in common. Two residents discovered they’d both grown up on farms in Saskatchewan, and many others have traded farming stories or exchanged tales about life in the city versus life on a farm.

A pot of names quickly formed for the five chicks, and it only grew as they developed. Along with Lady Cluckalot, Peninsula was happy to welcome Larry, Curly and Moe, as well as Geronima, who was originally named Geronimo, but as it turns out, is a girl.

“I love it! I’m going to do it again next year,” Diane said. She added that she may have ducklings instead of chicks, but that the program will be back in some form. “I just see so much benefit in this. I’ll definitely do it again.”

Residents and staff have both loved the experience, especially getting to pick the chicks up and hold them. Their only question now is what will become of them.

“One of the residents was like, ‘we’re not going to eat them are we?’” Diane said with a laugh. The answer is no. The chicks will go back to the farm and live free-range, not in cages.

 

Today, the world is at our fingertips. A few swift clicks can deliver our photos to all our friends and family, no matter where they live… But what happens if you can’t navigate the internet?

“The understanding is that nobody prints off photos anymore,” Krista Hazelwood, lifestyle consultant at Island Park Retirement Residence in Campbellford said. “The family all have photos, and they share them through email.”

Most of today’s seniors grew up without the internet, sending letters and postcards rather than emails and instant messages. Bridging the information gap is a challenge Island Park is working to meet.

Six residents made the trip from Island Park to the local high school, all of them filled with first-day jitters. They are the first to participate in Island Park’s Cyber Seniors program. Once at the school, the residents met their new teachers: 12 high school students greeted them, ready to start teaching a course they could do in their sleep — Computers 101.

The Cyber Seniors program was introduced to Sienna Senior Living in 2014, since then the program has grown, and it is now offered at all of Sienna’s retirement residences. The goal of the program is not only to teach seniors about computers, but also to bridge the generation gap between seniors and students.

“The seniors absolutely love it,” Krista said. “They all talk about it when they get back. It’s quite a hum in the home.”

Each resident was paired with two students for the 16 one-hour classes. Armed with a lesson plan and a computer or iPad, the team began exploring the World Wide Web. But just because there was a plan, that doesn’t mean it was always followed.

“I sat down with each resident and I asked them what their goal for the program was,” Krista said. “The program has to be adapted to each person’s needs. We want the residents to feel successful.”

For some residents Google was a huge priority, because they wanted to learn new things and be able to explore the world through Google Maps. For others, Skype and the ability to connect with far-away relatives was more important. For some it was email, and the ability to view family photos instantly.

“It’s like going to the mail box and getting a letter that’s not a bill,” Krista said. “The excitement in opening it and reading it is one thing, but the excitement of being able to do this themselves is another.”

Krista emails the residents after every lesson and throughout the week.

“I think they’re all doing really well,” Krista said. “For them it’s not just two hours a week, it’s I go to class and I come home and I play. I continue to learn. I play on the computer and I continue to learn about it, and to me that shows that they want to learn.”

Although Island Park has a computer in the lounge, and iPads for circulation, many of the residents in the program preferred to purchase their own iPads.

“They’ve really taken it to extremes,” Krista said happily. She added that the residents who have their own laptops and iPads are encouraged to bring them to their lessons.

At the end of the program, the residents were given a small graduation ceremony at the high school. Dressed in cap and gown, they received their graduation diploma. For many, it was the only graduation they’d ever had.

“Many mentioned that they never had a chance to graduate,” Krista said. “One resident said, ‘It was straight to work at 16.”
 

Fifty years ago, Altamont Care Community opened its doors. 

“I think this is a real family,” Debbie Rivett, executive director of Altamont Care Community in West Hill, said. She’s sitting in her office with Saira Haq, the resident relations coordinator, exchanging pictures from the day’s festivities.

She couldn’t be more right.

From the receptionist at the front desk, to the residents, personal support workers (PSWs), families and the chefs in the kitchen, Altamont screams family. The walls are teaming with stories as thick as the ivy in the garden, and it seems everyone is smiling.

