L’Chaim Adult Day Centre

L’Chaim program grows

L’Chaim Adult Day Centre is now open five days a week. (photo from L’Chaim)

L’Chaim Adult Day Centre has received funding from Vancouver Coastal Health to expand its program. It can now offer its services to frail senior citizens in the community on a five-day-a-week, 16-clients-per-day basis.

L’Chaim first opened its doors on Sept. 14, 1985, in the Maccabee Room of Beth Israel Synagogue. At first, L’Chaim operated only one day a week and was run completely by volunteers. A project of the National Council of Jewish Women and the Jewish Family Services Agency, it was able to secure funding from the Jewish Community Fund and Council, as well as NCJW.

Soon afterward, a committee was formed to secure funding from the BC Ministry of Health, which allowed the program to operate two days a week. Ten years later, L’Chaim moved to the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, thanks to a $400,000 grant from the BC government, which enabled the JCC to renovate the premises to meet L’Chaim’s needs. On April 1, 1996, L’Chaim opened at the JCC and, since then, it has been operating three days a week, serving 13 clients a day.

As the Jewish population has grown and aged, the number of clients seeking L’Chaim’s services has increased. Unlike other adult day centres in Vancouver, L’Chaim has a cultural mandate to accommodate Jewish seniors who live outside Vancouver’s geographical boundaries, but prefer to frequent L’Chaim precisely because of the Jewish component of its activities. This has not precluded the intake of seniors in the area who, though not themselves Jewish, want to attend L’Chaim because of its cultural programming and level of care, but demand has been greater than L’Chaim can service and the wait list and wait times are long.

With the recent expansion, under the supervision of L’Chaim’s trained activity specialists, more participants will be able to benefit from the variety of programs offered, including exercise sessions, discussion groups, live entertainment, expressive art and garden therapy, games, and day trips into the community. Participants receive a culturally and nutritionally appropriate meal prepared fresh daily, consisting of a three-course kosher lunch tailored to their dietary needs. As well, L’Chaim has a nurse on the premises who supervises medications, monitors participants’ health status and other aspects. Of course, Shabbat and Jewish holidays are occasions for special celebrations, often in conjunction with other stakeholders and programs at the JCC.

“Old age,” as Tennyson wrote, “hath yet his honour and his toil,” and the longer people can stay at home surrounded by loved ones and visit those places that have become familiar, the better off we all are. L’Chaim is honoured that it can provide care and comfort to the frail elderly and thereby offer support to their relatives and caregivers. Anyone who goes by the JCC will see that it is a hub of activity and being located within its walls makes L’Chaim all the more vibrant. Relatives can drop off their loved ones and take advantage of JCC activities; L’Chaim clients can see people they know who drop by the office.

Now that L’Chaim has obtained funding to expand its services, it looks forward to growing from strength to strength, and this will require time and money. Fortunately, L’Chaim has an active board of committed individuals, as well as day-to-day onsite volunteers, who aid its director, Leah Deslauriers.

Deslauriers was hired by the JCC as the seniors program coordinator shortly after she graduated from the gerontology program at Simon Fraser University. In 2008, she started overseeing L’Chaim, when their administrator went on vacation, and she left her position at the JCC and became the director of L’Chaim in 2017. The position includes intake, fundraising and strategic planning, and it is in large part due to her accomplishments that L’Chaim now embarks on the next stage in its development.

L’Chaim benefits from the financial support of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, several Jewish foundations, and the donations, large and small, of many friends and supporters. To all of them, L’Chaim is grateful.

To see if you or your loved one is eligible for L’Chaim’s services, contact the home and community care office in your local health authority or get in touch with Deslauriers by calling 604-638-7275.

– Courtesy L’Chaim Adult Day Centre

Upgrades at L’Chaim

L’Chaim Adult Day Centre has completed upgrades to its outdoor seating area. Additions include a custom-built overhead awning and new patio furniture. The purchase of this equipment was made possible by a federal grant from Western Economic Diversification Canada’s Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program, and a generous donation made in 2014 to L’Chaim in memory Dr. Betty Horodesky.

The infrastructure program was established as part of Canada 150 Celebrates, the federal government’s celebration of the 150th anniversary of Confederation.

“Investing in facilities that support a healthy and thriving community embodies the spirit of our Canada 150 celebrations and honors our diverse and inclusive nation,” said the Hon. Navdeep Bains, minister of innovation, science and economic development and minister responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada. “By providing funding that enhances access to the outdoor space at L’Chaim Adult Day Centre, our government is helping seniors stay connected and active in their community.”

L’Chaim was established in 1985 and provides social, therapeutic and recreational services to the elderly in a safe, supportive environment. L’Chaim strives to improve the quality of life of its participants by providing a caring and stimulating group experience for those who might otherwise be socially isolated, while also providing support and respite for care-giving families and friends.

The new awning will provide shelter from the elements, allowing L’Chaim participants (and others) to enjoy the fresh air no matter the weather. The seating upgrades will ensure that participants are able to spend more time outdoors. Outdoor activities may now include arts and crafts, Friday Shabbat services, trivia, meals, and more. Recent research has indicated that the majority of adults spend 90% of their time indoors, and this percentage is expected to be even higher for people 65 and over, many of whom are living with mobility limitations. However, spending time outdoors is essential to maintaining good mental and physical health, and to ensuring a high quality of life.

Celebrating 30 years

Among those celebrating L’Chaim’s 30th anniversary were original board members, left to right, Sylvia Gurstein, Gloria Hendin and Marion Poliakoff. (photo from L’Chaim)

More than 70 people gathered recently in the L’Chaim Lounge at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver to celebrate the 30th anniversary of L’Chaim Adult Day Centre, which provides a “day out” for usually home-bound elderly Jews.

The audience was welcomed by Annica Carlsson, L’Chaim administrator, and Claire Weiss, acting president of L’Chaim, who described its growth. Originally offered at Beth Israel Synagogue, the program had to move to larger quarters at the J in 1995. It now provides programming three days a week, adding up to more than 1,900 client days a year for older adults who can still function with some degree of independence, but are unable to attend other community activities. L’Chaim also initiated a program for Jewish seniors in Richmond, which was taken over five years ago by Chabad of Richmond.

Speaking at the 30th anniversary celebration were three of the program’s founders: Sylvia Gurstein, Gloria Hendin and Marion Poliakoff. Poliakoff described how she represented National Council of Jewish Women in the beginning, enlisting a partnership with the late Irma Zack, who was acting on behalf of the Jewish Family Service Agency. Other present and former board members told anecdotes about their involvement, praising the staff and programming.

At L’Chaim, speakers on timely topics, music and exercise have always been program highlights. Current activities also include the use of iPods and headphones, which were purchased with a donation in memory of Dr. Betty Horodesky. This donation also financed the purchase of new lift chairs and a commercial cooler.

L’Chaim participant Ekatarina Chernyavskaya, 92, gave a heartfelt speech about how the program is her “home away from home” and enables her to stay connected with the Jewish community.

Celebrants also enjoyed “nibbles” provided by L’Chaim’s cook and a birthday cake baked by Nava Creative Kosher Cuisine. Annette Wertman entertained on the piano.

For more about L’Chaim, visit lchaim.ca.