Greater Peterborough Health Services Foundation Announces 2025 Recipients of the Senior Care Micro Grant Program
/The Greater Peterborough Health Services Foundation (GPHSF) has announced the winners of its second-annual Senior Care Micro Grant program.
from left to right: Vince Bierworth, Executive Director for Greater Peterborough Health Services Foundation, Bailley Taylor, NNADAP worker and Nicole Capalbo, Home & Community Care Manager Curve Lake First Nation. Photo Courtesy of The Greater Peterborough Health Services Foundation.
Two grants worth $5,000 were made available to support senior care projects and healthy aging initiatives within the Peterborough area: Curve Lake First Nation’s Home and Community Care and Mental Health Project and One City Peterborough’s Nutritional Support for At-Risk Seniors Project.
“It was a difficult process to narrow down the applications. Our recipients this year address both mental and physical health concerns, as well as nutritional concerns with some of the most vulnerable in our community.” said Vince Bierworth, Executive Director for the Greater Peterborough Health Services Foundation. “Our committee, which was made up of healthcare professionals and community members, were very impressed with the quality and variety of projects submitted. After much deliberation, they settled upon two projects that will have both an immediate and lasting impact for seniors and elders in our community.”
In their application, Curve Lake First Nation states that the Home and Community Care and Mental Health Project “is addressing a critical gap in Elder care by providing culturally relevant mental health and wellness supports that are not currently available in our community. There are limited opportunities for Elders to engage in programming that integrates mental, emotional, spiritual and cultural well-being. Elders often face isolation, challenges with life transitions and limited access to traditional knowledge and healing practices. By offering biweekly gatherings that combine cultural teachings, land-based activities, art therapy, addictions awareness and connections to community partners, this project fills an unmet need and ensures our elders are supported in a holistic and culturally safe way.”
“Curve Lake Home and Community Care in partnership with Mental Health Services is sincerely grateful and deeply appreciative to the GPHSF for awarding us the Seniors Care Micro Grant,” said Nicole Capalbo, Home and Community Care Manager at Curve Lake Health Centre. “Our Elders are a vital part of our community, and this funding will be put to great use in enhancing culturally grounded mental health and wellness supports. This investment strengthens our ability to care for our Elders in meaningful ways that honour their dignity, identity and overall well-being.”
In their application, One City Peterborough states that the Nutritional Support for At-Risk Seniors Project supports “Seniors who make up 35 per cent of the individuals accessing drop-in services on a regular basis, many of whom also have complex nutritional needs due to chronic illness, diabetes, exposure related injuries, chronic malnutrition and severe dental decay, among other factors. This project will identify marginalized seniors with high nutritional needs that are not being met and provide interventions to offset their risk of associated health burdens.”
From Left to Right: Michael Vanderherberg, Director of Property Development One City Peterborough, Cheyenne Buck, Trinity Drop-in Coordinator, Brian McCarthy, Finance Coordinator One City Peterborough and Vince Bierworth, Executive Director Greater Peterborough Health Services Foundation. Photo Courtesy of The Greater Peterborough Health Services Foundation.