“If I didn’t love it, I wouldn’t stay here,” Amy, a PSW at Altamont, said.  “I love the residents. I love looking after them and taking care of them.”

Amy has been a PSW at Altamont for 43 years. She began working at Altamont after coming to Canada from Jamaica. She said she got all her experience here. It was her first job in Canada.

“So many things have changed with time,” Amy said about Altamont. “Yet it’s almost the same.”

Muriel, a resident at Altamont for 44 years, has the same view. “Just the people have changed,” she said from her customary seat by the front desk. Muriel has been at Altamont longer than any other resident, and often sings. A plaque on a wall near the entrance dubs her the ‘Altamont greeter’ and claims she knows the words to any song.

Just across the hall from Muriel sits Linda, who has been the receptionist for 27 years. Linda often gets to enjoy Muriel’s tunes.

“I think it’s exciting,” Linda said about the 50-year anniversary. “It’s all about the good care provided over the years, and the fact that we’re still here!”

Linda can still remember her first day of work. She started as a casual receptionist, and wasn’t sure if she’d want the position, but by the end of her first day she was hooked. “I loved being here and being with the residents,” she said with a smile.

Altamont held a party in honour of their 50^th anniversary. All of the residents, staff and some family gathered around to enjoy cake, snacks and hear a few words about the community.

Lois Cormack, CEO of Sienna Senior Living, spoke at the event and congratulated Altamont on their achievement of providing excellent care for so many years, saying, “You make it a very special time for all the resident’s while they’re here.”

During the celebration, Altamont received a congratulatory certificate from a representative for Tracy MacCharles, MPP for Pickering-Scarborough East, in acknowledgement of their milestone anniversary.

Patty Write, vice president of operations at Sienna Senior Living, also spoke at the event, and reminded everyone that back when Altamont opened in 1966, it was an entirely different world. The first ATM machine had just opened, Star Trek was making its premier and the CBC became the first Canadian station to broadcast in colour. “Thank you for honouring our seniors’ voices,” she said.

Elinor watched the proceedings from in the crowd, a small smile on her face. She’s been a resident for less than a year, but says the care community is just like home.

“Everyone calls everyone by their first name, and if they see you in the hallway they always stop to say hello,” Elinor said. “It feels like home.”

When Elinor moved in, she had no idea that an old friend would be preparing her meals.

Charlene and Elinor worked together as cooks for years. Charlene was fresh out of high school at the time, and Elinor well into her career. The two hadn’t seen each other in 27 years, since Elinor’s retirement in 1989. Now, Charlene works as a cook at Altamont, and the duo were reconnected when Elinor moved in.

“I’m glad I chose to live here,” Elinor said with a smile, Charlene at her side.
 

Celia is always looking for a challenge.

A talented painter, Celia Chaikin has a love for all art. She’s tried her hand at everything from upright weaving to soft sculpting, and has even considered jewellery classes.

“I work mostly with colours, since I was a child, I always wanted colourful things — colourful clothes and colourful beads,” Celia said. “I always loved art. I always wanted to be an artist.

Celia’s art is often large in scale, and wildly colourful. She likes to use different mediums, and often uses tissue paper to give her paintings texture. Her favourite artist is Matisse. “I like to paint in colours, I like abstracts. I just put it down and I match colours,” she said.

“It was pretty inspirational to see her artwork and the different mediums she used,” said Diane Toth, lifestyle consultant at Peninsula Retirement Residence in Surrey.

When Celia, who is 86, moved into Peninsula last December, she and Diane spoke about her love of art. Diane asked Celia if she’d like to have a small art show, to show off her works, and Celia said yes.

The art show, which happened in April at Peninsula, was a huge success, with residents and staff stopping in to enjoy Celia’s work. Someone even bought one of Celia’s more vibrant paintings.

“The woman who bought it said she liked the picture because Celia used such bright colours,” Diane said.

