Alberta residents can find help when they need it by using these important numbers:
211
For information on community and government agencies/services. Our free, confidential, multilingual, 24 hours information and referral system connects Albertans to thousands of community and social services available across the province.
It’s accessible by:
Calling 2-1-1
Texting INFO to 211
Live Chat or Search via http://ab.211.ca
411
For business or residential listings
It acts just like an old-fashioned phone book with a directory of phone numbers, addresses of businesses and people.
511
For Alberta road conditions, a free traveller information service operated by the Government of Alberta, offering:
– highway conditions
– roadwork
– major incidents
– weather alerts
– availability of ferry services
– waiting times at border crossings
Updates are not always made hour-by-hour and as weather, road and traffic conditions can change rapidly. Drivers are encouraged to stay vigilant and adjust their driving accordingly.
It’s accessible via phone toll-free by calling 5-1-1. Computer and mobile device users can visit 511.alberta.ca.
811
For general health information and nurse advice, it’s also known as Health Link. The free tele-triage and health advice is run by Alberta Health Services. It’s available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The specific 811 services include:
– Symptom-based nurse triage and health information
– System navigation
– Dementia Advice Service
– Catch-A-Break Osteoporosis screening
– AlbertaQuits Tobacco Helpline
– Addictions information and referral
– Central Access to specialized services
– Referrals to clinical services including – Specialized Medication Advice and Dietitian Services
911
For life-threatening emergencies. this phone line is for assistance in medical, fire and police emergencies only.
The caller gets connected to the dispatch office which can send emergency responders to the caller’s location to address the emergency.
#211 #unitedway @unitedway_ca #didyouknow #seniorresourcecentre #yourseniorcentre #reddeeralberta #downtownreddeer
The original brainstorm of building a senior centre in Red Deer belonged to the Kiwanis Club of Red Deer. They wanted to leave a legacy to the community for their silver jubilee, and the Golden Circle was the finished product.
Over the years we have been supported by many donors, faithful volunteers, and hard-working staff. We have had many firsts; with the help of Royal Lepage Realty Network we opened a safe house to help seniors get away from intergenerational abuse, we had the first Rainbow Tea in August of 2015, celebrating PRIDE with an afternoon drag show. We partnered with Family Services of Central Alberta, Central Alberta Council on Aging, and the Red Deer College Student Association to address elder abuse and bring a concept of Home Share to the community.
We started Community Dining, Mengagement and the Friendship Club, all programs designed to address social isolation. We brought a frozen meal program to the community in 2010 and has since exploded to providing over 18,000 meals in 2021. We are continually identifying service gaps in the community and trying to find ways to support people to age well in the community.
Malnutrition is an issue among older adults and seniors do end up in the hospital due to malnutrition.
Have you heard of the “Tea and Toast” syndrome? This is an issue with older adults. People have problems getting to the grocery store, people have difficulties cooking because they have arthritic hands and preparing food is a hardship. Lack of motivation to cook because a person is depressed. Malnutrition contributes to the downward spiral ending up with a person becoming too frail to take care of themselves.
To ensure that a person does not become frail they need to remain physically active; they need to feed their bodies so that the muscles maintain optimal health. If a person becomes frail, the everyday tasks of remaining independent in their home becomes compromised.
There are solutions to ensure that a person eats properly and that is to get them connected to meal programs that are offered in the community. One is the Red Deer Meals on Wheels program, which will deliver a hot meal at noontime to the home, Monday to Fridays. Call 403-340-2511. The good part about this type of program is that when a volunteer delivers the meal, they are also able to do a wellness check and if a person needs more help, they will let the office know and a referral can be made to a community organization.
Another option is the Golden Circles Frozen Meal program. We offer a wide variety of menu choices. You call the office at 403-343-6074, place an order and you can have it picked up or we also deliver for a small delivery charge. Menus can be found on our website www.goldencircle.ca under the kitchen tab at the top. Malnutrition is a thing, are you eating right to ensure you age well, if not reach out for help.
The Cosmos Blue Bin program is one of many ways COSMOS gives back to our community. Their Blue Bin program supports up to 12 charities each year in Red Deer and Blackfalds.
The Golden Circle has been selected as their charity of choice for October 2022!
People can donate bottles directly to Cosmos Bottle Depots or one of the many “Blue Bins” dispersed throughout Red Deer and Blackfalds. This program is a great opportunity to help the local communities raise funds for their programs and services. We are thrilled to see have been selected as one of twelve charities.
Thank you COSMOS, all funds raised during October will go towards ongoing programs here at the Circle. We will repost this information regarding this fundraiser again in September to remind our membership.
Vegetable Plots at the Golden Circle! Now that we have your attention we would like your input. With the price of groceries increasing each year, we have been brainstorming ideas on how the Circle can best help older adults within the Red Deer community.
An idea has been brought forward, building, maintaining and growing a vegetable garden with several plots, right here on Circle grounds. This could be a great opportunity for older adults to renew their green thumbs, dig in the soil and grow nutritious vegetables.
What are your thoughts? A general outline is not yet completed as to how this Outreach Program will be blossom. For now, we are testing the waters to see if we have enough interest from our membership to move forward. Connect with our Community Program Coordinator, Bonnie Lewis at [email protected] or 403-343-6074.
Well here we are, another year almost over and 21 months dealing with COVID 19. Covid has been a game changer for the Golden Circle.
We had to cancel our onsite programs, develop virtual programs and continue to support the community with our outreach services. Our frozen meal program had another stellar year providing over 21,000 meals, pies and soups. We entered into the covid season, with 8349 frozen meals made by the end of 2019.
So as you can see our kitchen has been very busy. We would not have been able to deliver the frozen meals without our dedicated volunteers. Grocery delivery is the same, a very dedicated group of people ensuring that our most vulnerable have access to food. Another group of volunteers that have been busy are the telephone friendly visitors. Connecting with people on a weekly basis just to have a chat. The demand for our transportation volunteers has been climbing this past year and it never ceases to amaze me how accommodating they are. The Mengagement volunteers have continued to work hard to keep the men connected. The Bingo volunteers have been dedicated to the Golden Circle, helping us reach our fundraising goals. Taking on more bingos when other groups cancelled.
We are bringing back the front desk girls, and have started two new volunteer jobs, the Coffee Shack host and the Welcome Desk host. The kitchen volunteers are starting to come back and our Program committee volunteers have been trying to find ways to get us all connected again. The hardest job has been the Volunteer Board of Directors. Manoeuvering minefields as to open or remain closed. Double vaccinated or not. Masks or not. Every decision that they have made is based on the safety of the people. They did not want to be that place where a person got sick because we opened too fast, did not put enough safety precautions in place, and did not monitor the overall situation. They knew people wanted to get back with their friends, they wanted to get back with their friends too but sometimes tough decisions have to be made for the betterment of all.
COVID has been a big menace in how we live our life’s but it has also shown the strong character that our staff and volunteers have and even the staying power of our clients and members. It has not been easy but we will get through this.
I want to thank all the volunteers and staff for their hard work and dedication in 2021, and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
Love Monica
The Golden Circle is proud to support seniors within our Red Deer community throughout the year. While the holiday season is full of twinkling lights, joy and laughter for some, our Outreach Team continues to connect with seniors who are socially isolated or at risk of social isolation.
2021 continues the Circle’s tradition of coordinating with Red Deer’s Family Services of Central Alberta. This week we connected with isolated seniors to bring them a bit of Christmas cheer and joy of the season, along with a delicious turkey dinner, crafted by our cooks here at the Circle, and dessert donated from Rivera.
It has been a wonderful privilege to see their joy while receiving these gifts.
