With LOFT’s Shoreham Hub for the past 11 years, Janey is a 78-year-old woman from Guiana who lives on her own in a Toronto Community Housing building. She has multiple medical conditions and needs assistance with day-to-day activities and managing her health. Janey enjoys connecting with LOFT staff and her neighbours.
Living in isolation is a difficult reality for seniors. Janey lives with diabetes, and has survived a stroke and two heart attacks. On top of her physical health challenges, Janey also suffers from depression. Her two children have passed away, and she feels very lonely living on her own with nobody to visit her.
LOFT gives Janey the support she needs. Staff members check in on her daily and, following a fall in her unit, assist her every time she showers to keep her safe and to help her get dressed.
LOFT’s support goes beyond daily check-ins. Janey has a caseworker who visits her 2 to 3 times per week. She also receives assistance with cleaning her unit, medication reminders, grocery shopping, appointment escorts, and social activities.
Before the pandemic, Janey was an active member at LOFT’s social gatherings. She enjoyed participating in our bingo, arts and crafts, and other social activities. She was also an active volunteer, connecting with her neighbours, preparing snacks and helping to organize events on Mondays and Thursdays.
Like many seniors living in her building, Janey appreciates having ongoing support from caring Personal Support Workers, Case Managers, Life Enrichment Workers, and other LOFT team members. “I don’t have a family in Canada,” says Janey. “LOFT feels like family to me.”
Janey is just one of 1,800 vulnerable seniors LOFT supports every day
They are among our society’s most marginalized, with complex mental and physical health issues who want nothing more than to live with dignity.
LOFT’s expert care teams know how to make that possible, but we are held back by government funding that doesn’t cover our client’s most basic needs. To ensure they have access to nutritious food – and opportunities to enjoy a life of meaning, connection and hope – we must rely on donations.
For our clients, your support means the chance to, once again, come together with community safely. Our staff will be right there with them when they do, ensuring they receive all the care they need.
If you’d like to show your support for our amazing frontline staff, make a gift in their honour.
Your gift will help LOFT provide basic needs, like food, to our clients. With costs continuing to rise, we anticipate needing more than $1 million to provide food to our clients in 2022, making your support more important than ever.