Victoria – More seniors and Elders in British Columbia will be able to maintain their independence and stay in their own homes as the Province funds an expansion of the United Way’s Better at Home program to serve more than a dozen new communities.
“Staying connected to your community has never been more important,” said Mable Elmore, Parliamentary Secretary for Seniors’ Services and Long-Term Care.
Better at Home is a program that helps seniors and Elders with simple non-medical tasks such as grocery shopping, minor home repairs, yard work, transportation to appointments and light housekeeping. From April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020, the program delivered 191,147 services to 11,935 seniors and Elders throughout British Columbia.
In total, the Better at Home program runs 81 programs serving more than 260 communities through $50 million provided by the Province to the United Way of the Lower Mainland.
All Better at Home services are provided by local non-profit organizations and delivered by a mix of volunteers, contractors and paid staff. Those accessing the program are charged a fee for service on a sliding scale based on income. Eligible low-income seniors and Elders can access services free of charge.
Facts about Better at Home
- New or expanded Better at Home programming include communities in the following regions:
- Cortes Island (served by Cortes Island Seniors Society)
- Quadra Island (served by Quadra Circle Community Connections Society)
- Houston, Smithers and Telkwa (served by Houston Link to Learning)
- Princeton (served by Princeton and District Community Services Society)
- Golden (served by Golden Community Resources Society)
- Texada Island (served by inclusion Powell River)
- Bowen Island (served by North Shore Community Resources Society)
- Southern Stl’atl’imx – Lower Lakes and area (served by Sea to Sky Community Services)
- Hedley (served by OneSky Community Resources Society)
- Nicola Valley – Merritt and area (served by Interior Community Services)
- Approximately 12,000 people use Better at Home services each year.
- Sites were identified based on criteria such as the overall proportion of seniors and Elders in the area and the number of those likely to require Better at Home services (e.g., isolated and vulnerable).
- Seniors and Elders living at home in a community that has a Better at Home program are eligible to apply.
- The program is managed by the United Way of the Lower Mainland’s Healthy Aging initiative.
