Community celebrates new Elders haven

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Through the picture window of Stanley Mission's new Elders haven, its residents can see clear across the Churchill River to the building that most defines this community-Holy Trinity Anglican Church. Completed in 1860, the high-steepled white church is not only the pride of Stanley Mission, it is also the oldest building in Saskatchewan, lovingly restored and still in use today.

It is a fitting view. The new Elders haven, which has been occupied since the end of February, is a building that reflects both the love and the respect that the community feels for its oldest residents. The haven is a comfortable, single-storey building, situated on a well-travelled road on the banks of the Churchill-the same shoreline where residents of Stanley Mission have camped for generations. It was built to provide care and comfort for those whom age has physically weakened, while continuing to honour the contributions those people still make to the community.

The haven had its official opening on June 12, with the Elders, staff, community members and dignitaries kicking off an afternoon of celebration with a locally prepared feast of fish, neckbones and other delicacies at the Stanley Mission community hall. During the lunch, Elder Catherine Charles, whose husband Colin is one of the haven's 10 residents, spoke in Cree of her gratitude that the community of Stanley Mission genuinely works together and for one another, and that their efforts have resulted in such a beautiful facility. Stanley Mission health director Wilfred McKenzie thanked the local band councillors and health board for backing the project, noting that "It is hard to get things done without the support of your leadership."

The facility was built entirely with locally administrated band money, with no outside financial support other than a $72,000 contribution that came through the distribution of casino dollars. That fact prompted a joke from Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC) Vice-Chief Elmer Ballantyne, who said that because facilities like this are benefiting from casino money, "When I walk in there and I lose 40 bucks, I don't feel so bad."

After lunch, people walked or drove to the haven for a ribbon-cutting ceremony, gifts and yet more food. Among the gifts was a pair of blankets which Ballantyne, on behalf of the PAGC, presented to the oldest man and woman residing at the haven-77-year-old Isiah Charles and 93-year-old Helen Ninine.

Prior to the construction of this new building, the Elders had lived in a building previously used as a youth group home. That facility opened six years ago, soon after Stanley Mission took over the administration of its finances from the Lac La Ronge Indian Band's head office in La Ronge.

Before that, said local band councillor Gord Hardlotte, "They used to have to take the Elders out of town." There was no medical care available on a constant basis, and sometimes there were no family members who could care for the Elders' needs, Hardlotte said.

Hardlotte's own grandmother was one of those whose circumstances required her to move away, and he saw how she struggled with the relocation. "She got very, very homesick," he said. "Some of them that left didn't know English. The change in the lifestyle, the diet and just lack of seeing their families ... the neglect they feel and the loneliness (were tough)."

While the old facility met a few of these needs, it was not ideal, Hardlotte said. For example, there was a serious lack of privacy, because the Elders had to share bedrooms and there were no doors on any of their rooms.

The other major complaint was with the location itself. The old group home was well back of the river, with no big windows to look out and see people going by, and certainly no view of the church. "It's more central here," Hardlotte said. It's also where they feel at home. "Their generation, whenever they built cabins, they built by the river," Hardlotte said. "A lot of them lived their lives by theriver, and it's good for them to see the river."

There are 20 Elder care aides and one licensed practical nurse on staff, and doctors come up from La Ronge twice a week. Nearly all of the staff are people who grew up in Stanley Mission, and all are band members.

As a band councillor, Hardlotte is delighted to see the community's vision of a proper facility for their Elders finally coming to fruition. "As council, we saw the need for the facility, so we invested in it," he said. "It's good to see that this is all done."