Celia’s sold a few paintings over the years, and been part of a couple art shows, but says she was never very good at promoting her art. “As far as I’m concerned, I don’t do it for the money. I do it for myself,” she said.

As a young woman, Celia said she was too preoccupied with a posting in the Israeli Army as a look out to go to art school, though she would have liked to. In 1950, at the age of 20, Celia moved to Canada. Her early days in Canada were spent in Montreal, where she met her husband and worked for Air Canada. “I was the worst secretary alive,” she said with a laugh. She had three children, and after 18 years in Montreal she moved to Toronto. Twenty-four years later she moved to Vancouver.

On top of crossing the country, Celia’s taken trips all over the world, and speaks three languages: German, Hebrew and English. “And I understand a little bit of French — I can get by,” she said.

Although Celia didn’t have a chance to go to art school when she was younger, she has made up for it. She’s taken several art courses at the Ontario College of Art and done many art workshops. She has an assortment of books, which she uses for inspiration.

“That’s one thing that I always grab with me. Some of them can’t be replaced,” she said.

Her books have helped her through hard times, including the recent passing of her husband.

“It takes time to get passed the grief, but I am getting there. I’ll be okay,” Celia said. “I’ll look in my books and I’ll find inspiration there again.”

Now, her suite at Peninsula is covered in art. “It’s just all over my walls. Upstairs and downstairs and sideways, just surrounded by it,” she said. “And I love music, I play it all the time, and that inspires me as well. Mostly classical music, sometimes jazz.”

“I just love to get inspiration and exchange ideas,” she said. “I always believed in sharing my art with others, and when you do that you’ll learn from them. Some artists don’t like to share any of their, quote-un-quote, ‘Secrets,’ I don’t feel this way. I feel that we should all share.”

“Her paintings, her work, is always full of life. It makes me feel like… I feel joy when I look at it,” Diane said.

“That’s what I want. If it gives people joy, that’s all I need. Then I am happy,” Celia replied.
 

A small voice calls out to a full room. In the child’s hand is a small ball with a number and letter. Bingo is in progress.

“Do we have it?”

The child sitting beside Catherine is in a wheelchair, and he’s looking at her hopefully. Catherine is in her 80s, and has been a resident at Traditions of Durham Retirement Residence in Oshawa for six years. Today, the children from Grandview Children’s Centre have come up to the residence to play games for an hour. It is the first time the kids have visited, but it’s gone so well that several meetings have been planned for the future.

“We’re going to take a few residents up in a couple of months and try to return the favour, go in and do some crafts with the kids,” said Melanie Leroux, Lifestyle Consultant at Traditions of Durham. “Then on Halloween the school will have the kids come here and parade their costumes, because a lot of parents go all-out in making these costumes, but a lot of the kids can’t go out at night.”

The kids from Grandview Children’s Centre all have disabilities, some physical and others cognitive. The 16 children who visited Traditions of Durham were between five and 11 years old. Many of the games the residents and children played were brought over from Grandview. Candy Land and Barrel of Monkeys made an appearance, as did the residence’s bingo game.

“Some of the games were specially designed for the children that needed assistance with trying to grab and pick up,” said Melanie. “One child, who was deaf, had this wonderful book. When he wanted to tell the residents something, he we would point to a picture and it would tell the resident what he was trying to say.”

“They were absolutely a joy to be with,” said Catherine. “You look at them and you watch the little faces and they’re so innocent.”

Melanie said that the residents were delighted to see the children, and that they are all very excited for the scheduled Halloween visit.

“It gives us such joy to see the little ones come in,” said Catherine.
 
 

Muskoka Shores Care Community began hosting an annual walk for the Alzheimer’s Society last year. Since then, the walk has turned into a monthly stroll enjoyed by both residents and team members.

“It’s a very simple program, but it was very successful,” said Shari Ecclestone, director of resident programs at Muskoka Shores Care Community in Gravenhurst. “We even have staff coming in on their days off to assist with the walks.”

