Family Services of Peel develops new initiative to connect seniors stuck at home

Written By ALYSSA PARKHILL

Family Services of Peel is doing its part to help ensure local seniors stay connected during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The ongoing situation has devastated seniors' communities across the country, with many residents forced to isolate themselves in their homes, without human contact with friends, neighbours or their families. Seniors have been limited to small or no contact from their families in order to keep them safe.

Family Services of Peel have committed to a new project that will connect with seniors to keep spirts high, and to create that form of connection that they crave. 

“This is a way we can keep us connected. We know this is an issue in Peel, it's an issue with our seniors,” said Director of Client Services, Sandra Rupnarani. 

The Seniors Social Table project connects registered seniors with other seniors who speak the same language.

“One of the things we found, is even adults who speak English, but we found many were marginalized in terms of really isolating, and English was not their first language,” explained Rupnarani. “It was a combination of reasons that led us to needing to keep seniors connected. We need to keep those most vulnerable and who can't access their services in English, because it's not their first language, connected to a community, instead of getting isolated.”

The project is provided in four different languages and will lead to opening up to several others as the project continues. They are starting with Spanish, Arabic, Urudu/Punjabi and Chinese. Seniors can connect with facilitators in the program, who will get them set up with a mobile device if they don't have one and coordinate someone to speak with them. 

“Some might want to do yoga together, they may want to sing together, we've had seniors who wanted to do prayer together. We're trying to get to what they want to stay connected,” Rupnarani said. 

Each session lasts for two hours between 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

To register or for more information, please call (647) 290-7543 or email rmcmillan@fspeel.org.