Who cares? Chances are, if you’re reading this, you do. You care about your community; your parents and your grandparents; your children and your grandchildren; your neighbours and your friends. But when it comes to our elders, the word ‘care’ has begun to lose its meaning. Even before the pandemic began we were increasingly aware of a crisis in our elder care system, and growing research shows the situation has only worsened. So what does it mean to ‘care’ for our elders in this context? How can we, as a community, respond to this evolving crisis without putting more pressure on our existing care systems and networks?
Who Cares? is a research, design, and arts-based collaboration based out of the Sunshine Coast that is exploring what it means to ‘care’ for our elders in our community and how we might build points of connection with elders that add to, and build resilience for, a care system that is on the brink of collapse.
Project partners Emily Carr University, Douglas College, and Gibsons’ based Deer Crossing The Art Farm have been meeting with elder care professionals, elders, care partners, and community members. They’ve now started pop-ups to get essential input from YOU – our community. Look for pop-up engagement booths at our local farmers’ markets, senior centres, libraries, malls, parks, etc to become a part of this conversation.
Next up: Seaside Market, Gibsons on August 12th and Sechelt Market, Sechelt on August 19th. Find more info at www.imaginationnetwork.org/who-cares.
