Opportunities Await You
Hello Friends of BSSOS. As the impact of Covid19 continues to impact our daily lives in many ways we are also experiencing some resumption of normal activities. Dentists, hair salons, cafes, provide us with an opportunity to visit services that were once just a normal part of our day to day lives. Your social bubbles are hopefully expanding cautiously too. We are hearing of the joy of grandparents getting together with young ones, book clubs meeting in the park. There have been some local agencies providing in the park tutorials and gatherings too. Finding opportunities that relieve some of the isolation we have embraced feels like a positive move.
At BSOSS we are continuing to work on offering programs that provide opportunities to enrich lives. BSOSS was selected to be a site for the Ministry of Health’s Healthy Aging program. As we began to develop the programs that this new funding would support the shut down in March brought us to a halt. All of the programs we had designed and envisioned involved meeting together in our beautiful space at 2055 Rosser Ave.
Today we are very excited to be on the cusp of posting for a 3rd staff person. We are looking for a Healthy Aging Coordinator to join Faryar and Dorothy. The position will focus on developing and serving our family caregivers using our Healthy Aging funds. We are looking for someone with an undergraduate degree and 3-5 years of experience working with family caregivers, knowledge of home health, and program building. If this describes you or someone you know connect with This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
One to one senior peer counselling has always been a cornerstone of BSOSS. With a great deal of thought we have dropped the word counsellor from our respected volunteers and as we move forward our peer support volunteers will be known as Senior Peer Navigators. Family Caregivers of BC along with staff from 6 other agencies including BSOSS is developing a new training module. This training will be provided to our existing volunteers. We are also ready to recruit new volunteers who would like to work one to one with seniors in our community who are experiencing isolation, anxiety, and stress. Have you thought about exploring this very rewarding volunteering experience? If you are interested please get in touch with This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
We are continuing to support caregivers using Zoom. Our success with Zoom means that the New Dementians are continuing to sing together most Saturday mornings. We are very excited to have brought new members into our singing circle we excited to bring in more voices. If you or someone you know is living with memory loss or dementia and enjoys singing please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. we would love to send you the lyric sheets and have you join with us. Our Dementia Friendly Café is also continuing to meet via Zoom. This Thursday August 13, from 1:00-2:30 the café will be hosting Chris Chan from Trans Link to share with us the up to date protocols TransLink has implemented to make travel as safe as possible. There is lots of room if you would like to join, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
We post each Friday on Facebook and the Website the upcoming week’s topics for our Connection Club a friendly group who gather round their computer screens to have a conversation about a different topic each week. Faryar will be most happy to welcome you to the conversation, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
We are hoping that these opportunities will open new doors to connect with others as a participant or a volunteer. Let us know your ideas for additional topics.
Connection Club 
This club aims to give seniors and caregivers the opportunity of staying connected in the time of physical distancing. During these online casual gatherings we will chit chat while taking a sip on our favorite drinks. The topics are light and meant to bring everyone joy through sharing our positive experiences and memories, skills, knowledge and creativities to cope with this different times.
Eligibility: Seniors (55+) and caregivers. Due to technology and time limitations we can only have limited number of participants on each session. Please register today before all spots are gone.
Registration: To register, please contact Faryar via email, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Schedule
August
Topic: Neighbors & Neighborhood
Date: Tuesday August 11, 2020
Time: 3:30-4:30pm
Topic: Happiness
Date: Tuesday August 18, 2020
Time: 3:30-4:30pm
Topic: Technology
Date: Tuesday August 25, 2020
Time: 3:30-4:30pm
Caregiver Expo 2020 Cancelled!
The Caregiver Expo that was to be held on September 19 is now cancelled.
For more information, please contact Faryar at:
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Phone : 604-291-2258
Are you a Senior in Burnaby Who Needs Help?
Some useful numbers and links for seniors in Burnaby who need help during these challenging times.
[Click on image below for the full poster in pdf.]
Poster in other languages:
Arabic Chinese Traditional Chinese Simplified Farsi Hindi Korean Punjabi Spanish Tagalog
