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By Chris Brown

International Day of Older Persons

A different reason for seniors to celebrate in 2020

Oct 1, 2020 | 12:59 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – International Day of Older Persons is being marked quite differently this year but there’s still something to celebrate, says the chair of the senior citizens’ advisory committee.

“I’m absolutely proud of the seniors that are absolutely doing the right thing right now,” said LaVerne Noble. “Most of them are staying home, staying isolated, trying to make sure that they don’t themselves get sick. But secondly that they don’t cause more difficulty for our health system and for everybody else. I’d like to give them a shoutout. I’m proud of the way people are acting, especially here in Medicine Hat and our numbers I think show that.”

Doing the right thing means none of the regular events and gatherings that normally happen on International Day of the Older Persons. It’s also meant a lot less time with family and friends over the past seven months.

Noble says it’s not the first time seniors have put the greater good above themselves. She remembers back to the years after the Second World War.

“People did what they had to do and that’s exactly where we are right now,” she said. “If we don’t do what we have to do, I think we’ve been able to see in the rest of the world what that means. We need our hospital system and if we overcrowd our hospital system then all of the other things that we seniors really need won’t be there. It’s a pretty simple equation.”

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International Day of Older Persons is marked each year on Oct. 1.