The difference between this walk and all the other programing offered at the home is its scope. The entire home, all the residents and team members, are involved. Everyone comes out for the walk and the monthly walks it has inspired, which take place from April to October as the weather allows.

“The staff loved being able to help get the residents out,” Shari said. “Staff have said they enjoy relating to the residents outside of their regular jobs… and getting to see the residents on a different level.”

Team members are encouraged to go out for at least 15-20 minutes during the walks, taking one or more residents with them.

“It’s nice because they talk to each other and socialize,” Shari said. “It’s a lot of fun. You’ll see about 20 people out at the front. It’s just a really nice outside social.”

Well over 100 people participated in this year’s Walk for Alzheimer, with 62 of them being residents. Muskoka Shores raised $455 for the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada.

“It was a real feeling of community,” Shari said.

Situated in the middle of a short street, the placement of Muskoka Shores is ideal for the walks and gives residents a chance to walk as far and as long as they’d like. Balloons, glinting white and blue in the sun, line the entire street and music fills the air as residents, team members, family, and members of the community join together for the walk.

“Often after people have finished the walk they don’t want to come back in the building,” Shari said. “So they stay out, and we have a little social outside while the other people are doing the walk.”

Shari initially got the idea of hosting a Walk for Alzheimer event after residents asked her about the events held in both Bracebridge and Huntsville. However, those walks were too far away for the residents to have a chance to participate, so Shari brought the walk home.

“We have found that by having the walk at our home, we get so many more participants and many more residents can enjoy the fun of the day,” Shari said. “The residents were thrilled that they were able to participate and help out the Alzheimer’s society.”
 

There was a sound in the night.

“Our night housekeeper thought that there was a bird in the lounge, because of the chirping,” said Krista Hazelwood, lifestyle consultant at Island Park Retirement Residence in Campbellford. “Then we realized that the hatch had happened.”

The night housekeeper wasn’t wrong, there was a bird in the lounge. More specifically, KJ, short for Krista Junior, one of many chicks brought to Island Park as part of their critter visits event, had finally broken free from its shell.

The chicks first arrived at the residence as eggs in an incubator. A local company dropped off the incubator, eggs, instructions and all other equipment the home needed. For 21 days the chicks would remain in their shells, with residents and staff checking in on them constantly and waiting excitedly for them to hatch.

Krista posted a notice beside the incubator, which listed the optimal temperature and humidity. Whenever residents or staff noticed a fluctuation, they would rush up to Krista so that the incubator could be set right.

Meanwhile, a pot filled with potential chick names began to grow beside the incubator. Residents, staff and family were all encouraged to put a name in the pot. As chicks hatched, a name was pulled.

“We had a variety of names,” Krista said. KJ was born first, but there was also Nugget, Dixie and Chick Norris, among others. 

“The residents were very excited. I had one lady say that she’d quickly eat her breakfast so that she could run up to see the chicks,” Krista said. “Their days very much revolved around these chicks. They checked on them in the morning and they’d get excited when they would see one starting to hatch. The staff were totally involved in it as well. Before every shift change the staff coming on would go and check the chicks or they would cuddle them... So everybody was involved.”

Hatch notices went up for each chick, with a picture and their name, and residents would often come to spend time and hold the chicks.

“It was easy to see the joy in the many faces as these chicks snuggled into their hands,” said Krista. “The softness and newness of these little creatures was something to be experienced.”

 Because of its location, many residents at Island Park used to be farmers. Krista said that many of them had expert advice, and that it brought back memories for them. For residents from the city, the rewards were just as great, giving them a chance to see something like this for the first time.

Krista said she enjoyed the hands-on element of the program, and watching the residents interact with the chicks. “There was constant activity around the incubator, around where the chicks were hatching, there was someone around there constantly.”
 

When award-winning filmmaker Wim Roozeboom moved into Pacifica Retirement Residence at the age of 93, there was still some space in his trophy cabinet for another crowning achievement.
 
