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About the project
Some rural Francophone seniors struggle to access the services they need to stay in their homes. To help increase access, a non-profit organization “Aging Well at Home Cocagne Inc.” (BVCSC) opened in April 2021. BVCSC provided Francophone seniors with non-medical and social support services using a one-stop-shop model. Services were offered both directly and in partnership with other organizations.
- Seniors self-referred to the program by contacting BVCSC directly. Following a discussion about their needs, seniors received tailored services, which were provided using a pay-per-use system.
- To accommodate people who could not pay, BVCSC set up a system called time banking. Seniors could trade services without using money. For example, if someone spent 2 hours knitting mittens, they could later get 2 hours of another service such as snow removal.
- BVCSC added and adjusted services based on requests and feedback from the service users.
Conclusions and lessons learned
- Seniors were satisfied with the program and enjoyed receiving services in their language of choice.
- This service model is flexible and responsive – services were added as needs were identified.
- Although there is not enough data to know if seniors live at home longer because of this program, many participants felt more confident in their ability to do so after using the services.
Recommendations
- Seek financial and staff resources to continue BVCSC services in Cocagne.
- Customize the services to meet the unique needs of each community when creating similar programs in other rural areas.
To learn more read the complete project findings (PDF 180 KB)