CCBI News – Eldercare, Accompaniment, Aging Well; Ecology—Health; Housing—Health Nunavut

April 1, 2022

Dear Friends of CCBI,

Eldercare

Pope Francis continues his catechesis on the elderly at his Wednesday Audiences, and this week we read about indigenous representatives from Canada having high level meetings with him about residential schools and related matters. I don’t think they were able to attend the Audience, but I wonder if his overall catechesis on this topic would resonate with them and with indigenous elders, in particular. I suspect it would, coming as it does from a deep affirmation of the dignity and worth of the elderly who deserve our respect for their wisdom and experiences. Indigenous people seem to have a better appreciation of their elders than society as a whole does. At the Audience, Pope Francis underscored how much society needs elders who recognize Christ’s presence among us and show us what is truly important in life. “On the other hand, a society that exalts pleasure and cultivates the illusion of eternal youth can act as an ‘anaesthesia of the spiritual senses,” he warned. “…matters of the soul can be ignored causing an insensitivity to the spiritual senses related to compassion, remorse, devotion, tenderness, and responsibility for oneself and others.”

There is a vast literature on the importance of spirituality for care of the soul but also for healthcare, palliative care and eldercare. The Pope is re-shaping our relationship with the elderly, as Pope John Paul II also did in his poignant Letter to the Elderly. Not only are spiritual care and practices necessary for the elderly as for everyone else, but both Popes teach that society could learn a great deal from their wisdom. Discovering more about the spiritual wisdom of our indigenous elders would be a good place to start!

Palliative Care and Accompaniment

Pope Francis frequently mentions accompaniment as a way to develop our communal bonds with people at various stages of life. ​He emphasizes it as a Christian responsibility based on love of God and of neighbour, and one instance I read about this week showed how the people in Albatros en Montérégie, Québec, are living out pastoral care for others. “In the difficult moments following the diagnosis of a serious illness, relying on someone’s support is worth its weight in gold,” says the Albatros en Montérégie organization whose hundred volunteers support the lonely and the dying in the region. They visit the person and sit for one or two hours with people who live alone or whose families live elsewhere or perhaps do not visit at all. The meetings are repeated a few times a week until the person dies, and can take place in the person’s own home or sometimes in palliative care units.

“Accompaniment is very much about listening, about knowing how to be with a person,” explains the organization’s executive director, Chantale Boivin. “Over the weeks, with the meetings, it brings serenity to people.” Such accompaniment is not only admirable, but echoes the Pope’s invitation to us to become more involved in caring for people in palliative care or at end-of-life at a more personal and spiritual level, especially listening to them and taking note of what they say. “Not having a voice” is a major cause of problems in society, but this is remediable. The CCCB’s program for parishes, ‘Horizons of Hope,’ aims to focus  attention on accompaniment during palliative and end of life stages. It has been launched nationally and is about to begin in the Archdiocese of Toronto. The hope is that focused discussions will lead to greater awareness of these issues and of the help and resources that are available to individuals and their families. It also hopes to encourage parishes and individual parishioners to move towards some form of action, perhaps similar to the accompaniment shown by the Albatros en Montérégie group, or whatever creative ideas people are inspired to develop.

Pope Francis

Pope at Audience: Old age can be a time of spiritual vitality – Vatican News

Letter to the Elderly (October 1, 1999) | John Paul II (vatican.va)

e-hospice – Albatros en Montérégie

Accompanying people to their last breath – (English translation appears)

Accompagner les gens vers leur dernier souffle – ehospice Dans les moments difficiles qui suivent le diagnostic d’une maladie grave, compter sur le soutien de quelqu’un vaut son pesant d’or. C’est ce que suggère l’organisme Albatros en Montérégie et ses bénévoles, qui apportent écoute et bienveillance aux gens dont la vie s’échappe peu à peu. ehospice.com

Aging Well in Arnsberg
Dr Rory Fisher

Arnsberg is a German town in North Rhine – Westphalia on the River Ruhr. It has a population of approximately 74,000, with 17,000 over the age of 65. It has a very well-developed program for assisting the elderly to stay in the community. Some of these are outlined in “Discover the World’s Most Aging Friendly City” (www.reasonstobecheerful.org). An initial survey in 1995 had a large response and showed that seniors wished to remain at home and continue to participate in and contribute to society. In 2004 a small but very effective Department of Future Age (DFA)was formed. This Department works in close collaboration with the other municipal Departments. The DFA promotes activities to maintain independence, safeguard dignity, and decrease loneliness. Supporting seniors with dementia is a priority. A Dementia learning Lab was set up in 2008. A City-wide learning process was undertaken. It became a joint responsibility of people with dementia, families, citizens, professionals and the city to develop a “Dementia Friendly Community.”

Education of the public regarding dementia has been undertaken to allow for understanding of, and appropriate responses to seniors with dementia. Programs have been developed to include and transport the elderly to local activities such as Carnival, film festivals, and the theatre. Zeitlos is an intergenerational café where the elderly and their caregivers can join in artistic activities with young students. Volunteers accompany the elderly on shopping trips. Numbered benches are placed at 200 metres distance in the market area and along the banks of the Ruhr. If the senior needs assistance, they can call for help, and give the number on the bench to identify their location.

Arnsberg has helped influence other European communities (“Towards Dementia-friendly Communities across Europe.” www.arnsberg.de/lern-werkstadt-demenz PDF). In particular, it has cooperated closely with Bruges, in Belgium, and is involved with the European Foundation’s Initiative on Dementia.

