Lamplighters help keep attention on seniors

Take care of each other, especially your elders.

That’s the message that one city agency is hoping to spread through public training sessions aimed at getting more and more citizens to be mindful about the seniors in their lives.

The St. Albert 50+ Club is offering two free Lamplighter training sessions in April. Historically, a lamplighter was akin to a town watchman. Tara Burnett, the outreach program co-ordinator at the centre, says that nowadays the job description is about shining a light on something – or someone – who could be left in the shadows.

“Lamplighters shine a light for seniors who might otherwise be overlooked,” she began. “They keep a watch out for seniors who may be at risk, who may have had a change of routine or behaviour, or who may not have been heard from in days.”

The most recent statistics show 13.86 per cent of St. Albert’s population is 65 or over. That works out to about 8,450 people out of a total of 60,994. Many of these seniors live in their own homes but still rely on the vigilance of friends, family and neighbours to shovel their walks, stop in from time to time and generally just be aware of how they are doing.

The public is invited to these sessions offered by Alberta Health Services, which also runs its own Lamplighter sessions throughout the community. They are offered from time to time but it’s been about four years since the club hosted its own. The sessions offer important information for the general public on how to keep an eye out for seniors who might be struggling.

“They’re good for anybody,” Burnett continued, adding that she took the training herself recently. “It was wonderful. It uses what you already know and gives you ideas of what to look for.”

She said Alberta Health Services’ Community Care Access receives calls and helps link people to a 24-hour service to assess any situation that might be of concern. That phone number is 780-496-1300.

Burnett hopes to get full registrations of 50 people for each session.