It was a busy year of dining, dancing and activities throughout 2024 at the Veiner Centre. This past year the centre launched its volunteer run Veiner Vintage Transportation program and provided more than 32,000 healthy meals through its Meals on Wheels program.--SUBMITTED PHOTO
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
Consistent membership growth has the Unison at Veiner Centre on course to reach record high number as the non-profit organization that serves seniors in Medicine Hat and surrounding communities is on track for more than 1,700 members by the year end, increasing by more than 100 since 2023.
This year a new volunteer driven transportation program has provided more than 1,300 round-trip rides to seniors seeking rides to medical appointments, grocery shopping as well as social activities.
Throughout the year the Veiner Centre focused on its goal of reducing social isolation by providing more transportation, helped reduce the stigma around men’s mental health, served thousands of nutritious meals as well as strengthened its ongoing active aging programs that support the well-being of older adults.
The Veiner Vintage Transportation Program works by providing door-to-door assisted transportation services while offering a sliding scale subsidy. Working with Healthy Aging Alberta, the Veiner Centre is able to provide seniors in Medicine Hat and the counties of Forty Miles and Cypress with an affordable transportation option.
“The idea of this program is for seniors who have transportation challenges, helping them get to important medical appointments and things, but also helping them get to activities that keep them connected to the community,” says Larry Mathieson, president Unison For Generations 50+ and operator of Unison at Veiner Centre.
Mathieson says that throughout the year more than 110 clinics have accessed the service that is run by more than 20 volunteers, who are averaging approximately 70 rides a month.
The Men’s Shed is another new initiative that provides a friendly place that encourages men to get together to tell stories and share a good time, while helping avert the isolation and depression of spending too much time alone.
The term Men’s Shed refers to the meeting location and the concept of providing a welcoming place where senior men come together to share knowledge, learn new skills and have a bit of fun, and the concept is growing across the province.
“Men sheds have been around for a long time and there’s a growing men shed movement in the province of Alberta,” explains Mathieson. “But in our centres the number of women always kind of outpaces the number of men, and so the Men’s Shed is a way to get the guys out and get the guys together.”
Throughout the year more than 200 volunteers supported various programs, including Meals on Wheels, which served more than 32,000 nutritious and affordable meals to aging adults who are unable to make meals on their own due to a variety of reasons including age related illnesses, mobility loss, disability or illness.
The service is used by more than 200 local clinics on a regular basis and delivers hot meals directly to seniors’ homes by trained volunteers who prepare the meals each morning.
It also goes beyond a meal, acting as a tool to combat social isolation among homebound seniors, as volunteers often spend time with their seniors and are able to perform wellness checks.
“This is not like a Skip the Dishes kind of program where somebody drops off the meal and runs,” says Mathieson. “Our volunteers are checking in on our seniors, doing wellness checks to make sure things are OK … it’s one more check on the seniors in the community.”
Mathieson says research supports the vital support Meals on Wheels has in the community by allowing seniors to stay at home longer.
“We’re members of Meals on Wheels America, which is the global body of the charity and lots of research has gone into the benefit not only to seniors themselves who get the service but also the health-care benefits. There’s all sorts of research that indicates that a program like this actually helps people age in place better, so they don’t have to move into a more formal residence.”
Meals are provided at a subsidized cost for low-income adults, as a portion of funding is provided through a Family and Community Support Service grant while the rest is raised through community fundraising efforts.
Veiner Centre kitchen staff have also been busy expanding their culinary borders as the Veiner Centre introduced themed night dinners monthly as well as expanding its service onto its new outdoor patio area, allowing guests to enjoy the centre’s scenery.
“Those have been a lot of fun, there’s live music,” recalls Mathieson. “We’ve had the Mardi Gras dance and the Valentines’ dance and the Stampede Rodeo, trivia night, Spring Fashion Show, we had a fall fair. Elvis, I’ll just say Elvis was in that building.”
The Veinter Centre has expanded its programming adding a card making group, ukulele club as well as a cornhole league that is growing “faster than pickleball,” as well as expanding offsite activities that included attending the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and the Spruce Meadows Christmas Market as well as events and activities around Medicine Hat.
“Because that has been so popular with our members, we want to kind of replicate that and come up with some new ideas. Our team in the centre has really worked on anything that keeps people active, so more fitness classes, more mental health, finance,” says Mathieson, who says the centre will be able to have more activities that focus on topics like planning for retirement or planning a will.
In an effort to reach more seniors next year, the Veiner Centre is planning to expand its free programming offered to non-members, including a free volunteer-run program that assists seniors with filing their income taxes.
“We’re definitely focused on growing the activities and the events for our members, but also seniors who maybe can’t afford a membership. And I’m so proud of the work the team has done in that area because they are reaching many more seniors every month,” says Mathieson.
