Just say hello!
World Hello Day: find 10 people and say hello!
Nov. 21 is World Hello Day, and the Council on Aging of Ottawa will be taking part.
“What’s the most friendly, basic thing we can do to acknowledge another person?” asks Dawna Ramsay of the COA. “Just to smile and say hello.
“It’s the 45th year for World Hello Day,” said Ramsay, who is director of community partnerships at the COA, which includes their programs to combat social isolation.
“All you need to do for World Hello Day is say hello to 10 people,” she said. “The purpose is to engage people and make somebody feel good with that simple gesture.”
And it’s not an empty gesture. “Social isolation has the same impact on our health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day,” said Sarah Bercier, COA executive director. That’s why the COA held a workshop last month to find ways to boost community engagement.
“Thirteen per cent of Canadian seniors say they socialize with family or friends once or less per year,” said Bercier. “That tells us a lot. There are so many risk factors, It’s an interesting question to ask ourselves, ‘Could this happen to me? Is there someone in my neighbourhood I should pay attention to?’ It extends beyond ourselves and into our communities.”
“People are reluctant to get help because they feel like a burden,” said Ramsay. “It’s hard for some who are losing friends to reach out and make new friends or go to new surroundings where that’s possible. Just like our physical health, we need to take care of our relational health.
“A program to combat social isolation was funded by Employment and Social Development Canada in 2016,” she said. “There are nine cities across Canadian involved in this project, and in Ottawa there are seven organizations participating in this. One of the main roles of the COA in this project is to reach out into the community to raise awareness.
The COA has completed Year 1 of the program, “and in general it’s going really well,” she said. “We have identified key issues like transportation, rural issues and language. For people who don’t speak English — whether they speak French or Arabic — it’s a big issue. A good tool for helping communities identify people at risk is the Spectrum program produced by HelpAge Canada (http://risecisa.ca/resources/spectrum/). A huge barrier that keeps isolated seniors from getting the help they need, she said, is trust. “One group they do trust is pharmacists. More than 90 per cent of seniors are on at least one form of medication, so often a relationship is developed between seniors and pharmacists. Pharmacists also do house calls.”
In building trust, informal group settings work really well, she said. “A rural model called Top Generation Club is located in Ramsayville, Ont. “It’s such a simple approach; a friendship club that started in the 1970s, and subsequent generations have kept going to it. On the other hand, we’ve found that in some of the seniors’ centres, they start an activity that works really well and then someone says ‘we must make this a program’ or the person who was leading it is replaced by a program coordinator and it becomes too structured and numbers drop off.”
There are issues around access to the available programs, and across Canada it’s really difficult for organizations to get to an isolated senior. “How do we become a compassionate, caring community and break down those barriers and be inclusive?”
Another program working well is the Seniors’ Centre Without Walls run by the Good Companions Centre in Ottawa, said Bercier. “It’s a telephone group for isolated seniors and adults with disabilities. To join, call Good Companions at 613236-0428.”
The Council on Aging will be holding a community forum on fostering social inclusion on Tuesday, Nov. 21, World Hello Day, at their offices at 1247 Kilborn Place, suite 101. The interactive half-day program will discuss practical ways to care, including simple strategies for everyday interactions, led by Dr. Kiran Rabheru, a geriatric psychiatrist, and Trudy Medcalf, a gerontologist. A light lunch will be provided, and there is no charge for this event. All are welcome to attend, but space is limited. For more information and to register, visit www.coa ottawa.ca or call 613-789-3577.