Rita Schuetz (left) receives breakfast from Seniors and Housing Minister Josephine Pon on Friday at the Golden Circle in Red Deer. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

seniors' week

Red Deer seniors take in pancakes and visit from provincial minister

Jun 7, 2019 | 2:53 PM

Alberta seniors have a lot on their plate, but at the top of the list is housing, according to one local advocate.

Jane Grenier-Frank, president of the Central Alberta Council on Aging, spoke to rdnewsNOW on Friday from the Golden Circle where local senior citizens enjoyed a pancake breakfast and visit from new Seniors and Housing Minister Josephine Pon.

The event was held during Alberta Seniors’ Week (June 2-8).

Grenier-Frank believes society needs to think deeper when it comes to seniors’ issues.

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“The challenge is trying to keep seniors in their homes for an extended period of time. I sometimes think that we give lip service to wanting to have seniors stay in the home, but what services are we offering to them?” she asked.

“Are we giving them a discount on snow removal, on maintaining their grass, or are they having to fund all of that on their own?”

She adds that the proliferation of grocery stores offering delivery has been great, but also wonders how many seniors live without paramedic care, or help with bathing and getting out of bed.

“We constantly have issues relative to housing and care in facilities,” Grenier-Frank continued. “They end up sometimes taking a bed for an acute care patient for an extended period of time when they really need to go into a centre that would look after or offer respite until they can get over into a seniors’ residential care facility.”

On the other hand, she points out seniors have a lot of experience under their belt, which would be a good thing for people who aren’t yet seniors to remember.

“The thing with seniors is that they still like to listen to music, to dance, to have mobility, and to swim. They like to do all these activities that young people like to do. Young people may not necessarily like to do them with seniors, but seniors like to do to them with them,” she quipped.

“They come from high-paying jobs, many of them come from administrative positions that have overseen huge projects, they come from engineering, nursing, a variety of backgrounds, and they’re able to offer information and resources to younger people if they ask.”

Minister Pon told the 100 or so in attendance Friday they have her word that she’ll do all she can to make sure seniors’ needs are met.

“It’s always important to take care of them. That’s why I’ve been doing my road trip during Seniors’ Week, because I want to meet our seniors and all the association leaders to listen to them, what are their challenges, what are they needing from the government to support them,” she said.

To date, healthcare and affordable housing are the two most common priorities Pon has heard. The minister will file a report once her tour and other consultations are completed before putting forward any legislation.

“We all will become older one of these days,” she said.

“We want seniors to live comfortably because they’ve made great contributions to build this beautiful province for us. We need to work together to make sure we can provide comfortable living for all seniors. That’s why I’m doing this road trip.”

The AGM for the Central Alberta Council on Aging is June 27 at the Golden Circle from 1-4:30 p.m. The public is welcome.

A full listing of events happening at the Golden Circle, including a session on Elder Abuse Awareness Day (June 15), is on their website.