Spring 2014

Volume 4, Issue 1

CHELSEA BREEZE

Seniors Enjoy Life in Their New Chelsea Society Homes Residents in New Chelsea Society’s many “seniors’ properties” regularly enjoy social and recreational activities that help keep them active and involved in their residential community. At our Chelsea Park seniors’ supportive complex, there are daily social activities as well as special events every month ranging from colourful theme dinners to special celebrations and sing-alongs. The Society has its own “Activities Committee” that is made up of board members, staff, and tenant volunteers. This committee meets regularly and organizes year-round events for all our seniors that include interesting bus trips around the lower mainland, giant bingos, summer barbecues, and holiday dinners. The committee also sponsors the annual “Christmas Card Photo Contest”, and supports local tenant social committees and tenant volunteers in organizing activi-ties in their own buildings. The committee’s annual budget comes from donated funds and not from tenant rents, ex-cept at Chelsea Park where part of the monthly supportive housing fee includes the on-going recreation program. If you have an idea for an activity you’d like to see at your building, talk to your Site Manager or submit a written pro-posal to the attention of the New Chelsea Society’s Activities Committee.

FROM THE DESK OF

THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

IN MEMORIAM – LEE MILLER (1953—2014)

New Chelsea Society’s staff, board members, residents, friends and former colleagues were all deeply saddened to learn that former Society staff member, Lee Miller, passed away in her sleep on January 23rd, 2014 at home. January 24th/14 would have been Lee’s 61st birthday.

Lee was New Chelsea Society’s Assistant Administrator for many years. She was usually the first per-son that anyone met when they came in to the Society’s head office. For over two decades she was the person who received housing applications, made the offer of housing to new residents, met and signed up new residents, and reviewed their tenancy agreements with them. For years Lee also went out to most of the properties to conduct the annual income verifications and rent reviews, so she was well known to New Chelsea Society residents. Lee was instrumental in helping to orient me when I became the Society’s Ex-ecutive Director in December of 1997 and her length of service made her one of the Society’s “historians”.

After 23 years of dedicated service, Lee retired from New Chelsea Society at the end of January, 2013 for health reasons and in order to be able to look after her ailing father. She stayed in touch with us and remained active as a volunteer with the Society’s Activities Committee, and she was delighted to see all of her colleagues and friends when she came to the Society’s annual Christmas Party on December 14th/13.

Lee’s jovial nature, larger than life personality, keen sense of humour and kind and caring ways will al-ways be remembered. She is survived by her father Stan, and her son Trevor and brother Paul, and their families.

Below are some photos of Lee. This is how we will remember her. May she rest in peace.

Regards, Patrick Buchannon

Remembering

Joe Woosnam (1919 - 2014)

Joe Woosnam, a World War 2 Veteran and a mem-ber of the Royal Canadian Legion for over 60 years, passed away on February 7th, 2014 at the age of 94. Joe lived his entire life in Vancouver and was one of the founding fathers of New Chelsea Society. Back in the early 1950’s when the idea of a housing society was conceived and the New Chelsea organization was put together, Joe was there in the forefront. For over 35 years, he fulfilled a variety of roles in the Society in a volunteer capacity, and for many of those years served in a leadership role on the Society’s Board of Directors, including serving multiple terms as President and Chairman of the Board.

Along with his wife Marge, Joe lived out his final years as a “resident” of Chelsea Park, New Chelsea’s first seniors’ supportive housing facility. Marge continues to reside there.

Joe was always very proud of what New Chelsea Socie-ty was able to accomplish over the past 60 years. He was an iconic part of New Chelsea Society’s history, and he will be sorely missed.

Aneta Rondon, a resident of Chelsea Ter-race in Burnaby, served as the elected Pres-ident of the Terrace Tenants’ Social Com-mittee for two years (2012 and 2013). She stepped down this past December, and was awarded a formal Certificate of Apprecia-tion by New Chelsea Society on December 14th, 2013.

