Creative Connections

This past year boasted a third season of the Creative Connections project, bringing multisensory, poetry-based programming into the Herb Bassett Day Home, and expanded into the nearby Pine View Care Home in Prince Albert. In consultation with the facility staff, writer Beth Gobeil created weekly activities kits tailored to the interest and abilities of the long term live-in residents as well as those who come in during the day for respite. In the spring, Beth was joined by beloved local fiddler Donny Parenteau, who has quickly become an important part of the program. The storytelling and rhythms of Donny’s songwriting brought an expanded dimension to the poetry-based programming, touching the nostalgia and memories of the residents and accommodating, in a new way, the varied capacities of the participants. 

The program developed out of invitations by Shirley Ursu, the dedicated Recreation Coordinator at Herb Bassett Day Home. Jesse Campbell, an independent curator in Prince Albert, brought the idea of producing a program with poet Beth Gobeil and Common Weal during the COVID isolation, which had hit the care homes particularly hard. With guidance from Shirley, Jesse and Beth initiated programming strategies that would serve the needs of the Herb Bassett residents throughout the pandemic and beyond. Beth collaborated with staff to design creative poetry kits containing multisensory activities, tailored to the interests and capacities of the residents. Facility staff delivered activities with the residents through the week, giving them something to look forward to each day— stimulating their imaginations, memories, and creative passions. This method worked so well that they continued to use the format post pandemic. Shirley had shared that these activities “brought back memories, and we learned lots of new things about each other.” 

When asked to share some of the program’s successes, Beth wrote: “There are some things in life which can’t be quantified with numbers or charts, can’t be accounted for through surveys and statistics. There’s the indisputable spark that ignites in one’s eye when a memory is triggered; the way this Christmas card she creates takes her back as she glues glitters, and she remembers the shine of a satin skirt, the scratch of lace on the dress she wore to the pageant, the line from an old verse is suddenly there, a line she can recite to this day with a small measure of pride. There are things that can’t be quantified, but are truly immeasurable.”