The Quesnel Community Response Network is hosting a ‘Neighbours, Friends and Families’ workshop on Oct. 24 to help bring awareness to safety for the elderly in the community.
Tim Rowe, from the provincial Community Response Network, will present twice, once at 3 p.m. and again at 6 p.m., to allow as many Quesnel residents as possible to take part in the workshop.
Brenda Gardiner, who heads up Quesnel’s branch of the Community Response Network, said the program is aimed at caregivers, but also at people who act as the “eyes and ears of the community.”
“That could be retired people who go on walks in the evening, healthcare providers, taxi drivers… anyone who is able to look out for our elderly community members,” she said.
The workshop will focus on a three-step approach: how to recognize warning signs and risk factors of abuse or neglect; how to respond safely and effectively as bystanders; and how to refer and find help in the community. As the program was designed by the Centre for Research & Education on Violence against Women and Children, Gardiner said it could be valuable in other ways as well.
“It’s not just for elder abuse. It’s a way to recognize abuse and neglect of any vulnerable people.”
Gardiner said because the mail is no longer delivered door-to-door in many neighbourhoods around Quesnel, senior citizens who are at risk no longer have daily contact with community members.
“The mail people used to really take care to notice how the seniors on their routes were doing,” said Gardiner, “but that’s changed as they’ve put in more central mailboxes.”
Rowe’s presentation will go through scenarios of how seniors can be abused, and teaches individuals about their duty to report, and how to go about it.
“When people don’t know what to do with what they see, they might ignore it. But this presentation shows you what you can do, and how you can help,” commented Gardiner.
The workshops will take place at the Anglican Church Hall at 465 Kinchant Street and are free for all participants. Contact Brenda Gardiner at 250-992-9156 for more information.