As Social Committee President, Aneta and her Committee consisting of a group of 9-12 tenant volunteers helped transform life at Chelsea Terrace. Through their hard work and dedication, especially in the Don Winch Drop-in and in the “C” Building Recreation Hall, tenants at Chelsea Terrace have been able to enjoy some wonderful activities and social events.

The kindness and commitment to “service-to-others-before-self” that Aneta displayed in so many ways in her leadership role at Chelsea Terrace has inspired us all. And outside of her Chelsea Terrace community, Aneta works just as hard as a volunteer for others who are disadvantaged.

New Chelsea Society wishes to thank Aneta for helping to make the community of her fellow residents at Chelsea Terrace a great place to be!

CHELSEA TERRACE TENANT

HONOURED FOR HER

VOLUNTEER WORK

From the Archives

Below is an article clipped from the Legion Newspaper, that served the Van-couver East Zone, from July/August 1985. The article was written by Joe Woosnam who recently passed away (see previous page). It paints a picture of the New Chelsea Society as it was almost 30 years ago. At that time only seniors lived at the Society locations. Families did not start living at the Soci-ety until 1995. We hope you enjoy it.

Chelsea Park earns

“Seal of Approval

Certification” for

another 2 years

The Chelsea Park staff (pictured above) celebrate passing the 2 year renewal required to keep the BCSLA Seal of Approval Certification. The Certification was created by the BC Seniors Living Association to recognize organizations that maintain best practices in managing Supportive and Assisted Living housing.

Please do not hang items on the fire sprinkler head in your home. The heads are fragile and are not built to withstand any weight. They will break and will re-lease a great deal of water into your unit. If this happens it is quite likely that you will need to find alternative housing while the flood damage is repaired, and you may be held responsible for all relat-ed costs.

Gino Laplante, owner of Mack Kirk Roofing and Sheet Metal Ltd, is seen here re-ceiving the 2013 New Chelsea Society Patron Award from Fran Walton (Chair of the Honours and Awards Committee) and Pat Buchannon. Gino received the award in recognition of his exceptional individual service as the Society’s primary roofing contractor.

In the 1500’s most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good by June.. However, since they were starting to smell… Brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting Married.

SPRING WEDDING SPRING WEDDING SPRING WEDDING FUN FACTFUN FACTFUN FACT

Gino Laplante Receives 2013

New Chelsea Society Patron Award

10 Easy Ways to Boost

Your Brain Power !

Want to stay sharp even as you age? A few simple lifestyle choices

can help keep your brain fit and your memory strong. Here are 10 ways to maximize brain

health and minimize cognitive decline.

1. Exercise your brain—You can keep your brain in top form with stimulating activities

like puzzles, board games and journal writing. Video games that involve multitasking may help with memory and attention. But don't stick with just one activity — you need

a variety of tasks in order to give all parts of your brain a workout.

2. Feed your brain—The brain thrives on a healthy diet that includes fruits, vegetables,

whole grains, fish and lean meats. Many nutrients in these foods are linked to a positive mood. A well-balanced diet appears to reduce stress and help you sleep.

3. Meditate regularly—A small study at the University of California showed that people

who meditate over the long term have better brain connections and less brain shrink-age. Other researchers have also found differences in the brains of people who medi-

tate.

4. Have a drink—Water intake is essential for brain function. A new study at Wake Forest

University even shows that drinking nitrate-rich beet juice improves blood flow in the brains of older adults.

5. Be social—Spending social time with friends and family is known to protect the brain

against depression, stress and memory loss. Don't pass up opportunities to go out to dinner or gatherings. Volunteering has also been linked to better brain function in older

adults.

6. Exercise your body—Did you know that moving your arms and legs is good for your

brain? Physical activity nourishes the brain by boosting blood circulation. Exercise also releases chemicals that can ease the symptoms of depression and anxiety and improve

memory.

