COVID CHANGEMAKER: SHIRLEY CANTY

There are many heroes fighting in the COVID-19 trenches — nurses, doctors, first responders and teachers to name a few. There are also heroes like 76-year-old Winnipeg resident Shirley Canty, who is busy helping the community away from the front lines. For several months last year, the former executive director of the Manitoba Motor dealers Association reached out to members of the St. James Assiniboia 55+ Senior Centre for weekly wellness checks. Canty also coordinated a walking group prior to Manitoba’s November lockdown and volunteered as a greeter at a COVID-19 testing site. Now she’s helping out with a ukulele club, a weight loss group, and a medical focus group. “Volunteering makes me feel good, and you don’t have to be 55 to belong,” she said. Canty said isolation is a big problem among senior centre members, many of whom are shut-in out of an abundance of caution. They miss socializing and participating in programs. “A lot of our members are single,” she said. “I’m widowed, have been for many years. So of course there’s loneliness, and what’s really sad is a couple of our members had their only adult child pass away. That’s really sad to hear. Peoples’ routines are shot, just all of a sudden, and that’s the hardest part.”