Dedicated team
With combined decades of experience, the North-Stor Senior Support Centre’s team of service coordinators and specialists dedicate their days to ensuring the community of North Stormont has the best care and support. Pictured from the left, Michele Morgan, North-Stor Senior Support Centre’s supervisor, Adult Day Program coordinator Sheryl Giberson, Joanna Ventrella, Adult Day coordinator Natasha Brisson, part time cook Kent Jeaurond, program coordinator Cynthia Elliot-Clarke and cook Tracy Barker. Glover photo

FINCH – For 25 years, The North-Stor Senior Support Centre has been providing Finch and the rest of the North Stormont community with their support services to seniors, and adults living with disabilities.

Since 1994, the support centre has provided different services including transportation, Meals on Wheels and even foot care, showing that they are an essential part of the area; unfortunately, as per Michele Morgan, North-Stor Senior Support Centre’s supervisor, not a lot of people are aware of the work of the centre, and the programs they offer. For their 25th anniversary, the centre’s team held an open house Wed., Nov. 6 to show the community what they can offer to those in need of support that they can’t get at home.

“We wanted to invite the community to see what we can offer and what we do in the building,” said Morgan.

Visitors were able to see firsthand a long-standing tradition at the centre, the Adult Day Program (ADP), that provides participants with the opportunity to partake in some physical activity and mental stimulation.

“We pick them up at home, they come in and we offer them coffee and snacks and then we have our physical activities,” said Natasha Brisson, adult day coordinator. “We always have 45 minutes of functional exercise, then we have our hot meal and then we have different activities throughout the afternoon.”

There are a variety of activities that are made available to the participants that simply want more “stimulation” in their normal everyday lives, while also giving them the opportunity to socialize with others in the group.

“They’re very interactive for the six and a half hours that they’re here,” said Brisson.

Visitors to the open house were also able to participate in an eye-opening interactive experience. Adult Day Program coordinator Sheryl Giberson set-up an interactive booth to allow people to experience dementia, hearing impairment and mobility impairment. This experience included glasses with taped sides, to reduce peripheral vision and gripping small items and putting on a shirt with large gloves.

“What we’re trying to demonstrate [is] some [of the] impairments that we may service,” said Giberson. “We’re just trying to bring a bit of awareness to things that you might not see. You might not see someone has dementia; you might not see that they have visual issues… we want to bring some awareness so that there’s some empathy there.”

The North-Stor Senior Support Centre strives to serve seniors and disabled adults in the area to the best of their abilities and will continue to do so for as long as the front doors are open. For more information on the support centre’s services, you can contact them at 613-984-2436.