7. Protect your head—A team of Canadian scientists has found that concussions can

change your brain function for months or years, even if you don't notice symptoms. Concussions may also increase the risk for depression and dementia later in life.

8. Get enough sleep—When we don't sleep well, it affects attention, memory and cogni-

tive performance. Scientists are now discovering that sleep is the brain's self-cleaning time; during sleep, brain cells shrink to make room for an increased flow of fluid, and

toxins that have accumulated during the day are washed away.

9. Explore your musical side—Taking up a musical instrument can challenge your brain.

Music is a proven therapy for mental conditions like anxiety, dementia and post-traumatic stress disorder. In a study with seniors, music training improved mood and mental function.

10.Get a regular check-up—Keeping tabs on the health of your body will help you look

after your brain. Many medical conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, di-

abetes and thyroid disorders can affect brain function. Visit your doctor regularly. You'll be able to check for these conditions — and you'll stay healthy from head to toe!

BC Housing Registry News – New Chelsea Society was elected to BC Housing Regis-try governing council, and is represented on the Council by our Director of Finance, Jennifer Walsh (pictured below). The Reg-istry maintains a database of eligible ten-ant applicants for subsidized housing in the Province.

MAJOR MAINTENANCE AND CAPITAL PROJECTS COMING UP

Chelsea Terrace—re-piping of main water lines in the A & C building hallways; and upgrades of A-Building coffee shop

Vancoeverden Court—Major exterior painting project

Chelsea Crossing—Painting of interior cor-ridors and new hallway carpets

Chelsea Court—Painting of interior corri-dors and new hallway carpets

Chelsea Village—Painting of interior corri-dors, new energy efficient Boilers

Chelsea North—Roof replacement project Chelsea Manor—new energy efficient

Boilers

*REMINDER* If you need to contact your

Site Manager for any

reason just call the

Hot Line Number.

Have a repair that needs to be done to your unit? By all means let us know and we will come and have a look at it. How do you let us know? You can either fill out a repair request form, located in your building, or call the Tenant Hotline (604-331-6100).

When to submit the request? Let us know as soon as you aware of the issue. If you are aware of the issue earli-er in the week please don’t wait to con-tact us on Friday afternoon. Site manag-ers are finishing things up in preparation for the weekend and it is much harder to find trades to work on weekends.

Chelsea Breeze is published for the residents,

directors, staff, and friends of New Chelsea So-

ciety.

NEW CHELSEA SOCIETY

7501 6th Street, Burnaby, BC V3N 3M2

Phone: 604.395.4370 Fax: 604.395.4376

Email: admin@newchelsea.ca

Websites: www.newchelsea.ca

www.chelseaparkbc.ca

If you have a technician booked to come to your unit and your Site Man-ager needs to give the Technician ac-cess to the utility room please ensure that they come between 8-4 Monday to Friday. Also please contact the ten-ant hotline well in advance (604-331-6100) to arrange a time with your Site Manager.

Shaw or Telus Technician

Coming By?

Pat Buchannon Elected to

BCNPHA Board of Directors

Pat (above with BCNPHA Executive Director Tony Roy) was elected in November, 2013 to the BCNPHA Board of Directors, and on January 10th 2014 he was elected as Vice Chairman of the Board. The BC Non-Profit Housing Association provides leadership and support to members in creating and supporting a high standard of affordable housing throughout British Columbia.

REMINDER

TO PURCHASE

TENANT

INSURANCE !

If you have not already done so, New Chelsea Socie-ty strongly encourages you to purchase tenant insur-ance. Tenant Insurance will

pay the cost of relocating you in case your unit is unin-habitable due to fire or flood and will pay to replace your belongings as well. As a tenant of New Chelsea Society you are eligible to purchase tenant insurance for as little as $12.50 per month for $15,000 contents coverage. Please contact your Site Manager to pick up an application.

A twin was born 34 minutes af-

ter her brother, but because of

daylight savings time, was offi-

cially born 26 minutes before

him. (fact found on the internet)