Black Diamond’s hub for elderly residents will never be the same once the doors reopen.
Plans are underway to not only set the Griffiths Senior Centre up to meet Alberta Health Services safety guidelines in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, but to also bring it up-to-date with new technology.
Griffiths Memorial Centre Association’s board of directors applied for $17,648 through the federal government’s New Horizons for Seniors Community Program grants to install hand sanitizer units and plastic barriers between seats and tables and up-to-date technology that will allow for livestreaming and an improved sound system, said board president Audrey Cerkvenac.
“Our younger members are more comfortable with technology so the board is making sure we keep up with that and constantly improve our operations for not just seniors over 70 but those in their 60s and late 50s,” she said. “We’ve got to keep the centre energized. We’ve got to try and figure out what it is all the seniors would like here.”
The Griffiths Senior Centre closed in mid-March after non-essential public facilities were ordered by the Province to shut down temporarily to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Cerkvenac said it has remained closed for the safety of its more than 300 vulnerable members.
“Provincial guidelines allow up to 50 people indoors, however our membership is in the vulnerable population,” she said. “We, as a board, decided it was not advisable to reopen the centre for any group activity and that we would not run the risk of any kind of health scare. We’re seniors and the majority of us have health problems. It’s just not safe to have large meetings or card games.”
The board of directors is counting on the New Horizons grant to pay for the changes needed to reopen the centre safely, said Cerkvenac. She said the association received letters of support from Foothills MP John Barlow, Highwood MLA RJ Sigurdson and the Town of Black Diamond.
“We really appreciated getting letters of support from all levels of government,” she said. “If we are denied the grant we will have to find other sources of funding.”
In addition to meeting Alberta Health Services’ safety protocols, Cerkvenac said it’s critical that the board set up technology to allow for livestreaming to provide services to members who don’t feel comfortable or are unable to physically attend.
Cerkvenac said the proposed new technology would also draw other groups to rent the space.
“The association wants to provide a meeting place for not only the seniors in this community but for other groups,” she said. “We want to connect with our seniors virtually for meetings and programs and things like that and if we have all of the technology in place the Town and other groups can take advantage of this.
“Basically we want to move with the times. We want it to be a hub in the community, not just for seniors but for everybody.”
Cerkvenac said rental fees are a large part of the association’s revenue, as well as money made at the association’s fundraising casinos. Other sources of revenue include donations in memory of loved ones who have passed away, membership fees, registration fees and a small revenue from lunches and dinners.
“Our revenue, of course, has completely dried up,” she said. “The operating costs for the centre have gone down a little bit, but we are still noticing the lack of revenue. The bills still come in. We still have to pay all of the transmission costs and our insurance.”
While the facility remains closed, Cerkvenac said paving is underway at the centre’s parking lot.
The $15,000 project was approved by the Farm Credit Canada Agri-Spirit Grant several months ago to make the parking lot wheelchair and walker accessible.
Cerkvenac said she hopes to see the work completed this year.
Once funding is secure to get the centre ready for reopening, the board will decide what activities to bring back and which to hold off, she said.
“We would start very small and gradually build up to the larger events,” she said.
The board expects to learn the status of its New Horizons grant application at the end of 2020 or in early 2021.
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To see Alberta Health Services latest statistics concerning COVID-19 cases in the Okotoks area, including Black Diamond and Foothills County, go to https://www.alberta.ca/maps/covid-19-status-map.htm
