鈥淪hare your stories,鈥� as a way to combat ageism, urged the B.C. seniors advocate during a visit to Aldergrove on Friday.
Dan Leavitt wants the broader population to better understand the discrimination older people face.
鈥淲e鈥檙e right now doing a campaign to hear stories from seniors around the province,鈥� he told the crowd during the May 30 visit to Bellevue Park seniors complex in Aldergrove. 鈥淲e want to hear what your contributions are.鈥�
Ageism manifests in many forms. It can be something such as prioritizing hospitals over home care, he explained.
鈥淕rowing old isn鈥檛 the problem. The demographics of the problem, it鈥檚 people鈥檚 perception. So, we want to celebrate and we need to hear your stories to promote the importance of growing old,鈥� Leavitt said.
As part of his presentation, Leavitt 鈥� who worked many years in the seniors care sector 鈥� took a bit of a swipe at society鈥檚 obsession with looking young while encouraging the audience to celebrate aging.
鈥淚鈥檓 encouraging seniors in B.C. to own your age,鈥� he said. 鈥淏e proud of who you are. And kind of accept those wrinkles, and you don鈥檛 have to support the anti-aging industry.鈥�
He noted that he and his sister saw the Rolling Stones when they performed in B.C. and 鈥渢hey blew the roof off of the stadium.鈥�
He also spoke on serious issues and heard some concerns from the crowd, including access to help and care.
Alternate levels of care
Leavitt said he will continue to push the government to do better in terms of finding seniors appropriate levels of care. For instance, if a senior must go into long-term care, the wait is long, which often ties up hospital beds.
鈥淭hirty-five days is your average waiting time for long-term care from a hospital,鈥� he noted.
It鈥檚 worse for seniors in their homes who should be in long-term care 鈥� more than seven months.
He said his office is soon to release a report on the issue.
鈥淎nd we鈥檝e heard some tough stories from British Columbians who have done what they could to help a love one,鈥� he said, noting he鈥檚 cautiously optimistic the province will improve seniors care.
Leavitt noted that his office is encouraging the provincial ministries to work together more.
鈥淲e want to see the different ministries, which are really siloed, work together,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e want to see health work together with housing and work together with income, social development, and with transportation. So when that was all working, if you needed to go to the hospital, for example, maybe to get some kind of treatment of some kind and you couldn鈥檛 drive, the transportation system would take you there. And when and if you needed housing because you no longer can stay where you are, you鈥檇 find some housing and your income would be supported.鈥�
Caregiver concern
Leavitt said his office will likely be looking into caregiver wellness in an upcoming report.
鈥淥ne of the things that we鈥檙e really concerned about in our office is the caregiver stress, caregiver burnout, and caregiver isolation,鈥� he noted.
Affordability issues
Leavitt encouraged older people, who are struggling financially and own their own homes, to consider property tax deferral. The province pays the deferred property tax to the municipality and is repaid when the senior either sells their home or from the estate if the senior passes.
As for the approximately 20 per cent of seniors who are renters, Leavitt encouraged them to look into the SAFER program to get help if they are struggling to pay the rent.
While the province has increased SAFER rates, it鈥檚 still insufficient and his office is pushing it to help more so that seniors don鈥檛 pay more than 30 per cent of their income for rent.
In terms of affordable housing, he鈥檚 looking for the federal government and province to do more. Leavitt noted that last year, there were 14,000 British Columbians on the waiting list for affordable housing and about 800 were able to get into units.
Demographics
Due to lower birth rates and people living longer, the number of seniors will grow substantially in the coming years.
鈥淚n 11 years from now, it鈥檒l be 1.5 million people will be over 65 [in B.C]. So that鈥檚 one in four. So 20, 25 per cent at that point will be a senior,鈥� Leavitt noted.
And he noted that 95 per cent of seniors 65 and older continue to live independently, defying the myth that seniors consume an excessive share of government resources.
While the government is investing more money into seniors programs and services, the number of seniors has grown faster than the funding, he noted.
Seniors advocate
Leavitt encouraged seniors to contact his office, noting his staff can make referrals and help seniors access resources. Advisors can help Monday through Friday, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. The office can be reached at www.seniorsadvocatebc.ca or by phone at 1-877-952-3181 (toll free) or 250-952-3181. The office鈥檚 information line is open 24 hours per day. After hours, seniors can call 211.
