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Charla Huber: Dave Saunders is a man on a mission

There is nothing I admire more than someone on a mission. I am a firm believer in hard work and partnering to get things done. This is common in the workplace and in volunteer roles, and sometimes people just get driven all on their own.
Dave Saunders.jpg

There is nothing I admire more than someone on a mission. I am a firm believer in hard work and partnering to get things done. This is common in the workplace and in volunteer roles, and sometimes people just get driven all on their own. To me, that’s when it gets exciting.

This is the case for former Colwood mayor Dave Saunders. He is focusing on bringing a seniors’-care, palliative-care and end-of-life support facility to the West Shore.

He was first approached by residents about this when he was mayor, from 2008-2011. At the time, he sat on the Capital Regional District board and was in discussions with Island Health, back then called VIHA. He was told that in five years a facility of this nature would be built on the West Shore, but 10 years later, Saunders is still waiting.

Saunders isn’t a politician anymore, but this project is a weight of unfinished business that sits on his shoulders. This is the part that resonates with me the most; he wants to serve his community, not as a mayor, but as a resident. That’s how you know it’s community-focused, because he has nothing to gain personally.

At this point, five properties have been identified with developers as potential sites. Saunders explained it could be created through a public-private partnership. To get the ball rolling, he has met with politicians, developers, stakeholders and residents, and will continue until the wheels are in motion.

“Right now, I am out in the community to create awareness of this need for our seniors and families,” Saunders said.

A few weeks ago, I was speaking with a senior who told me about Saunders’ mission. I had heard about it before, but when it was explained to me from a senior’s perspective, I was able to understand.

The elderly gentleman explained the seniors who require a facility like this might already be widowed, they have probably lost a lot of friends and the ones they do have might have stopped driving themselves around or have their own health issues. This means someone who is already in a fragile state and might have to leave their community for care could lose their support circle due to transportation barriers.

The only publicly funded seniors’ care facility on the West Shore, the Priory, “has been bursting at the seams for well over a decade,” said Saunders. West Shore seniors sit on a waitlist, and others leave their community and enter facilities elsewhere.

I can’t imagine what it would be like to move into any end-of-life care situation. No matter how great the level of care is, I am guessing it wouldn’t be an easy transition. A senior friend explained to me that friends have faced loneliness and isolation on top of their existing circumstances; this made me think that Saunders is on to something.

He has first-hand experience with family members seeking this care. His mother in-law was in hospice and his father-in-law lived in the Priory in Langford after suffering a stroke.

“We absolutely lucked out he got into the Priory, it was close to home and the level of care was fantastic. My wife was able to visit him daily for two years,” Saunders said. “We had a young family with three kids at the time, and we were very active in school and sports. If my father-in-law was living downtown, we wouldn’t have been able to see him as often.”

Saunders said keeping people in their home communities allows them to keep their dignity. I agree.

We’ve all heard the term “aging in place.” And I think if it’s not possible to keep seniors in their homes, we can find a way to keep them in their communities. Seniors have paved the way for all of us and there needs to be a better way to show them respect for their contributions to our communities.

“I just want to hear a timeline, whether it’s two, five or 10 years. We just need to hear when it’s going to happen,” said Saunders.

Charla Huber works in communications and Indigenous relations for M’akola Group of Societies.