A New West teen is among the folks who are engaging with older community members as part of a quality-of-life initiative – and you could be part of the team.
The Office of the Seniors Advocate is hoping to survey every single long-term care resident living in New Westminster, and it’s in need of volunteers from March to June 2023 as part of that endeavour.
“Join our team of volunteer surveyors to interview and hear from your local seniors about their quality of life in long-term care,” said a notice from the Office of the Seniors Advocate. “You can gift your time and talents to connecting with your local seniors on a large-scale provincial health-care project, and gain some experience conducting structured interviews in a long-term care setting. No experience necessary, all training provided.”
Kelan Wang, a 16-year-old New West resident, is among the volunteer surveyors who have started visiting long-term care facilities.
“Throughout the experience, I have discovered how powerful some words or belongings can mean to people. The importance of communicating and understanding each other are also valuable lessons to me,” he said in a news release. “During the survey, I could feel the same way they felt. That made a strong connection with the residents.”
According to the Office of the Seniors Advocate, more than 29,000 residents in B.C.'s publicly funded long-term care homes will be surveyed about their quality of life. The goal is to make improvements for them, both locally and provincially.
“In the wake of the COVID pandemic, it is especially important to reassess what life is like for seniors in long-term care facilities and how we can make it better,” said a notice about the survey.
To learn more about the survey, which was first done in 2016/2017, visit surveybcseniors.org. To apply as a volunteer, call 1-877-952-3181 or apply online at www.surveybcseniors.org/volunteer.
