REGINA -- Staff at a care home in Radville are trying to make the holiday season brighter for residents, by setting up some elaborate decorations.
Residents at the Radville Marian Health Care Auxiliary are usually able to have a Christmas party with loved ones, but this year the health centre isn't allowing visitors due to COVID-19 concerns.
"How tough the restrictions are for the residents is definitely being felt by the staff, we all kind of feel kind of sad about it and its supposed to be a joyous season to be with family and its really hard to meet those needs," Erin Barbarin, an inscope nurse at the Radville Marian Health Centre, said.
Which is why the Radville Health Care auxiliary decided to ask residents to donate Christmas decorations to help make a lights display for residents and staff to look out at.
"We want to brighten up the spirits of these residents because I feel that residents across the country are the ones most impacted by this pandemic," Mara Barbarin, President of the Radville Health Care Auxiliary said.
While they were hoping to get a few volunteers to help set up the decorations, organizers were shocked by the amount of people who came because of an old connection with the centre.
“My grandma used to be here, so this helps the residents out,” Carter Carles, a grade 12 student and volunteer said.
“I know with COVID you can't really come and visit them, so they're here alone so you kind of feel bad and they can't spend their time for Christmas so trying to make this place look good so they can look outside and try to feel good about Christmas.”
“I know that it'll make those residents smile and give them a good reason to enjoy looking out the window because that’s a lot of the way we are communicating with families is through windows, so this is just another way to make that environment a little bit better,” Erin said.
While the volunteers are happy to be able to do something for the residents to help make them smile, they're hoping that next year they'll be able to do it all together.
