SSSBC held an in-person Emergency Preparedness event at Ross Tower on June 14, 2022, to prepare seniors for a heat wave. Multiple stakeholders attended the event, including the City of NW (City Councillors, Planning department, & Emergency Management team) BC Housing, New Westminster Public Library, SFU (AIRP project), and MLA Jennifer Whiteside’s office.

Approximately 55 residents participated in the event, half of the total number of residents at Ross Towers, a part of the Seniors Integrated Services Program (SISP)**. Participants remarked that the event gave them the opportunity to connect with neighbors they rarely see and were thankful for the interactions.

Also in attendance was a woman from Langley who kindly donated two fans to older adults at Ross Tower in memory of her sister, who died as a result of the heat dome in New Westminster last summer.

SSSBC would like to thank the following donors for helping to make this afternoon exceptional:

  • City of New Westminster for providing tents and tables
    Freybe for providing hotdogs,
    Coast Capital for providing reusable water bottles,
    SanMar for providing baseball caps,
    Salvation Army Belkin House for providing catering, and
    BC Housing for providing a BBQ and a large water bottle

**About SISP:
SSSBC’s Seniors Integrated Services Program includes Ross Tower, which provides meal delivery, light housekeeping, local shuttle services, and digital literacy classes to support seniors’ independence and well-being, helping them age in place.