SENIORS RESOURCE & SUPPORT SOCIETY
- COWICHAN -
#1 Kenneth Place
Duncan, BC Canada V9L 5G3
Phone: 250-748-2133
Fax: 250-748-3509
Email: srss@shaw.ca
1987 – 2007
Although the Cowichan Seniors Advisory Society was not registered as a Society until January 22, 1987, it’s beginnings go back to the early 1980’s when a small group, concerned with the lack of adequate services for seniors, formed a ‘long-term planning committee’. Their goal was to fill in the gaps in existing services as they affect the senior population, in particular the lack of public transportation and the absence of an emergency phone service.
Included in this group were Dr. Steve Faulkner, a gerontologist, who became the first president of CSAS, and Anne Murray, a retired nurse.
Other than hold monthly meetings, without funding or even a home base, the group was able to accomplish very little until October 1989 when it received a grant from Health and Welfare Canada under the new Seniors Independence Program. The grant, in the amount of $200,000 and spread over two years, required a full-time coordinator and a part-time secretary/assistant be hired. Two staff members of the Provincial Mental Health Branch were also appointed to act as advisors. The Society’s proposed program was to be evaluated by an independent reviewer every six months.
In it’s initial application, the program, which was to be carried out in the whole Cowichan Valley, contained three basic elements:
1. Keeping Well – including information and referrals, still a vital element today.
2. Medical Alert Program – Coordinated by Annie-Mae Miller and assisted by Fred Shackell, this program ran until September of 1992 when it evolved into the Lifeline program and was turned over to the Duncan Lions Club.
3. Senior Peer Counselling – which went its own way very shortly, but returned under the CSAS umbrella in 2001.
Under the logo “Especially for Seniors”, the new programs were run from a cramped office in the Cowichan Community Centre with all its meetings being held in the Centre. The Coordinator, Maxine Prendergast (October 1989 through October 1992) brought both knowledge and experience to the job, and with her help, the Society’s value to the community became recognized and its reputation established.
The funding ended with the end of 1991 and that led to a reduction of staff and a change of office location. In September, the office was moved to its present location in the lower level of City Hall.
In March of 1992 the CSAS obtained a further grant from Health and Welfare Canada, this time under the New Horizons Program. Totaling $29,000 spread over an eighteen-month period, this grant was renewed in the amount of just over $27,000, for another eighteen-month period, finally ending in March 1995.
To obtain the funding, the Society had to develop a split personality. Although the CSAS continued to exist, in order to receive the grant, a group of ten seniors was formed into what was called the “Seniors Keeping Well Committee”. (SKWC). This group had it’s own chairman, Dr. John Lawson, but shared the CSAS coordinator. The coordinator at the time was Carol Collins (October 1992 to March 1995) who was another tower of strength. Helen Peters took over the SKWC as chairman when Dr. Lawson’s health started to fail.
It was during the life of the SKWC that most new programs were started:
- In 1991 a drama group called the Bright Lights Entertainers got under way.
- In 1992, the Gentle Walks group, and a TV group that was helped by Shaw Cable and lasted about eighteen months.
- In 1993, the monthly teas were begun.
- And in 1994, exercise classes, seniors kitchen, and the first bus trips (using the old Legion bus) were initiated. That year saw as well the early involvement in planning for the Community Garden at Providence Farm.
Also during those years a lot of effort was put into reaching out to seniors living in apartments.
In 1992, the Cowichan United Way, recognized the value of the CSAS to seniors, and provided us with the first of the yearly grants which have continued to this day. It was also 1992 when we began receiving bingo money from the BC Government.
When the New Horizons Program grants ended, the SKWC ceased to exist in March 1995, and it was absorbed into the CSAS. With the reduced funding, Carol Collins was replaced by another part-time coordinator, Susan Counsell, who had assisted Carol for a few months. The Society struggled on with its existing programs and services, always short of funding and searching for new resources. Some relief was provided when the B.C. Gaming Commission grants were increased, and new life was breathed into the Society’s activities with the hiring of Carol Hunt as coordinator, in August of 1999.
In June of 2001, Julie Budd replaced Carol Hunt. After four years of further development and expansion under the capable management of Julie Budd, Karen Kryzanowski took over the helm in February of 2006 as co ordinator (now executive director).
In December of 2006 the society received a grant from New Horizons for Seniors for the purpose of developing a “drop-in-center”. The anticipated opening of the center to seniors and their families is slated for sometime in April 2007.
Board Presidents
1987 Dr. Steven Faulkner
1988/90 Anne Murray
1991/93 Tim Trousdell
1994 Lil Durand
1995/96 Tim Trousdell
1997 Lil Durand
1998/00 Peter Kiessling
2001/03 Tim Trousdell
2004/05 Else Strand
2006/08 Annie Mae Miller
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