Content:

Michael McCurdy saw the quality of his mother’s life lessen after she moved into a retirement home in her mid-eighties.  McCurdy took her out for walks in the park and to the art gallery, even though she was losing her sight.

His wife, Susan, says they saw her life diminishing in stimulation, enrichment, and happiness.

Inspired by this experience, and after three years of research, in the spring the McCurdys created the Halifax Seniors Happiness Project to bring joy back into seniors’ lives.

The idea is to get small groups of seniors out of their homes for the day and engaged in activities they enjoy.
People over the age of 75 have a higher risk of psychological stress than younger seniors because they are more prone to social isolation, says a 2006 study by Statistics Canada, A Portrait of Seniors in Canada.

The McCurdys are younger seniors themselves. Michael, 64, and Susan, 63, are involved in seniors’ organizations and activities.Michael McCurdy is a retired teacher and Susan McCurdy is retired from a career in the education field.

Now Susan McCurdy is a member of the Seniors College Association of Nova Scotia and her husband sits on the board of Spencer House, a seniors’ centre that encourages and supports healthy, independent lifestyles.

The McCurdys say one of the best events they’ve done was having a client, who was tired of her meals-on-wheels options, over to their house for Thai food.  “We laughed and I think we sat here ’til 10 o’clock until we finally took her home,” says Michael McCurdy. He says another memorable outing was taking a group of three women to the Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival.

The project is a door–to-door service. The McCurdys pick up the participants at their homes, take them to an event, maybe for tea afterwards and then take them home.

“We want to take people out and be a part of the community. I think it’s kind of depressing to stay home all day alone,” says Susan McCurdy.

In August, the National Seniors Council, an organization established to advise the government of Canada on matters related to the quality of life of seniors, announced its priority for 2014 is to assess how social isolation affects seniors and explore ways to reduce it.

The McCurdys’ biggest hurdle is overcoming the reluctance of some seniors to get involved.  “Seniors just don’t want to spend money on themselves and that has been a big challenge for us,” says Susan McCurdy. They charge $25 for an outing, to cover the cost of transportation.

“Honestly, the idea is not to make a profit of this but we are retired, we live on a pension so we can’t really do it for free.”

The McCurdys hope to find some source of funding so they can offer the service for free. They haven’t looked into it but they say it’s the next step.

“If we could get some kind of grant, if we could say to people, ‘come on, it won’t cost you a thing. We will pick you up,’ we would love to do that,” says Susan McCurdy.  They have been able to help half a dozen seniors since they launched in the spring.  They take seniors to lectures at the libraries, to art galleries, or even on day trips to Peggy’s Cove.

Michael McCurdy says when he asks seniors what they need in their lives, it’s always the same answer. “‘I don’t want to be alone. I want to be with people.’”

By Hanna Petersen on November 27, 2013.