{"id":34411,"date":"2024-03-28T16:25:49","date_gmt":"2024-03-28T20:25:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=34411"},"modified":"2024-03-28T16:25:51","modified_gmt":"2024-03-28T20:25:51","slug":"bubbles-smiles-is-tasty-way-to-support-local-seniors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/bubbles-smiles-is-tasty-way-to-support-local-seniors\/","title":{"rendered":"Bubbles & Smiles is tasty way to support local seniors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A feast for the senses will unfold at the historic Aurora Armoury on April 24 as CHATS \u2013 Community & Home Assistance to Seniors \u2013 hosts its second-annual Bubbles & Smiles event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Formally, the second-annual \u201cBubbles & Smiles Sommelier Tutored Tasting & Culinary Experience,\u201d this year\u2019s event will feature a variety of champagnes and \u201cbubbles from around the world\u201d showcased by sommelier Ben Pilsky-Somers of Bossanova Wine & Beer and hors d\u2019oeuvre pairings from the Armoury\u2019s Chef Soohyeong Lee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bubbles & Smiles is the brainchild of Colleen Jones, Past Vice Chair of CHATS\u2019 Board of Directors, who wanted to continue helping to fill in the gaps when it comes to local seniors\u2019 care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLike most seniors, my mom did not want to move from her home, but living on her own, without help, was no longer viable,\u201d said Jones. \u201cUnfortunately, the community where she lived did not have the types of supports she needed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In keeping with the theme, proceeds from the second-annual event will help enhance programs to address senior isolation and loneliness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re finding the uptake on people coming back to in-person activities has been a lot slower than we would have thought,\u201d says CHATS CEO Christina Bisanz. \u201cWe\u2019re really trying to raise awareness that we have wellness programs in the community, that we have programs for diverse communities available, but that period of time where people stayed home and didn\u2019t engage, I think, is still continuing on at this time. We really want to be able to get out, perhaps offer some new programs in different communities where we haven\u2019t been present before and be able to serve our older adults with engaging activities that will get them out of isolation and address potential loneliness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CHATS is currently exploring ways in which they can address what they describe as \u201cNORC\u201d models \u2013 Naturally-Occurring Retirement Communities \u2013 that have formed in other locations within Canada and the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These would be programs implemented in buildings that have a significant population of seniors \u2013 more than 30 per cent \u2013 but are not necessarily senior-specific communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMany of these buildings are privately-owned, but they have common rooms, large lobbies, areas for people to congregate and be socially-involved \u2013 there are different models and we\u2019re looking at NORC buildings in Aurora and Newmarket to see if there is potential for us to bring some programs into buildings and get people socially-engaged and active.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAn organization like CHATS, for example, would come in and organize social wellness programs \u2013 maybe a little light exercise. There could be a congregate meal that is served where people sit down and share [the experience]. In Halton, they have a PACE model \u2013 Progress for All-Inclusive Care of the Elderly. Those programs are even more robust in terms of also offering healthcare services that come into the building and have somebody on site who provides care coordination \u2013 helping older adults navigate care services and how to access care and understand where those services are available. Oasis, in Kingston, is a combination of social and healthcare and that is what we want to do just to start: to explore different models, understand how they are operating, what\u2019s involved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is also, she added, interest and support from members of the Northern York-South Simcoe Ontario Health Team to look at opportunities to partner with other groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s early days, but this is an area where we really think there is tremendous potential to get something started.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And every bubble and delicacy will help CHATS move forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tickets for the April 24 event are on sale now at chatsbubblessmiles.ca.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2nd Annual CHATS event supports programs to combat isolation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-8X1","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-14 04:13:16","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34411\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}