« I always though I had good neighbors. It turns out I have the best neighbors in the world. »

– Jim Casey

Welcome to the SuperVoisins community!

It is with great pleasure that we welcome you today. Your coming here represents the support that a community can offer to its seniors. It means that you are willing to invest your time and energy to improve the quality of life of the seniors in your neighbourhood.

In this fast-paced world where everyone’s time is precious, there is no greater generosity than to give a little time, according to your abilities and availability. There is thus no ideal age or time to become a SuperVoisin! You simply do it because you want to and because you have a little time to offer around you to “do good”.

We are here for you, as much to accompany you in the actions you take, as well as to recognize their impact and improve the SuperVoisin project. This means that your comments are important to us! The SuperVoisins community are our eyes and ears on the ground and will also allow us to increase our knowledge of the daily lives of seniors.

We wish you many positive and enriching encounters with your senior neighbours.

Thank you again and congratulations for volunteering to offer your time and kindness in our community!

Why SuperVoisins?

Several issues related to the quality of life of seniors are of concern to the residents of the Rocher-Percé territory, including:

• The social isolation of seniors.
• The difficulty to reach some segments of the population.
• The lack of knowledge of existing services on the territory.

In response to these concerns, here is how the SuperVoisin project will develop over time:

1. A few partners from the world of community outreach will meet to brainstorm ideas in the context of a call for projects from the Fonds d’Appui au Rayonnement des Régions (FARR) Gaspésie.
2. Fundings will be obtained to develop a project to identify vulnerable seniors in Rocher-Percé.
3. A project manager is hired at the Réseau en développement social Rocher-Percé to consult the community and implement the project.
4. After consultation with the partners, the project will be modified to create, not a map of vulnerable seniors, but a community of SuperVoisins capable of rendering small services to seniors and referring them to services and resources when necessary.
5. The promotion of the SuperVoisin project is underway, and this training course you are currently undertaking is being developed to support the new community of SuperVoisins.

If the project ultimately aims to improve the social network of vulnerable seniors in the MRC of Rocher-Percé, it also pursues the following specific objectives:

• Reassure, comfort and prevent social isolation of seniors;
• Identify and reach out to seniors in vulnerable situations who do not use the resources available to them;
• Make known the existing resources and services on the territory
• Raise awareness, mobilize and train the community to mutual aid and the living conditions of seniors.

What approach should the SuperVoisins community take?

1. Complementarity:

Actors from the world of healthcare, social and community services already offer quality services on our territory. The SuperVoisins, without replacing these services, will be the eyes and ears of the community to help improve the quality of life of our seniors while collaborating with existing partners and organizations and referring seniors to services when necessary.

2. Volunteering:

This project aims to create networks of committed and willing neighbours who are in control of their own involvement. The SuperVoisin does not have a minimum number of services to render in his or her neighbourhood, he or she gets involved according to his or her availability and capacities.

3. Kindness:

Small kind gestures made toward seniors can help promote happy aging at home. The heart of SuperVoisin is simply to put the inhabitants of a neighbourhood in touch with the elderly by favoring proximity, affinity and reciprocity of exchanges. A smile, a service, a call: a little bit of kindness is enough to become a SuperVoisin!

Thanks to the SuperVoisin community, we hope to be able to:

• Create a list of SuperVoisins working in different zones of the territory;
• List and map the interactions between SuperVoisins and seniors in the area.

« Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you. »

– Mother Teresa

Why become a SuperVoisin?

We first become SuperVoisin to help the elderly stay at home and feel part of their community. But it is also an opportunity to live enriching, rewarding and motivating human experiences, in addition to :

– Apply the values of mutual aid, solidarity and benevolence.

– Set an example and encourage volunteer involvement.

– Reach out and support seniors who do not know where to ask for help and services.

– Use your talents, interests and skills to help those around you.

– Act as a leader and a channel of information in the fight against isolation of seniors.

– Raise awareness against prejudices, stereotypes and ageism in the neighbourhood.

– Create close ties and counteract your own isolation.

– Develop self-confidence.

– Satisfy your need to belong to your community and your neighbourhood.

– Multiply interactions and convivial moments between neighbours.

– Help seniors stay in their homes and make them feel part of their community.

When making friendly visits to get to know the seniors in your neighbourhood or to visit a senior you already know, you should always respect the boundaries of the SuperVoisin role.

