Aging well and taking care: How to support the mental health and well-being of older adults and service and care providers
The Understanding Mental Health and Well-Being Project at PSSP, in partnership with WoodGreen Community Services, is hosting this upcoming webinar.
Navigating the services and programs available to older adults can be complex and confusing. A deeper understanding of supports and how to access them (ie. referrals to community wellness & social programming, affordable housing, reliable food security, etc.) is vital to supporting the well-being of older adults, and important knowledge for anyone supporting them.
In order to provide older adults with quality care, service providers, family members, or informal care partners must be able to maintain good mental health. To support them, we will also review tools and strategies for caring for the caregiver.
Date: Tuesday March 22, 2022
Time: 1 - 2:30 p.m. EST
Learning objectives
By the end of this webinar, attendees will be able to:
- Access community supports and programs for older adults
- Understand how to support the well-being of older adults living with mental health and addictions
- Become familiar with practical tools and methods for self-care for service providers
- Identify caregiver burnout and apply self-care strategies
Presenters
Stephanie Conant is a manager of social work programs at WoodGreen Community Services in East Toronto. She oversees a caregiver support program and two social work teams. The social workers work with adults 55 years and older who need supports around mental health, addictions, finding and keeping housing, and finances. The social workers on the Caregiver Wellness team support people who are caring for someone with dementia and other cognitive issues or issues related to aging. Often they are themselves experiencing stresses around their caregiving role, in addition to their own health challenges. Steph has her Master’s degree in Social Work, focused on social policy and community empowerment, and her undergrad was in Indigenous Studies. She loves to travel the world (when pandemics allow), and is really into birding and photographing birds and other wildlife.
Kendelle LaBella is a project manager with WoodGreen Community Services. She oversees the Caregiver Surge Initiative, with the goal of preventing burnout and providing resources and support to low-income caregivers in East Toronto. Kendelle is a compassionate and resourceful seniors’ advocate with over 10 years of experience in the social services sector. She has worked in Adult Day Programs, Long Term Care, Supportive Housing, Shelters, and non-profit Community Service Agencies in recreation, navigation, coordination, supervisory, and project & program management roles. Kendelle graduated from Seneca’s Social Services Gerontology program as a “second career” after several years working in The Toronto Star’s advertising department. She is a staunch proponent of affordable housing, with previous experience on her residential Co-op’s board of directors serving as Vice President in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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