For close to twenty years, The Brantford Seniors’ Resource Centre, a non-profit organization, has been offering an array of drop-in day programs, classes, clubs and resources for seniors in the Brantford community.
Nancy Giles, who founded the centre with her late husband Chuck, explained its beginnings.
“The project came about when my 96-year-old grandmother…wanted us to do something for the seniors in our community. From there, Chuck and I started meeting up with seniors’ groups all over town. And at the time, there were around six or seven different seniors’ clubs, and we were asking questions about what kinds of services they were in need of. And what we found was that there was need a for a one stop shop for people to come in and get information and have assistance filling out government forms…because there was too much problems with people going from place to place, and never really finding everything that they needed,” she noted “We applied for some grants and got a new Horizons grant…and then we opened up our resource centre next door to where we are now, and set up shop…we had seniors were coming in to apply for Canada pension, old age and drug programs and just asking general questions about where they could get other services in the community.”
However, Giles found that many seniors were coming back to the centre, so the need to develop additional programs was key.
“We were finding that a lot of them were coming back time and time again…not only because they needed help with their forms…but wanted company. We have expanded so much since then [as] some of our seniors were all by themselves and didn’t have folks that they could meet with or talk to or get the support that they needed…[we created a place that] they would come here during the day and have coffee and talk with their friends and in some cases, work with staff to figure out how to problem solve some things that were going on in their life and to make things easier. We started talking to our client base, because we figured if they were here, we could at least identify some programs that we could offer that would help them gain some knowledge or support that they didn’t have currently,” Giles explained. “The biggest thing was the social [aspect]…providing a place that they could meet with other seniors…and we have knitting and crocheting classes going on now, [as well as] paint and craft classes, and all kinds of other things. We also have had some speakers come in to talk on various subjects…and then we added a component where seniors could come in for a hot meal on Fridays…we found out that some of them were having trouble with food services, so we got a little food bank going too.”
One of the most popular offerings has been helping seniors with their income taxes.
“We were also finding out that people were bringing up the high cost of getting their income taxes done at for-profits…which was costing our seniors between $150 and $200 to have one simple return done, and it was just cost prohibitive…so we recruited some amazing volunteers…who really stepped up and started doing taxes for people for free. That program started with around 1,000 people total in a year, and now we see between 3,000 to 5,000 people each year,” she noted. “For the last three months, we were seeing up to 500 people a day…and without these volunteers to do these income taxes, I don’t know how we’d be able to do that…it’s incredible what they’ve accomplished…also, our income tax program does not just serve seniors…we have expanded to serve any age group that’s low income.”
Nevertheless, Giles continues to see how the centre and its programs positively affect seniors that come in.
“I’m so overwhelmed by the gratitude that so many of them come in with. They come in with simple problems that are easy for us to fix and to help with, and the gratitude that you see from them is just heartwarming…every time I come into work and I see one of my seniors…I get a hug from them…it’s like getting a hug from my grandma again. It’s such a beautiful feeling,” she said. “I see people that are coming in troubled and not knowing how to handle situations and then leaving here with their shoulders back and their head held up high, and knowing that they can accomplish whatever they need to with just a little support. And that’s one of the most rewarding things that I’ve found about the job.
Giles, herself has been touched by many people that have come to the centre; however, she tells a story that reflects the importance of what they do.
“One of the most heartwarming stories was a senior woman that was in an abusive relationship…she financially could not leave the place that she was living, because the income was going to the spouse, and we were able to help her switch over her pensions, so that she was getting some financial funding directly to her and assist her with trying to get into housing. In helping her do that…her life changed around completely…she then came in and started to volunteer here for a time, and she was just a different person,” said Giles. “We have had many seniors that have come in here for help and turned around and joined our forces here and became volunteers so that they could help other seniors…there’s been so many situations that I can look at and say what I’m doing is worthwhile…by helping so many people improve the quality of their lives.”
Despite some corporate support, Giles is always looking for ways to get funding.
“There have been some companies that have stepped up and donated. SC Johnson as well as Proctor and Gamble have been amazing to us…they’ve really assisted, especially at Christmas time, when we do stockings to give us products so that we can hand out to seniors. We take a lot of referrals from many agencies in town, so Service Canada will send their clients here to help them fill out forms, because they don’t do that there,” she noted. “But I’d love to have some stable funding that would make things so much easier, because on top of the day-to-day operations, we’re having to constantly apply for grants just to keep our doors open. For us, it’s a year-to-year thing…and so help in that way is much needed. We also sit down with our clients and ask them about what kinds of things that they would like to see happen in the future. All of our programs have been client directed, and I hope we always stay that way. …our job is to listen to them and to provide them with what they need. So that’s been the philosophy since the beginning, and I hope we always stay that way.”
However, the importance of this type of centre would be something that would be beneficial in other communities.
“We’re really the only resource centre [of our type] in the province. I think that offers not only assistance with doing the troubleshooting, but also having various programs where people can come in for the day…I would love to see something like this all over the province. I know there are a lot of programs that have recreational [components] like games and sports activities, and that’s wonderful,” Giles said. “But no matter where I look in the province, I haven’t seen another centre quite like ours…and I suppose funding is the problem…because there isn’t a standardized funding [for something that we do]…but to have a centre like ours in every larger community in the province would be amazing as it would truly benefit our seniors.”
