Within a bustling café, young families have brunch while elderly friends mingle at a side table. This may not be the usual scene one thinks of when it comes to a care home, but Harbour Landing Village in Regina aims to do things differently by creating a sense of community through integrated living.
“I always like to tell people I ended up with like 32 grandmas,” said Shaylee Rosnes, who has lived at the residence for the past two years.
“Which is always fun, and it’s just nice that I have free reign of the building and I can talk to the other students here and I’m not just stuck in an old folks home.”
Shaylee moved to Regina from Moose Jaw to further her education in her social work degree. Due to her cerebral palsy she requires the additional support that Harbour Landing Village provides.
“The thing I think I like best is just all the sort of people you get to meet,” said Rosnes as coffee cups clattered in the background. “There’s a bunch of different people that randomly walk in here whether they’re visiting or live here.”
Harbour Landing Village, located at 4000 James Hill Road in south Regina, has been offering care support with a focus on intergenerational and community based programming for two years. With a restaurant, café, bar and hair salon accessible to the public, the home aims to create an environment which is more enjoyable than a typical seniors or care home.
“Here, we’ve brought a village to our residents,” said Anastasia Zubrycky, head of sales and client relations at Harbour Landing Village. “It doesn’t feel like your typical senior living community. The aspect of it being open to the public, our residents get visitors every single day … It’s a liveliness and it’s a feeling of being part of the community.”
Blenda Ramsay, a senior who has lived there for two years, enjoys the aspect of integrated living.
“The thing I think I like best is just all the sorts of people you get to meet. There’s a bunch of different people that randomly walk in here whether they’re visiting, or live here,” said Ramsay, who has post-polio syndrome.
“I feel like it’s home now. I lived on my own in my own condo for eight years after my husband died, and I loved that but then I can’t look after myself, so I had to get a place where I had more care.”
Zubrycky said the initiative to create an integrated living community was to create a welcoming and inclusive environment.
“When someone is deciding to make the choice in choosing senior living sometimes it’s a difficult one,” said Zudbrycky. People aren’t always wanting to leave their homes, there’s a lot of family pieces that some people may feel they’re missing out on … we’ve offered a community that has a bit more of a welcoming and inclusive environment.”
Harbour Landing Village supports independent, assisted, and supportive living, with 24 hour on-demand care.
“The caregivers are very loving and caring,” said Ramsay. “I’ve never been abused or talked back to by anyone who’s looked after me. If they’re in a bad mood they don’t take it out on us.”
With a bustling café by day and a vibrant bar by night, residents as well as the public can look forward to a positive and inclusive social setting.
“Oh, that’s the best part,” said Ramsay with a laugh. “I can bring my friends down to have a meal … I can’t cook for them anymore so I bring them to the restaurant or I bring them down to the café and have a cup of coffee which is really nice … It’s a hidden gem in Regina.”