Having had a 50-year career making documentaries, it seemed natural to apply his skills interviewing fellow residents at three of Sienna’s retirement residences in British Columbia: Pacifica, Peninsula, and Astoria. These interviews turned into a collection of memoirs, which under Wim’s direction and keen sense of good story, became a published book: Welcome to Walker Ville—launched on his 95^th birthday at Pacifica on February 17.
 
The official book launch at the retirement residence was standing room only, with the home serving punch, appetizers and cake to residents, team members, community members and local dignitaries.
 
“All in all it was a fantastic event that I’m sure Wim will cherish for the rest of his life,” said Alysha Belton, a retirement counsellor at Pacifica. She helped organize the book launch that also recognized twenty other residents who contributed their personal stories.
 
In what was a collaborative effort, residents provided historic photographs and poetry for the book, which recounts a full serving of romance, comedy and tragedy—often as parts of the same story.

To produce it, Wim conducted almost two dozen interviews over eighteen months before deciding that the manuscript was ready for publication.
 
“It was kind of an assimilation program that grew once the residents got interested,” Wim said. “I was hoping to make it a thicker book, but after a year and a half of working on it, I thought I should cut it off and publish it.”

The 255-page book includes a snippet from Wim’s own lifetime of adventures. Born in Holland, Willem or “Wim” as he prefers to be called, immigrated to Alberta with his parents at the age of five, and grew up in Vancouver during the late 1930s. After serving as a pilot during the war, and surviving being shot down off the coast of New Guinea, he returned to Canada and built a successful career as a documentary filmmaker.
 
His transition to authoring books came about in 2011, at the age of 90, when he published his autobiography Through My Viewfinder about his film assignments. The following year, he published a second book with his wife Marguerite entitled The Camera and the Brush, detailing their prolific careers making films and travelling the world together.
 
Marguerite, who moved to Pacifica with Wim but sadly passed last year, worked alongside her husband as a commercial artist and film animator. She wrote an early chapter of the book in which she confides that her initial love interest was actually Wim’s brother, who was killed during the war. When Wim returned to Canada after serving overseas, the two fell in love and were married.
 
In his accustomed style, Wim is not waiting around to bask in the glory of his latest book, and has already started work on a sequel.
 
“The book I am writing now is called ‘The Sunset Years,’ and I have two stories completed and two more in the works,” he said with great expectation. “It includes the story of a 90-year-old resident who was a fighter pilot in the German Luftwaffe. He was also shot down, and you will have to read the book for the rest of his story.”

The benefit of Wim writing these books has really been twofold for residents at Pacifica. Wim has been able to continue living fully in the practice of his lifelong passion for storytelling. And through this, other residents have been able to share their personal stories, poetry and photos in a published book, as well as participate in an important life review process.
 
It’s a win-win, especially with sales of the book selling out at the launch party. During the ceremony, the Mayor of White Rock presented Wim with a birthday certificate from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; and the Queen of England sent an acknowledgement for his birthday, his book, and his contribution to the Canadian film industry.
 

Music plays over the PA system of a nearly-empty dining room. Breakfast is over. Among the empty chairs and deserted plates, Ted and Sophie are dancing.

It is one of the first times he has danced in nearly 10 years.

Ted Phillips started dancing as a teenager. He’d almost always attend Friday night dances at his high school, which were well organized and had live music. He taught himself to dance, and avoided the jitterbug whenever possible.

After high school, a four-year stint in the US Navy and four years of university, Ted became a librarian. In 1966 he moved to Canada.

“I arrived in Kingston around New Year’s Eve 1966,” said Ted. “From California, believe it or not, in the middle of winter.”

The snow didn’t bother Ted, who’d lived in snowy places before. Before retiring he worked at three university libraries in Canada—two in the Maritimes and one in Ontario. At some point he got married; and while a lot had changed in Ted’s life since high school, his love for dancing had not. He and his wife would often go out dancing. “I did it for so long… I just, it was just part of my life,” said Ted.

But that was before his wife went into long-term care with dementia and he slipped on the ice, breaking his left kneecap and his right arm.