Aging populations with an increasing number of seniors with dementia face every municipality in Western society. They would be well advised to follow Arnsberg’s lead in looking to implement local solutions to help resolve the problem.

Ecology as a Determinant of Health
Bridget Campion, PhD

Do ecological concerns affect mental health and wellbeing? According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the answer is yes. In a recent CBC interview, Sherilee Harper, a professor at the University of Alberta and major contributor to the IPCC’s report says that “the climate crisis is impacting mental health in three ways: it affects people directly when they experience floods, heatwaves and other disasters; it affects people when their livelihoods are threatened; and it affects people who watch the misery unfolding on the news.” In other words, one does not have to be directly experiencing the consequences of climate change to have one’s mental health adversely affected. As Harper puts it, “Seeing these images, seeing suffering, seeing infrastructure damage impacts our anxiety as well.”

Robert McLeman, a professor at Wilfred Laurier University, notes that climate change is a major source of anxiety for young people who look to their future with worry, wondering what they will have to face. This is echoed in Health Canada’s Report, “Health of Canadians in a Changing Climate: Advancing our Knowledge for Action”. Millennials and those born later have lived with ecological crises all of their lives. According to the Report, they are “particularly vulnerable to experiences of anxiety, grief, and stress related to climate change, including ecoanxiety and ecogrief.” Wellbeing requires being attuned to the need for mental health care in the face of the current, ongoing climate crisis.

Ecology is a social determinant of health, but not simply as a risk factor. As the CBC report notes, “Just being outside in nature has been linked to better health in people, forming yet another incentive to protect and grow green spaces.” This is supported by the Health Canada Report. Practices such as “forest-bathing” and Indigenous “land-based healing practices” can foster deep connections with nature and communities which in turn can enhance wellbeing. As well, “engaging in practices that preserve the natural environment provide people with a sense of stewardship and personal investment that may help overcome feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, and ecoparalysis.” In the pursuit of mental wellness through encounters with nature, it can be helpful to turn to the model of St. Francis of Assisi as described in Laudato si’ “who lived in simplicity and in wonderful harmony with God, with others, with nature and with himself” [10] and who “invites us to see nature as a magnificent book in which God speaks to us and grants us a glimpse of his infinite beauty and goodness” [12].

Note: Both Sherilee Harper and Robert McLeman were lead authors on their chapters (North America, and Health and Well-being respectively) in the IPCC Report.

Sources

CBC –What on Earth?
“UN report delves into how climate change is affecting mental health” posted Mar 2, 2022 https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/what-on-earth-climate-change-mental-health-1.6371689
“Health of Canadians in a Changing Climate: Advancing our Knowledge for Action” https://changingclimate.ca/site/assets/uploads/sites/5/2022/02/CCHA-REPORT-EN.pdf
Pope Francis, Laudato si’ https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html

Housing Shortages In Nunavut And Health
Bridget Campion, PhD

Pangnirtung is a Nunavut community of 1500 people which, according to APTN News, is in the midst of a health crisis. Not only is it contending with a COVID-19 outbreak, it is also dealing with tuberculosis. Both of these diseases require that infected persons isolate themselves in order to stop the spread of infection. However, this is almost impossible in Pangnirtung because of a critical housing shortage in Nunavut.

In March 2021 Nunavut’s MP, Mumilaaq Qaqqaq released a report on the housing situation in Nunavut. Based on her visits and interviews over a period of three weeks she was able to paint of picture of severe overcrowding, the presence of mould and structural failures in homes, and people being on housing and repair waitlists for years. The MP told Nunatsiaq News that one child had been sent south and placed in foster care because the mould in the house had made them sick. In Coral Harbour, “Qaqqaq said that 130 of a population of 900 are waiting for housing and 43 of them are currently homeless.” In Naujaat, every home she visited had “problems with mould and overcrowding.”

According to APTN News, “The tuberculosis rate for Inuit in Canada is 300 times higher than that same rate in non-indigenous Canadians.” Pangnirtung Deputy Mayor Markus Wilcke sees the housing crisis as a major factor in this. “’Many of the homes have 10 or 12 people living there,’ said Wilcke. ‘That speaks for itself and very well explains the acuity of our tuberculosis situation.’”

Qaqqaq contends that lack of funding is a major cause of the housing crisis. Simply transporting materials for building and repairs is costly and complex. However, she also notes “the effects of colonization and forced relocations that brought many changes to the Inuit way of life, including moving from living in tents and iglus to permanent settlements.” As Qaqqaq said to the Nunatsiaq News, “’It was clear that some people weren’t aware of caring for a home or navigating systems… Not knowing these kinds of things is not the fault of Inuit.’”

Sources

APTN News “In Pangnirtung the housing shortage is allowing an old disease and new virus to thrive” Kent Driscoll Mar 30, 2022 https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/in-pangnirtung-the-housing-shortage-is-allowing-an-old-disease-and-new-virus-to-thrive/
Nunatsiaq News “Nunavut MP releases report on ‘deplorable’ housing conditions” Mélanie Ritchot Mar 25, 2021https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/nunavut-mp-releases-report-on-territorys-housing-crisis/

Pope Francis’ Intention for the month of April:

We pray for health care workers who serve the sick and the elderly, especially in the poorest countries; may they be adequately supported by governments and local communities!

Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us.

Moira, Bambi, Bridget and Rory