Seniors’ portrait ‘tip of the iceberg’

BY ELYSE AMEND

elyse.amend@transcontinental.ca

Communication, transportation, and independence were some of the main points raised during a presentation of a preliminary portrait of West Island seniors at the Dollard des Ormeaux Civic Centre yesterday.

Funded by Centraide, headed by West Island Citizen Advocacy, and supported by the West Island Seniors’ Table, the private consulting firm Convercité prepared the study by speaking to 12 seniors groups in six sectors across the West Island and Lachine. The questions asked focused on seniors’ principal challenges and needs in the West Island, as well as what can be done to better integrate seniors in the community.

According to Convercité project manager Stefanie Dunn, one of the biggest issues is transportation – or the lack thereof. The study’s preliminary results show that public transportation schedule improvements, better connections, added frequency, and more adapted transport are needed to improve the situation.

Dunn also said the study shows accompaniment services for medical appointments and errands, as well as in-home support top the list of seniors’ needs.

“The trend is to encourage people to stay at home, and that makes a lot of sense for a lot of people,” she said, adding many West Island seniors are homeowners, and many of them live alone.

Former McGill University associate professor of social work Sheila Goldbloom – who was chairperson of the commission on seniors’ living conditions that toured the province with Marguerite Blais, the minister responsible for seniors, in 2007 – highlighted this point while speaking about her experiences last year.

“Almost 89 per cent of the people want to stay at home, so we have to develop resources to help them stay at home,” she said, adding another point she heard often during the tour is that the elderly often feel ignored. “We heard so many times that people feel invisible … We can be helpful. We can be mentors in schools, and so on. There are so many things we can do, and we need to take responsibility for that.”

Communication between seniors, organizations, municipalities, and other parties is also key in breaking isolation, Dunn said.

“How can we come up with a coordinated way, a centralized way, to do this work in each municipality, where seniors are able to access it?” Dunn questioned. The report suggests an info-line dedicated specifically to seniors is one way of improving communication and getting information to those who need it.

The Convercité study shows that, in 2006, there were about 69,000 people over the age of 55 living in the West Island. About 52 per cent of those over 75 years old were living alone. With the number of seniors over 65 years old expected to account for 22 per cent of the West Island’s population by 2026, Convercité’s preliminary results also indicate seniors expressed a need for more affordable, quality housing, consistent and improved home services, prolonged healthcare services, more family physicians and specialists, and an extension of the meals on wheels services. The study also suggests tax credits, financial support for widows, municipal and school tax exemptions, and utility price reductions to help fight poverty among the elderly.

As for organizations serving seniors, the results suggest some of their main challenges include breaking isolation, improving communication, offering adequate services, integrating immigrants, and recruiting volunteers, for which there is a constant need.

At press time, participants were getting ready to ask questions and make comments on the presentation. During the afternoon session, they were split into groups to identify the main concerns in their area that need to be acted upon.

“We’re asking all the participants to get together – on a territorial basis – and figure out what the two priority actions would be in their area out of what came from the portrait,” Dunn said.

The final report will be released in September, and president of the West Island Seniors’ Table, Ann Davidson, said yesterday’s event was “one step towards the final document” that will identify what needs to be done to improve seniors’ conditions in the West Island.

“This will be useful for any potential funding, because it will be able to be used as solid evidence when different organizations are going after grants or funding,” she said. “I’m very happy with the turnout. There is a good mix … We need a full community collaboration for this, because this is only the tip of the iceberg.”

West Island Citizen Advocacy director Mary Clare Tanguay was also pleased with the way the day’s events were unfolding.

“It’s really about looking at the seniors’ situation in the West Island together and coming up with possible solutions,” she said.