Herb Bassett Project

Over the past year, Prince Albert writer Beth Gobeil has been bringing some lovely programming to the Herb Bassett Day Home, housed in Prince Albert’s Victoria Hospital. During the day, seniors and others with debilitating conditions gather to take part in social activities designed to stimulate creative engagement. Beth Gobeil has become known for her book Breathing Room, a collection of narrative poems about her son’s life with cystic fibrosis. This experience with her son has left Beth sensitive to hospital settings and motivated her to work in these facilities. In response to COVID-19 restrictions, Beth collaborated with the staff to send creative kits containing multi-sensory activities into the Herb Bassett facility, at times throwing the kits over a wire fence for the staff inside to distribute to participants.

These kits follow themes of the season, such as apple picking in the fall or gratitude at Thanksgiving. They include activities that respond to a variety of capacities: poems that can be read out loud by participants or staff, videos on the big communal TV, songs and music to move to or sing along to, tactile projects with familiar objects, and of course food and drinks. The act of touching the objects and materials, along with the smells and tastes of the foods, transports the residents back to earlier experiences in their lives, stimulating visual images intact even in acute dementia. These reminiscences are shared, building bonds among the group. Beth has found that the visual imagery of poetry is a great conduit for memories, reaching people with various cognitive divergences. She observed that poetry crystallizes an experience, settling into a person, awakening emotion, and allowing them to explore their feelings.

The Herb Bassett staff are full partners in the project. Meeting regularly with Beth to discuss how the participants responded to the activities, bringing insights into each resident’s interests. The beautiful, sensitive photographs from the program were taken by long-time staff member Shirley Ursu, who has been central to supporting the activities. The participants, staff, and artists are intent on working with Common Weal to continue programming into the coming year.