VON short on volunteers as need surges during lonely winter months

When Dave Farmer visits with seniors as a volunteer for the Victorian Order of Nurses, he says it's apparent how much it means to them.

Farmer delivers frozen meals for VON in Halifax. Before that, he volunteered to drive people to appointments.

"I drove one couple I bet you 40 times. And it's like after a while they ask for you because they know you and get to like you and you get to like them. It's almost like family a little bit."

But Farmer is one of just a few regular volunteers for VON.

As demand for community services surges in the winter months, the number of volunteers — specifically consistent ones — is dwindling.

"If they need me as often as they do, then they need more people," Farmer said.

Connie VanBerkel, manager of home and community care for VON in Halifax, said they get a lot more referrals this time of year.

"I think a lot of it has to do with the weather because when you can't necessarily leave your house as readily as you might normally, so you're kind of stuck at home," she said.

"So it can be very long days and very lonely for people."

The organization has volunteer programs to provide friendly visits to seniors, bring them to and from appointments, and deliver meals.

"Our demand for services has been going up steadily. We have an aging population, we're seeing more and more seniors who are needing more and more assistance to help them stay at home," she said.

"We want seniors to be able to remain in their own homes as long as they can, and we need more volunteers to make that happen."

And that demand is only going to keep growing.

The 2016 census found that 22.2 per cent of Nova Scotia's population was 65 and over, while the province estimates that by 2030, more than one in four Nova Scotians will be in that age group.

But the problem isn't just demand.

Recruiting volunteers is a challenge, VanBerkel said, and keeping them on is even harder.

"We're finding more that volunteers generally like to come and do a project that's a shorter period of time, rather than commit to something that might go on for months and months, but we're grateful to any time that a volunteer is able to give us."

Emily Hemlow, fund development manager for Nova Scotia, said while donors are particularly generous this time of year, it's the in-person connections that people really need over the holidays.

"At this time of year, the home visits, hot meals, frozen meals, whatever it is that we can provide are so important," she said.

And Farmer said it's the people that keep him coming back as a volunteer.

"You see the little sparkle you put in somebody's eye when you go visit them, and you can go talk to them for a couple minutes and they haven't been out for two weeks, it's a joy for them and it's a joy for me."