Seniors feel 'invisible, forgotten,' new provincial advocate says

Seniors inBritishColumbiaare feeling "invisible and forgotten" as they fall through the cracks in existing provincial support systems, their advocate says.

In his first report asB.C.'s seniors' advocate, Dan Levitt says affordability was the top concern during visits with hundreds of seniors in more than 20 communities in April.

One in four seniors inB.C. earn less than $23,000 a year, an amount that falls below the poverty line, Levitt told a news conference on Wednesday.

The report outlines what Levitt heard during his tour, confirming thatB.C. seniors on fixed incomes are disproportionately affected by the high cost of living.

It found many seniors are unable to absorb increased costs for housing, food, medical equipment, mobility aids and other necessities for healthy aging.

Levitt said more low-income seniors are at risk of homelessness and many are turning to food banks as they struggle to make ends meet.

Recommendations for government

The report makes several recommendations for theB.C. government, starting with redesigning the Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters program.

Levitt said the program is failing to ensure low-income seniors aren't paying more than 30 per cent of their income on housing. The benefit isn't tied to inflation or rent increases, he added.

The report also calls on the province to increase its seniors'supplement, a top-up on the federal income for seniors,and index it to inflation.It'scurrently set at a maximum of $99.30 per month for single seniors.

On Wednesday, at a separate news conference, Premier David Ebytold reportersthe province would work closely with Levitt to support seniors, adding B.C. has doubled the seniors' supplement.

"There's no question cost-of-living impacts on British Columbians have been significant due to global inflation," he said. "Seniors are definitely feeling those impacts."

Levitt said seniors also told him they don't have what they need to keep living in their homes for as long as they can. He called onB.C. to eliminate the daily charge for home support, noting that neither Alberta nor Ontario have such a fee.

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Levitt expressed further concern about a shortage of long-term care and assisted-living beds, saying people are spending thousands of dollars and travelling long distances to visit loved ones who have moved away to receive care.

The challenges will only persist asB.C.'s population ages, he said.

'Are we prepared?'

Seniors are the fastest-growing age group in the province, and by 2036 they will make up 25 per cent of the population, he said.

"We're generally healthier and living longer. More people will be over 65 in the next decade [than]any other time in our history," he said."That's good news.But the question is, are we prepared?"

Levitt said the short answer is "no."

He said demand for long-term care and other services for seniors will grow "exponentially" in the coming decade.

His office will undertake what he described as a "systemic review" of wait lists for long-term care and assisted-living facilities.

"We want to see much more infrastructure being built where seniors live," he said.

The report released Wednesday further recommends thatB.C. provide the $300 shingles vaccine at no cost for seniors, while developing a cross-ministry strategy to support seniors with key targets and performance measures.

Levitt said funding the vaccine and eliminating the home-care fee are stepsB.C. could take immediately, while starting work on the long-term recommendations.

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The report comes about two months after seniors across B.C. protestedagainstpensions they say are not keeping up with the cost of living. Advocacy group Seniors Tin Cup organized marches in seven cities, including Vancouver, White Rock, Kamloops and Vernon, where demonstrators said they cannot live on just their pensions.

Across the country, seniors are experimenting with new ways of living. Many are choosing to stay at homeinstead of heading to retirement homes, which can cost upwards of $3,100 per month.According to the 2016 Canadian census, over 85 per cent of aging seniors prefer to keep living at home and pay for support as needed.

Others are looking for roommates, or choosing to pool their resources to mortgage or rent houses in an option calledco-living.