Elliot Lake protects seniors health and local economy by having city workers get them groceries

Katharine Tynan-Byrd-Owen now starts her work day with a "bunch of lists."

The Elliot Lake municipal employee used to help organize festivals and other events for the recreation department, but now she gets groceries for seniors living in the northern Ontario town of 11,000.

She speaks to about 10 seniors every day, finds out what they need, goes to the store, changes her gloves, leaves the bags on the doorstep and waves at them as she drives off. 

"They're very grateful for the services, they're very appreciative. They try and thank me. They're like 'How do we thank you?' And I'm like 'This is good enough. Thanks is all I really need,'" says Tynan-Byrd-Owen. 

"That's a great feeling."

She is one of about a half-dozen Elliot Lake municipal workers who would have been laid off with COVID-19 closures and last week delivered groceries and other supplies to 150 households.

Chief Administrative Officer Dan Gagnon says some city employees are also running a check-in program for seniors, calling or emailing them every day.

He says this is needed in a town like Elliot Lake, where 40 per cent of the population is over the age of 65.

Elliot Lake transformed itself into a retirement destination after the uranium mines closed in the early 1990s, so Gagnon says supporting seniors during the pandemic is also a way to support the town's main industry. 

"We want to keep them safe for one. We also want to support the economy by maintaining the retirement program and people see that we're supporting them. We didn't just market to get them here and then ignore them," he says.