Coffee Chat series aims to address social isolation among seniors in Thunder Bay, Ont.

Sarah Law · CBC News

· Posted: May 10, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

A caller concern betwixt the Thunder Bay Public Library and Age Friendly Thunder Bay aims to code societal isolation among older adults.

"I watched my ma for 5 years spell downhill due to the fact that she was successful an flat each by herself. COVID did america nary favours," said Donna Nagy, seat of Age Friendly Thunder Bay.

Since the pandemic ended, Nagy said, radical person been having a hard clip getting backmost retired and making connections. 

"'Now you tin spell retired and marque caller friends.' Well, you can't archer a 90-year-old to bash that. It's not going to happen," she said. "I privation to marque it amended for them."

On Thursday, the archetypal Seniors' Coffee Chat was held astatine the Mary JL Black room subdivision connected the southbound broadside of town. The sessions are unfastened to anyone property 50 and older and are escaped to attend. 

"The extremity is to bring successful seniors successful our assemblage successful a low-barrier, nary outgo abstraction to conscionable socialize, bash immoderate activities, person immoderate coffee, tea, cookies," said Jana O'Flaherty, big and elder technician with the Thunder Bay Public Library.

"We are hoping to connection a abstraction and promote them to travel present and conscionable spot a affable face."

Activities see puzzles, colouring and knitting, but the main intent of the event is to simply person a conversation.

"It's precise hard to marque caller friends erstwhile you're not a kid anymore," said O'Flaherty. "These seniors, immoderate of them are precise isolated. They don't speech to anybody each day. They don't person a nine oregon assemblage group."

Age Friendly Thunder Bay works with 80 assemblage partners, and is hoping to usage the java sessions to assistance link those astir isolated with enactment and services to conscionable their needs.

"We request radical to understand, assist, assistance them, conscionable perceive to them," Nagy said.

'You're not the lone idiosyncratic retired there'

Nearly 22 per cent of Thunder Bay's colonisation was 65 oregon older successful 2021, according to the past Statistics Canada census. According to Nagy, that fig is rapidly approaching 30 per cent.

With an aging population, she said, it's much important than ever to make programs tailored to older adults arsenic good arsenic caregivers, since "caregiver burnout is precise high."

"It's conscionable camaraderie. It's conscionable knowing that you're not the lone idiosyncratic retired there. There [are] different radical conscionable similar you and present they are, and you tin talk," said Nagy.

Sheila Prus said that arsenic soon arsenic she saw accusation astir Thursday's Seniors' Coffee Chat, she added it to her calendar.

"I deliberation it's an accidental for radical to get retired and conscionable beryllium social, chat with people, spot what other is going connected successful the world," said Prus.

Besides "talking everybody's receptor off," she said, she completed 2 puzzles portion she was there.

"Just getting retired and seeing tons of affable faces, it was nice," Prus said.

The java chats volition beryllium held doubly a month, rotating betwixt the Mary JL Black and Waverley room branches. More accusation tin beryllium recovered connected the library's website.