New West seniors in need of a little support don’t have far to go for help.
The Senior Peer Counselling program is a free program for people 50 and up in New Westminster, in which the counsellors provide emotional support and empathetic listening to their peers. The volunteers have been trained by a professional coordinator, who also oversees the program.
“We are peers. People feel much more comfortable talking to someone of their own age,” said Clare Andersen, chair of the Senior Peer Counselling group at Century House. “We have been professionally trained. We are listeners. We receive weekly education.”
The program operates under the belief that seniors recognize their peers have similar life experiences and often use “a common language” that can be a source of inspiration. By focusing on helping seniors discover their own strengths, the counsellors help seniors to maintain their autonomy and to remain independent in the community.
“People don’t really listen to people. They try to tell them what they should do,” Andersen said. “We feel that people themselves have the answers within them to know what to do – they just need to be able to talk, and eventually the answer will come to them.”
Loss, bereavement, anxiety, grief, isolation, loneliness, family issues and financial constraints are some of the challenges that seniors can discuss with the peer counsellors.
Andersen said the program is also helpful to seniors who are caregivers, as they often need someone to talk to because they spend so much of their time looking after someone else.
If issues arise during the sessions that are beyond the scope of the counsellors, they’re able to recommend other programs, such as Vital Connections, a professional counselling program that’s also offered at Century House.
Counsellors and clients meet once a week for an hour at a time in a location that’s convenient to both parties.
“We keep everything confidential,” Andersen stressed.
Since its inception, the Senior Peer Counselling program has worked with more than 2,000 clients. The program has space for new clients and wants to get the word out to local seniors about its services.
“What happens is we have cyclical things. I think we get a lot of clients prior to Christmas, and then we had a training class last year and they graduated in the spring, so we have a few extra counsellors – more than we had last year. It’s great,” said Andersen. “There are so many people out there who need our help, and we provide it with no fees.”
If you feel this program may help you, call 604-519-1064 (line 1) and leave a message. You can also leave your name and number requesting a callback at the front desk of Century House, 620 Eighth St.
