Additional funds are en route to programs that help seniors access mental health and addictions supports in communities from South Surrey to Prince George.
According to a news release, the province has provided Seniors Services Society of B.C. with $809,000 for its Senior Housing Information and Navigation Ease (SHINE) program.
In addition to mental-health and addictions supports, SHINE helps connect seniors with financial assistance and safe housing supports, provides advocacy in disputes where seniors are being unfairly pushed out of rental homes, and offers housing navigation education and workshops to other agencies helping seniors.
The services are delivered through community partners throughout B.C. In South Surrey, that partner is Brella Community Services Society (formerly Seniors Come Share Society).
READ ALSO: Surrey seniors org becomes Brella after 45 years of Come Share services, programs
Mental Health and Addictions Minister Jennifer Whiteside said without the assistance provided by such agencies, “seniors may be at risk of falling into poverty, homelessness, discrimination and inequality.”
Senior Services Society of B.C. CEO Alison Silgardo said SHINE “was envisioned as a city-specific, senior-centred network that balances prevention and responsiveness in addressing widening gaps in the systems supporting older adults.”
“This includes housing, mental health, addictions, attachment to health, exit from health, technology, access to finance, food insecurity and supports to help them age in place – to name a few,” Silgardo said in the release.
“What gives me hope is that key stakeholders are coming together to create a continuum for older adults.”
Surrey-Newton MLA Harry Bains said experiences such as retirement, loss of loved ones, isolation, physical or mental health problems, ageism and inadequate income can take a toll on seniors’ well-being and create barriers to supports.
He said he is grateful to the SHINE program and Brella “for closing gaps in access to mental-health and addiction and housing supports.”
“Seniors in Surrey deserve access to services that will help them live their best possible lives,” Bains said.
tracy.holmes@peacearchnews.com
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