High resolution (.PDF 5.6 MB) - St. Stephen's Community House

now 2012
St. Stephen’s Community House’s Seniors Activities Centre provides social or
recreational programs for active and frail seniors from the Chinese, Korean and
Portuguese communities . In 2011, the Adult Day Program provided 4,500 days of care for
frail seniors over 80 years old, many of whom live with disabilities or early Alzheimer’s .
St . Stephen’s senior’s program is a
‘real community’ – Tam Goossen
For almost 40 years after she co-founded
the Wah Luen Club, Kwai Lan Tam
remained very much a part of life at the
House. In 2003 she became an active member
in the St. Stephen’s Community House’s
Adult Day program for frail seniors.
Her daughter, Tam Goossen, told us,
“She loved the company here. She said it
was so much better than being by herself.
The seniors program is a real community.
She missed them the days they didn’t do
programming. A lot of the seniors did. They
did lots of activities. They did Tai Chi. They
went on great trips in the summer. They
visited parks. They went to all the casinos.
The other thing my mum liked was that she
got to be in the company of the Portuguese
seniors. She really liked the intercultural
exchange. The Portuguese seniors like
playing games with the Chinese seniors
and the two groups were always swapping
stories. There’s a lot of common ground;
they’d done their child-raising years, but
they weren’t ready for nursing homes yet.”
She added, “And my mum really enjoyed the
homemade Portuguese food!”
Tam Goossen continued, “When my
parents came from Hong Kong, it opened
my eyes about social services. St. Stephen’s
seniors programs make the lives of seniors
happier and more connected. The staff here
is excellent. They pick the seniors up and
bring them here. There’s a lot of physical
work, but they stay cheerful. They enjoy the
work. People trust St. Stephen’s; they have
taken their work so seriously. It is a great
comfort to the families.”
Kwai Lan Tam, a valued founder of all
our Seniors’ programming from 1976 onwards,
sadly, passed away in April 2012.
social
indicator
In 2010, 14.1% of
the population
was 65 and older
– an estimated
4 .8 million
Canadians . 13%
of immigrant
seniors live in
poverty, a rate
twice as high as
Canadian-born
seniors .
Tam Goossen with
her mother, Kwai
Lan Tam
st . stephen’s community house 1962–2012 | PAGE 19