During Finding Home™ South Asian Punjabi seniors’ dialogues at South Vancouver Neighbourhood House, participants explored the root cause of Elder financial abuse in their communities. They all agreed one of the root causes was raising boys to be selfish. As they explored the different ways girls and boys are treated and taught in their community, they realized there are several ceremonies to celebrate boys and men’s long lives and health but not the equivalent for girls and women. Consequently, this dynamic group of seniors have decided to start the first Sisters and Daughters Day to celebrate South Asian Punjabi girls long lives and health. Their goal is to promote equality and nurture values such as kindness and caring in both girls and boys. The first ceremony will be held on June 30th 2011 at Sunset Community Centre in Vancouver.

South Asian Punjabi Seniors plan new Sisters & Daughters Day

Download Posters HERE.

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In July, a dedicated group of seniors from Vancouver Island gathered for a Finding Home™ seniors’ dialogue series hosted by Eldercare Foundation, Vancouver Island Health Authority and Saanich Parks and Recreation. Dialogue participants explored the meaning of home, making connection with others and life transitions. They decided to turn their new awareness into action and have started Conversation Cafes for seniors on topics such as staying healthy, transitions, housing and loneliness, throughout the Greater Victoria area. Their Conversation Cafes are held at restaurants, recreation and community centres, apartment buildings, and seniors’ residences. For more information contact: Elizabeth.McCarter@viha.ca

Download Posters HERE.

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How To Deal With Transitions

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Greater Victoria Seniors Dialogue – Home Matters

The ways in which we respond to personal, community and global challenges are rapidly changing. Whether it is loss of language; a lack of affordable housing; displacement through war or flood; or fundamental institutional changes, many people from across cultures and sectors are yearning for belonging, connection and safety or a sense of home.

We are certainly in a time of transition and change. Some conceptualize our current situation as being within humanity’s cyclical patterns. For example, Arnold Toynbee argued that, prior to the rise of a new era, violence increases and people tended to respond to stress, conflict, and change with less creativity and more rigidity. In addition, people experienced a pervasive disconnectedness from nature. Toynbee concluded, that as a creative minority re-examined values, they became the catalysts for a new way forward.

The Finding Home metaphor provides an opening for bringing diverse cultures, individuals and sectors together to examine home and the value of cultivating a sense of belonging, connection and community. Through dialogue and collaboration, the Finding Home Initiative supports communities and individuals to explore ways of fostering a sense of belonging; building inclusive communities; and of increasing effectiveness in addressing personal, local and global challenges.

Listen to Senator Dallaire’s thoughts on the Finding Home Initiative:

I was invited to give key the keynote address at Alberta’s provincial restorative justice conference “Fostering A Restorative Worldview.” As part of my preparation, I researched the origins of each “restorative” and “worldview.” I first drew from my research in Worldview Skills and started with the root of the word ‘worldview’ which comes from the German word “weltanschauung” and means “a comprehensive conception or image of the universe and humanity’s relationship to it.” This understanding of worldview is echoed in Thomas Berry’s definition, “A worldview is how a given culture sees its relationship to the rest of the universe, its creation at the beginning of time, and its beliefs about how human affairs should best fit into the bigger picture.”

Next, I investigated the word “restorative” and found one interesting definition, “that which restores; especially something to restore consciousness after a fainting fit.” This, of course led me to a definition of “faint” which includes, “to lose consciousness,” “to fail in courage or hope;” and “to grow weak, without enthusiasm or energy.” Perhaps, I thought, we can reframe our global situation to a collective fainting fit and all we need are some smelling salts to regain consciousness.

Indeed, when I looked up “smelling salts,” the definitions are: “a restorative” and “a means of restoring a person to consciousness.” Piecing these three words together shed a new light on the conference title. From this new perspective, “Fostering A Restorative Worldview” entails helping grow consciousness about our view of the world, each other and ourselves. Now we are getting somewhere interesting. At the conference this led to a rich discussion about what are the smelling salts of our times? How does growth and change happen? Perhaps, the values embedded in the definition of a fainting spell (consciousness, courage, hope, enthusiasm and energy) could be the smelling salts of our times. The next day we explored Rattlesnake Lessons About Change.

Keynote Addresses

Today, seniors from Seniors Services Society shared stories about what creates a sense of home for them. One senior said, “home is where you live with the love of your life.” Another senior responded, “that may be so for you…I sure did not have a husband like that!” While experiences of home differed, all agreed “the smell of mom’s cooking creates a sense of home for all of us.”

Frieda Hogg explained, “the worst thing about getting older isn’t that you lose your eyesight, it is that because of this loss of sight, you can’t read mom’s recipes.” As the dialogue series progressed, these seniors identified ‘making friends’ as their top “finding home” priority.’ Many of the seniors were widows and had lost their lifelong friends. All wanted to make more friends. They shared stories about friendship, coping with loneliness, and how to make friends.

Many talked about the friendships they had made in the last couple of years were all with new immigrants. To their delight they have discovered how newcomers make great friends. “Newcomers,” they said, are like us: “They have interesting lives and we both want to make friends and find a good home.” In addition, both seniors and newcomers yearn for the smell of mom’s cooking. These insights have led to a Seniors and Newcomers Dialogue Project with the goal to create a cookbook with mom’s recipes in audio and large print format.