What it means to have a seniors’ centre

The City of Medicine Hat projects that in 20 years more than half the city population will be seniors over 50 years old. By 2036, half of us can join the Medicine Hat Senior Services (aka Veiner Centre).

One hesitates to call oneself a senior. That word implies one is old and less capable. A senior at 50 is different than a senior at 95 but by the time one reaches 50 a lot of things in one’s life are changing. The over-50s think about retirement or may be retired. One’s family may be busy with families of their own or may be far away. Medical issues (cataracts, knee replacements, etc.) may already be needed. Prescription lists grow longer. Forgetting names and facts becomes common. Mobility decreases. Hearing declines. Becoming incapacitated and death seem closer. At 50 these tend to be fears. At 65 many will be coping with such issues.

Seniors have to overcome two powerful negative feelings: a sense of no longer being useful to society and a feeling of isolation or loneliness. When we went to school or a job, our purpose was clear — to learn or to support our families. Schoolmates and co-workers were a built-in community. As we age, we must strive harder to feel useful and part of society. We see family and friends passing away, some younger than we are.

An activity centre like the Veiner Centre is good for seniors and for the city. For seniors, it provides many activities to participate in or to volunteer for. A seniors’ centre provides a ready-made community when we need to talk or reach out to others. Seniors are seen not as freeloaders on society but as very involved members of it. Children worry less about not spending as much time as they would like with their aging parents, knowing that their parents have a life and a place of their own. Active, involved seniors use fewer health care services and are less affected by debilitating disease such as Alzheimers.

The Veiner Centre model has proven its worth over 40 years. Medicine Hat has been very progressive in promoting diverse services for seniors. With more than 1,800 paid members, the Veiner Centre had already outgrown its capacity before the 2013 flood. Now with no central gathering place, it has lost one-third of its membership with activities farflung across the city in rooms and hallways. It is much harder to organize volunteers. We must take action now to build a new seniors’ centre before we lose something so valuable for so many.

This is not just a building for seniors. Senior volunteers reach out into every aspect of the community. By constructing a new centre, planned well enough to be viable for 50 years, there is no one alive now who cannot become a member.

Current debate focuses on cost and location. There has been more discussion about the cost of a seniors’ centre than about the FLC doubling or the extensive police building renovation. Little is said about the benefits of a vibrant, engaged seniors’ centre. However, Gillian Slade in a recent Medicine Hat News article states that seniors generate enough revenue for the city to more than cover the construction and yearly operating costs of a new centre.

The mayor praised the Senior Citizens Advisory Committee for its long and thorough work in creating detailed plans for a new seniors’ centre as “the structure, the process, the multiuse rooms … everything that they’ve thought of is just fantastic.” It’s time to get shovels in the ground to preserve the time-proven needs that the Veiner Centre fulfilled.

Dwayne Myers, a retired teacher and Veiner Centre member, moved to Medicine Hat in 2006 to help take care of an ailing relative. He is active with Aquafit and volunteers at a senior facility.

It’s time to get shovels in the ground to preserve the timeproven needs that the Veiner Centre fulfilled.