Members of the public aired concerns over seniors’ issues in the MRC des Collines at a free workshop held at the Luskville Community Centre on Thursday morning.
The workshop, one of three in a series happening across the MRC des Collines-de-l’Outaouais, was hosted by Des Collines Seniors’ Services, a not-for-profit organization that helps seniors in six different municipalities in the MRC des Collines. It offers services to seniors including filling out paperwork, helping with yard work, helping them access healthcare, and more.
Mara McCallum, a project lead with Des Collines Senior Services, said the free workshops, which are on the topic of elder intimidation, are intended to inform the public about the topic, to give people a chance to discuss the topic openly, and also to point people toward resources.
“This workshop, it’s about information sharing and understanding ‘what is bullying?’ and almost breaking the idea, because we think of schoolyard bullying and we don’t often think about bullying between adults or seniors,” she said.
McCallum said elder intimidation can take many forms, but should meet three criteria: there is a power imbalance, the actions are consistent and deliberate, and the actions actively hurt the victim.
The event was put on in collaboration with AutonHomme Pontiac, which was represented by Jean Paulin, a community worker who deals with seniors. He said many of his friends are older and have been subjected to elder intimidation, including a 75-year-old widow who recently needed to upgrade her home heating system to electric.
The company came in for a quote, but swarmed her with three men who were measuring everything and pressuring her into giving her information. When one man asked for her GCKey, a one-size-fits all authentication system for online government services, she called Paulin, who told her they don’t need that information for the purposes of a quote and left work to go see how she was doing.
“She was shaking, she was terrified,” Paulin said, adding that it’s not a situation she could have called the police for because technically no crime has been committed.
But he said situations like these are why organizations like his exist.
“Just having someone they can trust is the biggest factor. And being able to tell them, ‘That wasn’t right – you were in the middle of being bullied.’”
Paulin said when someone contacts AutonHomme for help, he and his colleagues will try their best, and if they can’t help they will point the person toward other services in the area.
McCallum agreed. “It’s important for us to inform people about the services available to them if they encounter this kind of situation, whether it’s lived by them or they just witness it,” she said.
“Anyone can be a witness or a loved one of someone who is experiencing it, even if it’s not impacting your life.”
Several of the workshop attendees were themselves seniors or know others who are, and said seniors undergoing intimidation or abuse don’t often want to speak up for themselves.
“Sometimes it’s family that’s abusing them, or they just don’t want to stir the pot,” said Jean Côté.
“There’s that bottleneck where they don’t want to talk about it.”
Gilles Lavigne, a worker with Des Collines Seniors’ Services, said this communication barrier often prevents them from being able to help people who might need it.
“This is the silent generation,” he said. “People don’t talk. Whatever happens, stays inside.”
He said more people are calling their organization this year as opposed to last year, and he’s hoping that trend will continue. “We have to be patient,” he said.
Sue Lamont of Quyon said developing trust with seniors is crucial to being able to help them to the fullest extent. “Only after a senior develops a trust with someone one-on-one are you going to be able to get the whole story,” she said.
Carl Hager said organizations like Des Collines Seniors’ Services and AutonHomme are great, but municipal governments should be playing more of a role in helping seniors.
“My feeling is that municipalities can be doing more to help their senior citizens,” he said, adding municipalities could be doing a better job informing seniors about the services available to them.
He said services like these are mostly run by volunteers, and they can only go so far in helping people with limited resources. “You’ve got to get the municipalities to help more,” he said, acknowledging municipalities’ resources are often limited.
In an interview with THE EQUITY before the workshop, McCallum said there are many other issues facing seniors in the region, such as transportation.
“When someone loses the ability to drive, that can have a huge impact on their social life and their well-being,” she said.
She said housing is also a big concern. “A lot of seniors own their own homes, but it’s becoming tough to maintain that home, or becoming lonely to live in that space when their family leaves,” she said, adding there aren’t a lot of options other than moving to the city.
McCallum said anyone who is experiencing (or who has witnessed) elder intimidation or abuse, or who has any questions at all related to seniors’ services in the MRC des Collines, should reach out to one of a few resources.
Services aux Aînés des Collines: 1-855-662-4637
Intervention SAVA (Soutien aux aînés victimes d’abus) Outaouais: 873-655-1395 or 819-431-4336
Écoute Agricole: 873-455-5707
Ligne Aide Maltraitance Adultes Aînés: 1-888-489-2287
Jean Paulin said for folks living in the MRC Pontiac, AutonHomme is there to help, and can be reached at 819-648-2309.
