Dallas Road boasts beautiful early 1900-built houses on one side, while the other side is a place for joggers, dog walkers, bicyclists, kite flyers, and even picnics before the land falls down the cliffs to the water’s edge. The view across the Salish Sea to the snow-covered Olympic Mountains is filled with wind surfers, whale watching boats, cruise ships and freighters going by.
It is in one of the houses, a beautiful 1907 built home, in which reside Carol Ann and Gerard Sullivan with twelve older adults, helped by a staff of seven. The pair were inspired in 2000, to purchase and renovate it to Vancouver Island Health Authority standards for a dozen older adult residents that needed assistance in living in their own home.
“I have always remembered the saying that it takes a community to bring up a child. I now know the same applies with seniors because it takes a community to support a person in their senior years,” says Carol Ann, who with her husband Gerard, own and operate St. Francis by the Sea.
“We provide a safe home for seniors in gratefulness for the home provided to me at a young age. Our home is an example of the older homes in the South Victoria area that were converted into personal care homes in the mid-1900’s, where seniors would remain in a home-like setting.”
In the early 2000’s the Sullivan’s home became a pilot project with the help of the local Health Authority, giving life to the dream to furnish a home-like setting for those who need a supportive environment to enjoy the last years of their lives.
Today it continues to fulfill this mission and remains one of the very few small residences that is supported by the Health Authority.
What is the inspiration that creates a dream and turns it into reality? In some instances, the inspiration may come from within a person’s make-up or their personality. In other cases, it may come from what happened to them early in life.
In the case of Carol Ann and Gerard, it may be a bit of each.
Carol Ann, now in her 60’s, was a baby who from birth was moved between foster homes until, at the age of three, she was adopted by a loving family. She was good at cheering people up and helping them feel better. Her adoptive father would say “you have healing hands” when she gave family members a massage.
These words confirmed for Carol Ann that she was destined for a life of helping others in times of physical or emotional distress. “It led me to believe that I had some power to make another person feel better.”
Carol Ann took her nurse training at UBC and worked in the Vancouver area for several years.
“I felt drawn to the elderly, who are often, due to circumstances, caught in feelings of abandonment if family has moved away, or estranged in some cases.”
She also realized that older adults, due to illness, often experience a similar sense of powerlessness.
Her adopted father died prematurely of a massive heart attack and that set her on the path for prevention.
After two decades of working in hospital nursing, Carol Ann and Gerard moved to Victoria where they decided not to “just patch up individuals in a hospital and send them home, but to be a part of the prevention of illness in older adults.”
As she worked in community care she saw many older adults struggled with the everyday ordeals of shopping, cooking, laundry and cleaning.
A turning point for Carol Ann was finding an elderly woman laying on her kitchen floor all night before her visit.
Gerald, the middle child in a family of nine was his mother’s little helper, which served as good training for his new-found calling.
As a child he would accompany his father to visit at the “Guest House” in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. It was his father’s attention to the details of the older residents that Gerard has always held dear. A friendly conversation and his father would take out his hair clippers and just tidy up some of the men’s hair.
With Gerard’s professional background as a restaurant and cruise ship supplier, he looks after many of the procurement details of St Francis by the Sea.
When the local Health Authority with help from the Centre on Aging at the University of Victoria were looking for ways to create better living circumstances for adults who needed more help in their home, they targeted single senior men and women, possibly widowed, who were living alone and struggling on a fixed income to cover the costs of basic food and shelter. The Sullivans submitted a proposal and became part of the pilot program for supported living.
The Sullivans purchased the home on Dallas Road which needed substantial upgrades to bring it to the accepted standards, such as sprinklers in the ceilings of each unit, and attached private bathrooms in each suite with walk-in showers.
The elevator was already installed though, and large bright windows looked out over the ocean or to a mature blooming cherry tree in back. Wide hallways with railings and decorative wood paneling retrieved from another old residence in the area made the environment homey and welcoming.
In July 2000, they welcomed their first twelve residents.
“God’s plan was that I could share love with the seniors,” says Carol Ann. “It empowered us both to be our best selves and each had a deep sense of belonging to the community which developed.”
Carol Ann goes the extra mile to make sure the residents are getting the help they need.
“My sense of accomplishment comes with helping a person through a difficult medical situation, as their advocate. I will join a person to see the doctor, if they want. Usually, we talk about what they want to tell the doctor about their situation. When we get to the doctor, I listen carefully. If there is anything that person had wanted to ask, I might prompt them to ask that question. Sometimes, I ask questions because it is a great learning experience. When we return home, we talk about what the doctor ordered and suggested. I usually will repeat encouraging or concerning things the doctor has said so that they can focus realistically on the goals that were set out.”
Mealtimes at St Francis find the residents gathered around a large table, each with a view of the ocean. Conversation can centre around the big ships going by, the events of the day or the appreciation the residents feel for not only Gerard and Carol Ann but also for the staff that prepare the meals, clean the rooms and assist in whatever is needed to be done.
“Although our obstacles have been many, we are determined to do the right things to help older adults on their journey. This inspires us to persevere and persist through these obstacles.”
The same community that raises a child is the community that needs to be in place as we age, to offer support. More volunteers and more professionals are needed to offer multi-faceted help to older adults.
Carol Ann and Gerard Sullivan are themselves now in their retirement years, and yet they remain dedicated to carry on.
“My dream is to have a society built, Companions of Saint Francis Manor, who offer a variety of services to the seniors,” says Carol Ann. She is inspired to be an example “so the next generation will understand what community means.”
Gerard agrees. “When you get to know people, you don’t see them as old. You just see people who are in community with us.”
With Carol Ann and Gerard Sullivan as the roots, the tree of community continues to grow and blossom forth as a nurturing home for the residents of St Francis by the Sea.
With one dream lived to its fruition, another one may well be on its way.
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Laurie Mueller, M.Ed is retired and living in Victoria with her husband, Helmuth. She recently published The Ultimate Guide on What to Do When Someone You Love Dies, available on Amazon. More about Laurie can be found at www.lauriemconsulting.com or on Facebook.
Great story Laurie. Thank you!