A one stop shop for learning about different resources and organizations about caregiving is coming back to a North Vancouver senior centre this weekend.
The Caregiver and Senior Expo is returning to the Silver Harbour Centre in North Vancouver on Saturday, May 24 from noon to 4 p.m.
More than 24 vendors in the caregiving industry will be on site, providing information to seniors and others who are supporting family and friends. Service providers such as long-term care homes, financial management companies that help write wills, and caregiving agencies will be there to share their expertise.
“In terms of the expo, it provides a public forum where exhibitors can come … [to offer connections to] all sorts of different tangents of the caregiving journey,” said Vic Gailiunas, caregiver support program co-ordinator with North Shore Community Resources, organizers of the event.
As an example, Gailiunas said if a person was looking after their mom who had Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, the expo can help them find more information on how to navigate that journey.
Gailiunas helps organize the expo every year, where he also sets up a speaker series featuring industry experts. He launched the speaker series after hearing questions on the process of getting into long-term care homes and getting a case manager.
Four speakers are set to speak at this year’s expo, each covering different areas of caregiving or how to support loved ones, followed by a Q&A for those who have questions.
The first speaker will be Corinne Stewart, a clinical co-ordinator for the case management team on the North Shore through Vancouver Coastal Health, who will share details about how and when to apply for long-term care homes and how to get a case manager.
Chantal Bourke, a registered clinical counsellor, will dive into self-care, caregiver burnout and coping with difficult emotions in our loved ones, and award-winning psychologist Melanie Badali will talk about communicating healthy boundaries between caregivers and loved ones.
There will also be a chat about family councils, families and/or residents who advocate for the quality of life for those living in care homes. Lisa Dawson, vice president and secretary of the Independent Long-Term Care Councils Association of BC, and Janice DeJardins, director of Vancouver Coastal Association of Family Councils, will share their insights on the effectiveness of these councils.
“It gives you a little bit of a view of some of the diversity of topics that might come into the world of family caregivers,” Gailiunas said.
He hopes people will take in information, resources or ideas to help others or themselves.
“The goal of the expo is to really help people that are family caregivers,” Gailiunas said. “There’s such a growing number of people that are family caregivers, not just here, but [in] Canada and in the world. We all need to learn techniques of how to deal with people that we’re caring for.”
7th annual Caregiver and Senior Expo
When: Saturday, May 24, noon to 4 p.m. Schedule of speakers can be found on the expo’s website.
Where: Silver Harbour Centre, 144 East 22nd Street, North Vancouver
Cost: Free
Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic affairs reporter for the North Shore News. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
https://bsky.app/profile/abbyluciano.bsky.social
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