mayor jack harrison

A non-profit organization is highlighting the risk of loneliness that many seniors in Dryden cope with everyday.

“Say you live (in an) apartment setting,” says Colleen Hill from Dryden District Senior Services. “You can still feel isolated even though you are surrounded by people.”

Earlier this week, October was proclaimed Seniors Isolation Prevention Month by Mayor Jack Harrison, who encourages all residents to celebrate and engage with Dryden’s senior citizens.

According to a recent report, less than 40 per cent of Canadians aged 50 and older engage in social and recreational activities on a weekly basis, with one in four saying they rarely or never do so.

Hill says Dryden District Senior Services offers several programs that are aimed at providing seniors the assistance, social support and services they often require.

“Our role with our organization is that we try and capture and try to encourage everyone to come to our programs,” says Hill. “We have programming in place to try and prevent isolation in the home.”

Among the services offered by Dryden District Senior Services are adult day programs that provide a group setting for socialization opportunities, respite, as well as support to families and caregivers.

As well, Dryden District Senior Services supports seniors with regular visitation services, whereby a volunteer and client are matched to meet via phone call or in-person visit.

“The key part is matching a volunteer with a client,” notes Lisa Helbling, the adult day and friendly visiting coordinator. “These visits can take place in their homes or they can take them shopping or to community events if they need that support.”

Another important program is Meals on Wheels, which has a dual-function for those who require the service.

“A volunteer will deliver a hot meal to the community member and in that delivery of service, they would provide a bit of a security check,” explains Hill, noting that if concerns arise, volunteers are instructed to report back to Dryden District Senior Services, which could potentially call for a wellness check.

“All of our programs are supported with volunteers,” adds Hill, encouraging anyone interested in helping out to sign up. “(People) can give us a call here at Dryden Senior Services or by email.”