The SuperVoisin must:

• Maintain a caring neighbour attitude.
• Enjoy being around seniors.
• Be able to establish respectful and friendly relationships.
• Have the ability to spend time alone with a person.
• Provide small services that make the senior’s daily life easier (putting out the garbage, shoveling the porch, going shopping, offering a meal, etc.).
• Know how to LISTEN, how to OBSERVE, how to RESPECT.
• Be on the lookout for signs (health problems, resources, distress).
• Keep informed of available resources and services
• Refer to local resources and services.

The SuperVoisin must not :

• Act as a police officer or interventionist.
• Judge a person or their situation.
• Keep quiet about a witnessed situation that threatens the health or well-being of a senior.
• Overstep the role of a caring neighbour.

Several small gestures or simple services can be rendered to brighten up the daily life of the seniors in your neighbourhood:

• Listening and observing (lights on, curtains open, vehicles entering and leaving)
• Smile, positive words or hand gestures
• A short visit for tea, coffee or snacks
• A phone call to check in
• Accompaniment for a walk or a stroll
• Accompaniment to mass
• Accompaniment to an appointment
• Shopping with or for the person (groceries, pharmacy, etc.)
• Give a greeting card or bouquet of flowers for important events
• Reading a book, a short story or a magazine
• Playing cards or board games
• Friendly outing to a café, senior’s club, etc.
• Leisure activities together (cooking, crafts, gardening, etc.)
• Pet care (walking, grooming, etc.)
• Grounds maintenance (shoveling snow, mowing the lawn, etc.)
• Contacting organizations for referral

These small gestures, carried out in a spirit of listening, respect and joviality, can make a big difference in the daily lives of our seniors!

The SuperVoisin

SuperVoisin welcomes with gratitude and recognition the volunteers at the heart of its project since they are the key elements in the realization of its objectives of improving the quality of life of seniors and solidarity in the neighbourhoods.

It is from their values, their ideas and, above all, their time and availability that we can develop this beautiful project in response to the many issues experienced by our senior populations, including social isolation.

The rights of the SuperVoisin

• To be welcomed without discrimination.
• To work in a pleasant atmosphere.
• To freely choose the meetings for which they have interest, skills and availability.
• To receive adequate information relative to their role as a SuperVoisin and the performance of their tasks.
• To be supported, recognized and appreciated for their services.
• To express opinions freely, in a spirit of mutual respect.

The duties of the SuperVoisin

• Adhere to the mission and general rules of the project.
• Strictly respect confidentiality and be discreet about everything that is done, said or written.
• Respect its commitments.
• Collaborate with the team of the Réseau en Développement Social Rocher-Percé.
• Remain polite, courteous and understanding with everyone.
• Never carry out his/her duties when his/her physical or psychological state may be adversely affected.
• Assist in the continuation of the project by compiling certain data (see the monitoring tool).
• Not accept any reward, gift or tip.

The voisiné

The well-being of our voisinés must be and remain, at all times, our primary motivation. The SuperVoisin must offer them human moments, full of respect and tailored to their needs. In order to ensure that the actions carried out by our SuperVoisin run smoothly, our code of ethics identifies the rights and duties of the voisinés.

The rights of the voisiné

• The right to freedom of expression.
• The right to privacy, dignity and intimacy.
• The right to safety and integrity.
• The right to consent to receive visits.
• The right to be welcomed without discrimination.
• The right to be served with courtesy, politeness and understanding.
• The right to confidentiality.
• The right to be informed of the assistance and services available and their eligibility criteria.
• The right to refuse a visit or assistance from a SuperVoisin.

The duties of the voisiné

• To treat the SuperVoisin with respect and kindness.
• Show understanding of the constraints or limitations of the SuperVoisin’s visits and meetings.
• Remain polite, courteous, and grateful to the SuperVoisin.
• Notify the Réseau of any complaints about a SuperVoisin or the project.

The voisinés as well as the SuperVoisins can at any time refer to the person responsible for the project to make comments, questions or suggestions :

Frank Sweetman, project manager

Réseau en développement social Rocher-Percé

129 Boulevard René-Lévesque O. Bureau 15

Chandler (QC) G0C 1K0

514-625-1951

fsweetman@rdsrocherperce.com