Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/398704
F a l l 2 0 1 4 I V a n c o u v e r F o u n d a t i o n l p a g e 2 7 South Vancouver is home to 16,000 seniors, which works out to be the highest percentage of any neighborhood in Vancouver. Many of these older adults, especially immigrants with low incomes, are vulnerable to isolation. "Not only are they struggling with a lack of awareness of what services are out there to utilize, they are also struggling with low incomes," says Daisy Kler, Seniors Hub volunteer co-ordinator. "So the chances of them doing something extra, aside from looking for work and surviving, is less than for Canadian-born seniors." A report released last year in Britain found that elderly people who are socially isolated and lonely may be at greater risk of early death. Researchers at University College London found that social isolation is bad for health and can lead to serious illness. Ramesh Kalia, 71, has witnessed the pain of social isolation dur- ing her five years as a volunteer working with seniors through South Vancouver Neighbourhood House. "I visit them in their homes. ey are lying there and they are crying. Often their kids don't look after them," says Kalia. "ey feel lonely. ey have language problems. ey are waiting for someone to share their problems with." Kalia herself faced isolation after her husband died of heart failure in 2011. She became depressed and eventually ramped up her volunteer activity, finding solace in helping others. Kalia joined a weekly South Asian mutual support group and became active in outreach programs for isolated and frail seniors. She took computer courses and shared her new skills at various workshops with other seniors. "Now I feel very proud. e community is helping me because I am learning from them. It is a big thing for me because it is my passion." A key goal of the Seniors Hub is more transit service for seniors in South Vancouver, where there are currently only two east-west bus routes between Marine Drive and 49th Avenue. "We have a lot of social isolation here because of geography," explains Larcombe. For more information on the South Vancouver Seniors Hub, call Shelley Jorde at 604.324.6212 (ext. 136) or visit the website at theseniorshub.org. To support projects like this that help seniors stay connected to their community and age in place in their homes, call Kristin in Development and Donor Services at Vancouver Foundation at 604.629.5186. Belen Didulo, 74 (near left), stays social by leading the Seniors Shindig every Wednesday at South Vancouver Neighbourhood House (far left and above); Ramesh Kalia, 71 (right), combats her own isolation by volunteering with other seniors. "Some older people just can't get out. ey don't drive anymore, there are few buses and they have no resources for taxis." The Seniors Hub has canvassed older residents in South Vancouver about their transit needs, even putting together a series of digital film stories about seniors whose lives are constrained by the lack of transportation options. e Hub has also lobbied TransLink to provide more bus routes and consider funding a shuttle bus ser- vice aimed at seniors. In early 2014, South Vancouver Neighbourhood House part- nered with United Way to provide a Better at Home volunteer driver program within South Vancouver. It's been so successful that the program is looking at expanding the service to a shuttle bus group- shopping program for seniors who need assistance getting to the grocery store. It is volunteers like the Better at Home drivers and Polynesian-dance teacher Didulo that are so crucial to the welfare of South Vancouver seniors. ey are the Seniors Hub foot soldiers who reach out to their peers, providing information and often emotional comfort. Didulo worked for 27 years with the federal government in its human resources department. Retirement brought plenty of time alone. "It can get kind of lonely and you either talk to yourself or the TV." So Didulo increased her volunteer activity, reaching out to seniors who were also adapting to the new stresses that come when there is no longer a job to go to or children and grandchildren to raise. "e people at my Seniors Shindig are happy. ey have come out of their house, they socialize a little and so it feels better."