(Dreamstime)

By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

review panel named

Province launching review of Seniors Lodge Program

Jan 18, 2024 | 11:51 AM

The Alberta Government has appointed a new seniors lodge review panel with hopes it will find ways to make the most of existing seniors lodge spaces, and help seniors age in their communities.

The Seniors Lodge Program is Alberta’s oldest affordable housing program for seniors and is especially important in rural areas, the province notes in a release. It was last reviewed in 2015.

“Seniors lodges play an essential role in our housing system. These facilities are important to our communities and the residents who live there, especially in rural Alberta,” says Jason Nixon, Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services. “The Seniors Lodge Review Panel will work closely with our partners to review the program and ensure that this program is sustainable for the future.”

Panel members appointed by Minister Nixon are:

• Brandon Lunty, MLA for Leduc-Beaumont, co-chair
• Arlene Adamson, president, Alberta Seniors and Community Housing Association (ASCHA), co-chair
• Stacey Stilling, chief administrative officer, Mountain View Seniors Housing
• Lauren Ingalls, chief administrative officer, Westwinds Communities
• Marlys Jordan, chief administrative officer, Calgary Heritage Housing
• Paul McLauchlin, president, Rural Municipalities Alberta
• Tyler Gandam, president, Alberta Municipalities
• Robin James, vice-president south region, ASCHA
• Shane Gauthier, chief executive officer, Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary
• Jennifer McCue, chief administrative officer, Bethany Care Society
• Miriam Elhaghuagi, manager of Healthy Aging Alberta, United Way of Calgary and Area

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“The Seniors Lodge Program is a unique Alberta solution that plays a critical role in supporting seniors to live well in communities, and it will be even more important as the need for housing affordability and supports increases to serve our aging population well,” says Arlene Anderson, panel co-chair, and president, Alberta Seniors and Community Housing Association (ASCHA). “I am honoured to co-chair a review of this program, representing ASCHA’s members, to ensure that it meets the needs of seniors, communities and housing providers today and into the foreseeable future.”

There are 10,850 lodge units in 149 lodges across Alberta.

The program provides meals, laundry, housekeeping and recreational activities to residents, with the review providing an opportunity, the province says, to smooth transitions between lodges and continuing care homes to ensure the needs of seniors will be met when they need to access more care.

“The regulation and function of seniors lodges in Alberta needs a review, but this process should have started last year. Alberta has been in a housing crisis for some time, and the UCP ignored their responsibility in that crisis,” Janis Irwin, NDP Housing Critic, said later Thursday.

“We need more affordable housing available for seniors. Increasing supply is the best way out of this housing crisis and to do that we need more accountability from the government on setting clear targets and making those reports available to Albertans.

Irwin adds that the UCP must support Bill 205 to ensure robust reporting across the province to work together and solve this housing crisis.

Budget 2023 provides $40.6 million for the Lodge Assistance Program.