Now, Ted can barely remember the last time he danced.

“It’s been several years, I don’t know… Eight? Ten?” said Ted. “I really can’t be sure of the last time my wife and I went dancing.”

Ted moved into Royale Place Retirement Residence in Kingston nearly a year ago. Soon after, he joined the Live It Fit Everyday (LIFE) program, a personalized, 8-12 week physical-activity program run by student occupational therapists and fitness health students. The program is geared to resident goals and has both group and one-on-one activity sessions. Ted has gone through the program twice and is signed-up for a third.

Ted prefers the one-on-one sessions. “I thought that was great because she stood there and led me through the exercises,” he said. The students also leave him exercises to do on his own, which he does most of the time. Ted said he thinks the one-on-one sessions are a great idea because they encourage people to do their exercises even when the occupational therapist isn’t around.

Since signing-up for the LIFE program, Ted’s mobility has improved. So much so, that he began thinking about dancing again.

Ted’s CD player is in use almost every night. One night, K.D. Lang’s voice filled the room while he read a book, already tucked into bed. It was a slow song, and while Ted lay there, he began to wonder.

“That’s a nice little piece,” he thought. “That’s a danceable piece of music… I wonder if I could...”

Ted put his book down and got up to his walker. He stood and began to move his feet, finding that he could move to the music.

“I thought, wow I can do this! I can move my feet to the music!” said Ted. “I thought, well I wonder if I can dance with somebody, a real person instead of my walker…”

Thushanthi, a student occupational therapist, worked closely with Ted during his second round in the LIFE program. One week into her work with Ted, he wanted to try dancing.

“We practiced dancing to one song, and I remember at the end of the track he was so happy, that he hugged me and said, ‘I can’t believe I did it,’” said Thushanthi. Thushanthi said that she and Ted continued practicing dancing whenever they had a session. She slowly increased the number of songs they danced to, and employees told her Ted often danced on his own with his walker.

For the first time in years, Ted was dancing again.

“Once I got going it just felt so natural,” said Ted. “That’s the only way I can put it, it felt like, well I can almost say it felt like it should have happened. I was so pleased with myself that I could do it, and it just made me feel good all over that I was able to do it after all these years.”
The first weekend after dancing with Thushanthi, Ted got a chance to dance with his two daughters.

“I was as happy as a clam,” said Ted with a laugh. “If clams can be happy.”

Ted has danced with five people since his experience with the LIFE program. Thushanthi and another student working at the time; his two daughters; and Sophie, a friend of Ted’s granddaughter who works at Royale Place.

At the end of their time together, Thushanthi and Ted danced in front of the LIFE group session.
“I remember,” said Thushanthi, “When we were dancing together in front of the residences, I could see the joy in Ted’s face every time I glanced up to look at him.”
 

You know you’re well liked when the dishwasher signs a petition to name you resident of the year.

Sandra Boyle says she is a “just do it” kind of person. When there is a problem she does something about it, which is why she was nominated for the British Columbia Seniors Living Association Resident of the Year 2015 award.  

“I often help people, like drive them over to the hospital and that sort of thing,” Sandra said. “So a lot of people know who I am.”

Although Sandra didn’t win Resident of the Year, in the six years she’s been living at Astoria Retirement Residence in Port Coquitlam she’s introduced a variety of altruistic ideas and programs. She introduced a program benefiting homeless seniors, which is called Seniors Helping Seniors; helped found Astoria’s volunteer ambassador program; and does whatever she can to help her fellow residents and boost their spirits.

“It’s a good thing to do. It keeps me busy, keeps me happy and everyone here is kind of proud of it too. The rewards are just as great for us as they are for them,” Sandra said about the Seniors Helping Seniors program.

Now 79, Sandra started Seniors Helping Seniors when she was 77 years old. The program came about after Sandra read that the Senior Services Society didn’t have enough resources to deal with the large population of homeless seniors. Sandra called the society and asked what she could do, how she could help, and was told that it would be really great if she could collect furniture for apartments so that when the society found a home for a senior it could be well furnished.

