Hannah Glavin, Paul Campbell, Judy Veneable at Century House

When Paul Campbell joined SSSBC in October 2023 as our support services program manager, our relationship with Century House was in its early days. Since then, we have seen it blossom into an important partnership with both organizations focused on supporting seniors in New Westminster.

“One of the first things I did in my role here was go to Century House to see about getting them to promote our light housekeeping service, which is one of our Better at Home programs,” recalled Paul. “The next year, United Way launched a social meals grant with the idea that low-income, socially isolated older adults would come together for a free lunch and meet others in similar situations. We reached out to Century House to see if we could partner with them and, with their enthusiastic support, applied for the grant.”

The application was successful, and the weekly program first ran from July to October 2024 and then again in 2025. SSSBC uses its shuttle bus to transport 16 seniors to Century House where they enjoy a lovely meal. Our clients have embraced the program and also have the opportunity to partake in other Century House programs and learn more about its services.

Century House is one of several City of New Westminster community facilities. What sets it apart is that its programs and services are for older adults, age 50-plus. Partnering with SSSBC has been beneficial to both organizations as it opens Century House to a larger and more diverse demographic. Hannah Glavin is its program coordinator for senior services.

“It’s hard to reach seniors who are isolated or vulnerable, so having a connection with Seniors Services Society really helps bring more people into Century House who can benefit from our programs,” she said. “We can’t do it alone, so the more organizations involved that are working to support seniors in our community the better.”

This past summer, SSSBC and Century House joined forces with the New Westminster Public Library to offer low-income seniors a three-week program teaching digital literacy skills. Paul, Hannah and Liz Hunter from NWPL planned and facilitated the workshops, which were funded by a grant SSSBC received from the federal government.

“Participants learned how to use tablets that we were able to give them to take home,” said Hannah. “It’s not every day you get to give away 25 tablets, so it was really meaningful to the seniors. They can continue to use the technology to access entertainment or for grocery shopping, reading the news, and staying connected.”

Paul hopes to be able to run the LinkAges Digital Literacy initiative again and also appreciates other programs that Century House has opened to SSSBC clients.

“Century House holds a large event every Christmas and they’ve generously offered us space for 50 to 100 clients,” said Paul. “They’ve also offered space for an SSSBC volunteer appreciation event.”

The City of New Westminster runs its Social Prescribing Program from Century House. Its goal is to connect seniors to programs, resources, and services in the community so they can age well in place. Judy Venable is the program’s seniors community connector.

“It would be challenging for this initiative to help as many seniors as it does without SSSBC’s supports and seniors,” she remarked. “I receive referrals from Fraser Health and other community organizations and many times I refer them on to Seniors Services Society. They offer a basket of services through their Better at Home programs, and they are a vital service in this city for connecting seniors with housing. They are a hub for a lot of the needs seniors here have.”

“Our partnership benefits both of us, but mostly it benefits seniors and that’s what really matters,” said Paul. “I’m sure we’ll work together more in the future. It’s a natural fit and I can see the partnership growing bigger and bigger.”

Photo caption (from left): Hannah Glavin, Paul Campbell, and Judy Venable.