Seniors proving age just a number cont. and discovered new interests after turning 50.
“It took me a while to talk myself into going down there — to admit I was a senior,” says Lutz. “I would go down there and look around, say to myself ‘I wasn’t that old’ and take off. These days I go regularly.”
Like Lutz, Butterwick says the centres are far more than just a place to visit. He says the centres and the activities held there inspire seniors to get out into their community — either through volunteering or regular activities — and calls it where a senior's mind and body can be active.
Dianna Jossa, the manager of senior services for the City of Medicine Hat, agrees.
“We actually deliver very few programs or services,” Jossa says. “It is the people who participate in the activities other members schedule — the ones who use the centres — that bring it to life.”
She says at some point the Veiner Centre name has become synonymous with both centres. One of her challenges is branding them as more than just recreation and leisure centres. They are safe places for seniors to create meaningful social connections, have some fun, and explore
their interests.
Jossa also says more than 30 per cent of the city’s population is over the age of 50. The services provided by the six staff, and some volunteers, at the Veiner Centre are essential to that group.
Veiner Centre staff deliver a senior outreach program which offers members quick and easy access to information or education. More than 20 workshops were delivered to members in 2012 on various topics — everything from safe sex to fall prevention. An information library currently under development will offer seniors access public use computers and free wireless internet.
Staff also provide direct client services. Jossa says her team will always be willing to answer questions and provide support. They have the means to connect seniors with community resources for everything from housing to mental health services. If somebody is “falling through the cracks” Jossa says staff will try to help that person get what they need.
Both the seniors outreach and the direct client services provided are equally important to helping senior citizens, like Jossa herself, live active healthy lives.
The Veiner Centre also provides access to information officers and volunteer programs which allow seniors to receive help with various benefit programs. An income tax program operated by volunteers helps seniors living on a fixed income get their taxes done. The Meals on Wheels program operates Monday through Friday, and provides frozen meals for Saturday and Sunday if requested.
Additionally the Wheels to Meals program sees seniors picked up from their homes by volunteers and delivered to a piping hot nutritious meal at the Veiner Centre. Alternatively the centre’s Parkside Eatery serves as a gathering place for seniors who seek out an affordably priced meal or an opportunity to chat over a hot coffee.
Jossa admits, however, the Veiner Centre doesn’t serve all the needs of the senior community.
“We are overwhelmed right now, in terms of activity,” she says. “We need to initiate the creation of an age-friendly community and start looking at incorporating things that will encourage seniors to play a larger role within the greater community.” ■
LaVerne Noble runs the duplicate bridge club at the Strathcona Centre.
Terry Butterwick, president of the Medicine Hat Woodcarvers Club, works on a dove at the Veiner Centre.
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