Sandra rose to the challenge. She started doing 50-50 draws once a month and letting anyone moving in or out know that if they had furniture they didn’t want it could help others in need.

Emily Curcuruto, Lifestyle Consultant at Cedarvale Lodge Retirement Residence in Keswick, was nominated for the 2016 Change our World Community Award by Douglas Hickey, a teacher who worked closely with her on the Cyber Seniors program.

“Emily provided such an incredible opportunity for my students to learn so many valuable life skills. It has changed them forever!” said Doug.

The Cyber Seniors program, which had its first run at Cedarvale Lodge in 2014, used technology to help bridge the generation gap between high school students and seniors.

Every week for two months, Emily drove 11 seniors to Keswick High School where they would meet Doug and his students. The students and seniors would then pair together and pick-up where they had left off the week before, a computer or iPad between them. It quickly became evident that there was much more to this program than students teaching seniors how to use the Internet—they were building connections. Slowly, friendships were building, and by the end of the two months everyone was sad to see the program come to an end.

“It was the opportunity to do something different within the home and to actually create these long lasting relationships with residents and high school students,” Emily said.

Cedarvale Lodge has a co-op program with Keswick High School that pre-dates Cyber Seniors, so Emily and Doug had worked together before. Which is why when the idea for Cyber Seniors started swirling around in Emily’s mind, she knew Doug was the person to talk to about it.

“Doug was phenomenal during the whole thing! He was my cheerleader right beside me and definitely an amazing partner to work with,” Emily said. “I couldn’t have done the program without him.”

The award ceremony took place on April 26 at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts. Although she didn’t win the award, Emily said she was honoured to stand on stage with such influential people.

“When I read what the actual award stood for… I was very humbled by it to be honest with you,” Emily said. “I didn’t expect any awards. I just wanted to do a program that would be meaningful for the residents and the students. I just wanted it to be as special for them as it could be.”
 

A published poet, Ian Bruce has written more poems than he knows what to do with—and he only began writing them last summer.

“I just thought it was a challenge, and I wanted to write something. I’d never done it before,” Ian said. “[Now] I’m doing it every day. I mean, since lunchtime I’ve written five poems.”

Ian, a resident at Rockcliffe Care Community in Scarborough, began writing after attending a group writing program led by Jocelyn, a program assistant. At one of the sessions, Jocelyn mentioned that there was a poetry competition being held by the Poetry Institute of Canada, and that she thought it would be good for people to write something for it. Ian’s poem Places in my Life won, and was published in the book The Tracery of Trees in January.

“From that time on I got hooked on writing poems and can’t seem to stop,” Ian said. “I wake up in the morning [and] I’ve already got two or three running around in my head.”

Ian likes to write in the lunchroom, because it’s big and open. He’s not distracted by the other things going on in the room, and is able to sit and disappear into his own world with ease. He usually writes until about three in the afternoon every day. His poems are about anything that comes to mind, whether it’s a part of his past or something that’s recently happened.

He said that writing keeps his head clear, and he finds that when his head is clear he’s more active.

“It’s just something that seems to click in my head and I can do it. And I try to encourage others to do likewise. Not necessarily write but… find something you can do and do it. There’s a lot of value in life, why waste it?” he said.

Ian knows a bit about life, as Places in my Life shows. The poem jumps from London, England, where Ian was born, to Malaysia, where he briefly served in the army, to Toronto and Rockcliffe, where he now lives.

Ian joined the British Army in early 1960, hoping to pick up a trade. At the time, you could join the army and learn a trade, as long as you applied it to the army. Ian learned heating and air conditioning. He got sick while in Malaysia (Malaya at the time) and was given medical discharge.

He stayed in England for a while before moving to Toronto. When he was writing Places in my Life, Ian said he sat down and just started thinking about what he’d done and where he’d been.

“I was thinking about what to write about, and I thought: Well the easiest thing to write about is myself, and that’s what I did. I wrote about where I lived,” he said.