HIV and Aging, Seniors and HIV pamphlets flank the basket of colourfully packaged condoms on the counter of the Prince George Council of Seniors Resource Centre.
"And there's lube, too - did you see that?" asked Lola-Dawn Fennell, general manager at the centre. "Lubricant can be very helpful to older women because sex can be uncomfortable for some women after a certain age."
And that's how the conversation starts at the resource centre where staff and volunteers provide all kinds of information to seniors in Prince George.
"Sexually transmitted diseases are very prevalent in seniors," said Fennell.
"The reaction to seeing the condoms is sometimes 'I don't need that' and you might not need that to prevent pregnancy, which is how we looked at condoms a number of decades back, but you may need it to prevent sexually transmitted diseases. And just because you're in a committed relationship doesn't mean your partner is as committed as you are."
There are a lot of single seniors out there, said Fennell.
"And if they are playing the field, they might want to think very seriously about their sexual health," said Fennell.
The Resource Centre provides information and community referrals.
"We provide information truly ranging from soup to nuts, from local to federal and if we don't know the answer we will do our best to refer out to the appropriate source for the person to find that information," said Fennell.
Each year the Seniors Resource Centre answers about 3,000 phone calls and the office, located at 721 Victoria St., is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and people are invited to drop by.
Their best-known program is Meals on Wheels, which is co-ordinated out of the centre in partnership with the Native Friendship Centre's Smokehouse kitchen. The program is open to all ages, not just seniors 55 and over but it is the only program that is geared for everyone who has a need.
Meals on Wheels volunteers deliver at noon to anyone in the bowl area and the meal consists of a soup or salad, hot entree and small dessert for $5.50 per meal.
"We ask for a prepayment of $55 because we ask people to give it a fair shake," said Fennell.
The program has about 25 volunteers and last year more than 5,000 meals were delivered.
People may use the service for short term as they recover from illness or injury or long term to provide at least one nutritious meal each week day.
The Friendly Phone Calls program was started about six years ago as a temporary measure for those who were wait listed for volunteer visitors. It was so well received the program continued even when the wait list ended for the volunteer visitors.
"It's popular because you have social contact but you don't have to get dressed, do your hair or clean your house," said Fennell.
About two years ago the Resource Centre's Friendly Phone Calls amalgamated with the local RCMP Friendly Phones service.
There are volunteers who make the calls five days a week and each volunteer has about 20 people they call and chat with, said Fennell.
"People really look forward to their phone call as they build relationships with the volunteers."
Golden Age Socials are very popular with seniors and the Prince George Council of Seniors Resource Centre took over coordination in 2008. There is a separate host group for each of the five socials and that group is responsible for providing refreshments, entertainment and volunteers to put it all together.
The Golden Age Socials take place at the Civic Centre from 1 to 3 p.m. on Oct. 14, Nov. 4, Dec. 9, Feb. 10, 2016 and March 9, 2016.
The Resource Centre hosts Community Income Tax Volunteer Preparers who are Revenue Canada trained volunteers who will help low income seniors for free during March and April each year.
The annual Christmas Hamper project will start taking donations and applications from low income seniors who provide proof of income in November. About 200 hampers are delivered to those seniors in need each year.
For more information about what the Prince George Council of Seniors Resource Centre offers call 250-564-5888 or email [email protected] with questions.
