Canadian Red Cross launches new program to help seniors in New Brunswick
The Canadian Red Cross is launching a new program in New Brunswick to help older adults in the province connect with local community services.
The organization says Connection NB will help vulnerable adults aged 65 and older, who live alone.
“Sort of the invisible members of our community, so to speak,” says community coordinator Wanda Wilson.
“They don’t have a strong social network. They go to the store, go to the salon, go to the pharmacy, end of list.”
Because of that, some seniors may not know how to navigate their local community services – and that’s where the Red Cross wants to step in.
Wilson says volunteers with the program will act sort of like a concierge.
“They’re not providing services per se, but they are connecting them,” says Wilson. "They’re filling out the forms – they’re perhaps accompanying them to whatever services or organizations they need to make their lives that much easier and allow them to age in place longer.”
Although loneliness and social isolation have long been a problem for some seniors, the issue has been further amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I was just talking the other day to a lady and she said, ‘You know, I don’t come out of my apartment,'” seniors advocate Cecile Cassista says.
“I said, ‘What do you mean you don’t come out of your apartment,’ she asked. "'They leave the groceries at the door. I’m just petrified.'”
Cassista is also worried about the mental toll this can take on seniors.
“I think the important piece here, is to make sure our seniors are not left out there alone because loneliness can really wear you down,” Cassista says.
The Red Cross is looking for volunteers for the program, and they’re looking for commitments of six hours a month for a total of six months.
In its first phase, the program will be offered in Saint John, St. Andrews, Moncton, and Miramichi.
The program is slated to begin in January.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.