Prince George meals on wheels in urgent need of volunteers

A resource for seniors in the Prince George community is struggling to keep going with a recent uptick in demand.

Nicole Currie, Meals on Wheels coordinator for the Prince George Council of Seniors is putting out an urgent request for drivers for its program.

"Right now we just don't have the volunteer power to accommodate the amount of clients we have," Currie said, of the programs that delivers meals to seniors in their homes.

"Everything's kind of stuck due to us needing volunteers."

Last year, the program had about 20 clients and delivered 450 meals a month. The Prince George Council of Seniors is an umbrella organization of groups that helps seniors.

Since then, the program has more than doubled with 80 clients and hundreds of deliveries a week. It now delivers about a 1.000 meals a month.

'It's the only way they can eat'

Cooks in the kitchen make fresh and healthy meals each week day. The pricing is relatively accessible at $7 per meal for a main dish including soup or salad, a slice of bread and dessert.

Graham Haugland, the head chef for the Prince George Council of Seniors, says the program provides seniors a chance to lead independent lives at home.

"It's the only way they can eat. They can't get out. They're disabled. They can't get out to any restaurants."

Right now, the program has 10 backup drivers and 25 regular drivers. Currie would like to add five full time volunteers and a few back up drivers to assist on their days off.

There are about 10 people on a wait list to receive the meals because she doesn't want to burn out the existing volunteers.

"I myself am struggling to keep up with the workload, and so unfortunately we have had to start a waiting list to kind of slow down the program."

For many seniors, access to this program can determine whether they stay at home or move to a long-term care facility.

"It's our goal to try to keep residents in their homes as long as possible. And we are just here to help them on their journey," says Currie

A new report from the Office of the B.C. Seniors Advocate says the provincial home support program is inadequate and is pushing many seniors into subsidized long term care earlier than necessary.

The statistics show that 61 per cent of people admitted into long-term care had no home support prior to moving to long-term care.

B.C.'s seniors advocate Isobel Mackenzie said seniors need adequate support to say in their homes.

"Seniors overwhelmingly want to remain in their homes for as long as they can," Mackenzie says.

"Sometimes in the north where they may have lived for 40 or 50 years, they may have to move out of their community because there's no facility there for them to go."