United Way BC’s Better at Home program is dedicated to helping seniors and elders manage day-to-day tasks, enabling them to maintain their independence within the comfort of their homes while staying closely connected to their communities.
In Barriere and Clearwater the Better at Home programs are co-sponsored by Yellowhead Community Services. The program provides assistance to qualified individuals through visiting, prescription pick-up and drop-off, grocery shopping and delivery, food support, transportation to medical appointments, light housekeeping and maintenance, light yard work or snow removal and additional senior resources information and referrals.
April Christensen, one of the program's two coordinators in the North Thompson Valley as manager with Yellowhead Community Services is dedicated to providing information and support for those individuals taking advantage of the services.
"The program is serving about 100 people in the North Thompson currently. This year the funding came in for more services and we have been able to increase our capacity," she said.
The United Way explains on its website that one of the program’s distinctive features is its ‘seniors planning for seniors’ approach, where older adults actively contribute to designing, operating and evaluating their local program. In each community, Better at Home services are delivered by local non-profit organizations, utilizing volunteers, contractors and/or paid staff.
The Province of B.C., under the Ministry of Health, provides funding to United Way BC to oversee the Better at Home program across the province. Seniors who receive these services pay a fee based on their income, while some services may be offered free of charge. The fees collected from these services are reinvested into the local program to serve more seniors in need.
Throughout the 2023-24 period, a total of 94 Better at Home programs provided 336,415 services to 15,859 seniors residing in their respective regions. Notably, out of this cohort, 5,293 individuals were newly enroled in the program, exemplifying its continued reach and impact in supporting seniors in need.
If you would like to learn more about the Better at Home program in the North Thompson in either Barriere or Clearwater you can contact April Christensen through Yellowhead Community Services via: Cell: 778-208-7365 or by Email: NTBH@yellowheadcs.ca.
