Community urged to use services for seniors

Catherine Reynolds | Jun 28, 2017

David Townsend is passionate about keeping seniors in their homes as long as possible.

Sitting in a coffee shop in Kingston a few hours before the first day of summer in 2017, the Executive Director of Southern Frontenac Community Services talks earnestly about helping seniors and low income families in South Frontenac Township.

Tall with wavy dark hair, David’s laughter is loud and infectious. He smiles when asked about his work for the last 7 ½ years spearheading an agency that provides programs and services for the community’s most vulnerable residents.

As he talks, it’s clear he’s happy with his progress. But as with most community activists, there’s room for improvement.

“I love my work. I’ve got all sorts of ideas. I’ve got a great team,” confirms the friendly father and grandfather.

“We helped 902 seniors last year,” he says thoughtfully over a cup of tea. “The senior population in South Frontenac is 2,870. I have no idea if that (our number of clients) is good or not.”

According to Townsend, the agency serves an average 45 meals every Tuesday through its Meals-on-Wheels program. This means 45 people receive hot and ready meals at their doorsteps every week.

“I don’t care where you live in South Frontenac, you’re going to get a meal delivered hot,” the 61-year-old says proudly about the program that costs a mere $7 a meal.

The agency also offers services such as foot care, an adult day program, food bank and transportation to appointments. The list of services is long and varied. From palliative support to caregiver relief, a resident can get help inside, and outside, their home.

“Everything we do is geared towards helping seniors stay in their homes,” he says with conviction.

Looking around the bustling coffee shop, David sighs as he talks about his challenges.

“How do we increase our services, our profile to seniors in Storrington District,” he asks aloud. “This support for the seniors who live out that way is critical. Unfortunately, we’re not getting the engagement we would like.”

Home of many businesses and homes, Storrington District is the largest tax base in South Frontenac Township. The agency would like to see more services accessed by residents in Inverary, Sunbury and Battersea.

“It’s not hard to see who is struggling in that area,” says David kindly. “We need to find a way to help people in Storrington stay in Storrington. We want Storrington to help Storrington keep its seniors at home.”

David pauses when asked about the agency’s success rate. He admits it’s hard to measure.

“We lost one of our clients today,” says David in an attempt to answer the question. “He would have been in a long-term care home three years ago if he wasn’t in our adult day program. It’s one of our services that is good for the senior and good for the caregiver. You don’t even have to drop them off at the Grace Centre in Sydenham. We have volunteers who will pick them up.”

A resident of Storrington his entire life, Ron Sleeth is a Storrington District Councillor with South Frontenac Township.

“I believe we need a town hall type of meeting to make Storrington residents aware of these services,” says the politician from his dairy farm in Battersea. “The agency is too isolated in Sydenham. Most seniors out here don’t know many of these services exist.”

To help address this issue, the agency is hiring summer ambassadors.

“We are hiring two community ambassadors for a six-week term this summer,” confirms the executive director. “The objective is to raise awareness of Southern Frontenac Community Services and its programs and services, but more importantly - to link seniors to health support programs to keep them in their own homes longer and later in life.”

Looking ahead, David says Southern Frontenac Community Services wants to centralize the area’s social services.

“We want to become more of a community hub,” he say with enthusiasm. “We want to create a one-stop rural shopping experience.”

Working to create a sensory garden and accessible walking path at their headquarters in Sydenham, David says the agency is poised for growth.

“There’s a lot of things on the go,” he says with his trademark smile. “Now we want to grow in Storrington District.”

To learn more about the programs and services offered by Southern Frontenac Community Services, call 613-376-6477 or visit www.sfcsc.ca