Boundary Family Services (BFS) is looking for volunteers to help run its at-home non-medical support program for seniors, Boundary Better at Home.
Program co-ordinator Rachel Warriner and senior consultant Maggie Malloff said they have around 25 volunteers so far, including folks from Grand Forks and Christina Lake. Warriner said she hopes to sign up 50 more by the spring.
“I literally get four to five calls a week from people wanting to know more about the program,” she added.
The program aims to keep Boundary seniors living fulfilled, independent lives.
“If seniors can stay living at home longer, they’re happier and healthier and their cognitive ability stays sharper for longer,” Malloff said. A senior herself, Malloff is well placed to keep Boundary Better at Home relevant to clients’ needs, especially given her extensive involvement running seniors’ programming at the old Hardy View Lodge.
The program isn’t designed to replace the type of care some seniors receive at assisted living centers, and there are limits to what volunteers can achieve amid the pandemic. But Malloff expects the program to bring Boundary seniors “some care and attention; some mental well-being — even some laughter.”
Volunteers will be available to help deliver Boundary clients’ groceries and prescriptions and have friendly visits with seniors over the phone. All volunteers who interact with seniors will wear face masks, medical gloves and booties provided by BFS, Warriner explained.
Interested volunteers are asked to provide BFS with a criminal background check, a driver’s abstract (volunteers must be 16 or over) and two community references. Qualified volunteers will then be asked to meet with Warriner for a brief orientation before meeting with clients. For more information, please call Rachel Warriner at 250-442-2267, ext. 40243, or email her at rwarriner@bfiss.org.