New day centre for Montreal seniors aims to help fight social isolation

A day centre in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce wants to break social isolation by offering the area's seniors a place to mingle and access services.

The Cavendish Seniors Day Centre has been two years in the making and opened last week on the corner of Cavendish Street and de Maisonneuve Boulevard.

Melanie Kanis works at the centre and says the senior population in the area is growing and needs new ways to socialize.

"It's a place where seniors can go at any time, to get out of the house and to feel companionship. Feel that's they're loved, and important, and respected," Kanis said.

The centre is open seven days a week, 12 hours a day — a schedule administrators say makes it the first of its kind.

Beyond offering meals and activities for seniors, the centre has nurses and a physiotherapist to help with medical needs.

"It's a kind of one-stop shop for them," Kanis said, noting the centre can accommodate people living independently as well as those who need the extra help.

Fighting isolation

Statistics Canada published a report in 2014 calling social isolation a health risk for seniors and a growing issue in the country.

"The seniors need companionship. A lot of them come here, and they just want someone to talk to," Kanis said.

Sandra Goodwin, a senior living in NDG, was walking by on Sunday and said she believes there are a lot services for people her age in the area. 

"[Still] I'm going to go. I'm going to check it out," she said. 

Kanis said there's a need for the centre as others run by the government have been shut down.

The René-Cassin day centre at the Cavendish Mall, which was operated by the CLSC, closed in 2015.

Now that it is open, the centre needs volunteers to help keep it afloat, Kanis said. 

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