Vacated since the new Bashaw Meadows opened last month, Bashaw Valley Lodge has re-opened to accommodate Calgary seniors displaced because of severe flooding that swamped the southern part of the province.
About 50 seniors from Trinity Place Foundation are scheduled to move into Bashaw Valley Lodge and the new Bashaw Meadows by the end of the month and remain in town for the rest of the summer.
The Bethany Group, which operates the new seniors’ home in Bashaw, responded to the call in co-operation with the residents of Bashaw.
“Our community has always been welcoming and supportive,” Bashaw Mayor Penny Shantz said in a news release from Bethany Group.
“We are already looking at options on how we can help these seniors during this difficult time, and give them a great temporary home.”
Short-term workers from the community are also being recruited. Bethany Group plans to provide staffing and caring support for the seniors — including meals and furnishings — until they can move back into their homes.
“We are pleased to have this opportunity to help other Albertans in need,” Denis Beesley, the president and chief executive officer of Bethany Group, said in a news release last week.
“We could think of no better place than Bashaw to assist with this support. (Bashaw is) a community with a long tradition of caring and support.
“I know that the community will welcome them all, even for a short time.”
To help the new residents adjust and to provide as comforting and home-like an experience as possible, entertainment opportunities are also being explored.
Anyone from Bashaw or the surrounding communities interested in providing entertainment or volunteering is asked to contact Bethany Group at 780-679-2000.