Seniors Programs
Project B.A.S.I.C.S is a community program for senior women. The project focus is on Building a Safe and Inclusive Community for Seniors.
The project welcomes women from all diverse communities, Topics include:
- Understanding elder abuse
- Financial abuse / Online scaming
- Community development
- Understanding inclusivity
- Civic engagement
- Literacy workshops
- Intergenerational social activities
- Computer classes
- Weekly workshops
About WMRCC of Durham
WMRCC mandate is to provide programs, counselling services, and violence-prevention workshops to women of all ages, seniors, youth and children from diverse backgrounds, regardless of race, culture, religion, sexual orientation, literacy level, immigration status, age and class, to rebuild their lives and enable them to become contributing members of society.
WMRCC Additional Seniors' Projects
Join newcomer and immigrant senior women every Tuesday and Thursday for networking, sewing, cooking, violence prevention, mental health and healthy living workshops
Please register for program at the following number or sending email: 905-427-7849
Downtown Ajax Seniors Project
In December 2017 Durham Regional Municipality completed the “Ajax Neighborhood Profile”, and declared it as a Health Priority Neighborhood. All negative indicators are 20% higher comparing to Durham Region average; population growth rate, population aged 65+, seniors living alone, low income rate, households that rent, emergency hospital visits by 65+ due to fall, police-reported domestic incidents and gender-based violence.
WMRCC is located in this neighborhood, and understands the dynamics; Elderly women have generally gone through a cycle of child births and life experiences, which impact their general health in comparison to elderly men, the senior immigrant women have faced settlement issues more harshly than men due to double duties of low paying jobs while raising the children, the single/living-alone elderly women are generally in this situation due to abuse and abandonment by the male partner or grown up children.
The project, “Downtown Ajax Seniors” is to share the information about housing, medical, legal, financial, transportation, & community events to elderly women, guide them to use the local support systems, distribute support material and supplies, develop networks, and will take them on tours to break isolation & encourage civic participation
WMRCC will engage 5 youth volunteers for assistance with excursions of seniors to shopping & community events.
In addition, 6 elder role-models will assist in the project implementation.
The project strategy is intensive, focused and repetitive. Its values are, anti-racism, anti-violence, inclusion, and confidentiality, with compassion, care and sensitivity.
Our Objectives
- To provide information & connections to elderly and disabled women including 2SLBTQQA+ women who have gone through financial, physical, emotional, and psychological abuse in their lives, and are now entering old age with deep scars hidden or visible.
- To break isolation of mobility challenged and living-alone women through creating a network of friends.
- To increase the mobility of abused, disabled elderly women and escort them to grocery shopping and community events.
- To distribute free mobility & other aids to low income elderly, disable women so they can go out and participate in community activities.
Our Services
Workshop # 1 Housing Information
Workshop # 2 Medical Information
Workshop # 3 Legal Information
Workshop # 4 Financial Information
Workshop # 5 Transportation Information
Workshop # 6 Community Event Information
Networking sessions # 1, # 2
Tour # 1, # 2, # 3, # 4 for groceries, and summer community events
Sessions to distribute supporting merchandise suitable to elderly women
Testimonies from WMRCC Clients
It feels so good to have someone to talk to; someone who understands the issue and sensitive to my feelings. I am always looking forward to coming to my counselling session every week!
Today I hesitated quite a bit before coming to this session. I contemplated cancelling the appointment but here I am leaving a different individual from the one who walked in. I feel so much lighter after my session. These counselling sessions present an opportunity to feel free and clear my mind of negative and other thoughts of hopelessness.
This agency was there for me in the early nineties when majority of the community did not know how to deal with a Muslim woman like me, for that I will always be grateful.