Welcome to Sherbrooke is a podcast that takes you inside Sherbrooke Community Centre; a long-term care home in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where 263 residents live and which follows the Eden Alternative Philosophy of Care.

In this episode, we will introduce you to cats, birds, guinea pigs, and people to discover the important role animals play in our Sherbrooke community, and how animals fit with the Eden Alternative Philosophy of Care.

Having animals at Sherbrooke provides so much joy, connectedness and meaning to Elders, and it connects with many of the Eden Alternative’s principles including Principle Three which states We thrive when we have easy access to the companionship we desire. This is the antidote to loneliness.

You will hear examples of how animals are enriching the lives of Elders, staff, families, students, and volunteers, in this episode and hopefully feel inspired to think of how animals can play a bigger role in your long-term care home.

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Welcome to Sherbrooke podcast. My name is Eric Anderson, and you can listen to episodes wherever you find your favourite podcasts including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Visit our website, www.sherbrookecommunitycentre.ca, to learn more about Sherbrooke, and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Thank you again for listening and we’ll talk with you soon.

Episode Credits:

Produced, edited, mixed by Eric Anderson

Executive Producer is Kim Schmidt

Music licensed through APM Music

Gathered on location at Sherbrooke Community Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Welcome to Sherbrooke is a podcast that takes you inside Sherbrooke Community Centre; a long term care home in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where 263 residents live and which follows the Eden Alternative Philosophy of Care.

In this episode, we are visiting the Creative Arts Studio; a hub of activity, relationships and joy in our building.

Step inside Sherbrooke’s Creative Arts Studio and immediately you feel a wave of creativity wash over you. There are paintings, drawings and sculptures created by residents on the walls, the floor is splashed with paint that was once on the wheels of wheelchairs, and anything you can imagine to help a person create something from scratch (paintbrushes, coloured markers, or the ingredients for paper mache) are available for residents to use.

The Creative Arts Studio fits so well with the Eden Alternative Philosophy of Care as the act of making art in this space helps alleviate loneliness, helplessness and boredom, which you discover in this episode. The studio is also a space where residents find meaning and joy through their practice, and feel comfortable and secure in being themselves. Meaning, joy and security are three of the seven domains of well-being in the Eden Alternative Philosophy of Care, and you’ll hear them discussed by residents and staff throughout this episode.

Thank you for listening to the Welcome to Sherbrooke podcast. Please leave a 5-star review if you like what you hear and feel free to share the podcast with all of your friends!

Episode Credits:

Produced, edited, mixed by Eric Anderson

Executive Producer is Kim Schmidt

Music licensed through APM Music

Gathered on location at Sherbrooke Community Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Welcome to Sherbrooke is a podcast that takes you inside Sherbrooke Community Centre; a long term care home in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where 263 residents live and which follows the Eden Alternative Philosophy of Care.

In this episode, we learn the importance of Sherbrooke residents connecting with people and organizations in the greater community, and we take you to Saskatoon’s Remai Modern Art Gallery to show how these connections make a difference in the lives of residents.

One of the seven domains of well-being in the Eden Alternative Philosophy of Care is connectedness, which takes many forms in Sherbrooke. It can be the connection between a resident and their care staff. It can be the bond a resident feels with a cat who calls Sherbrooke home.

For this episode, we are going to explore the connection that residents and staff can form within the greater community.

There are many examples of community connections Sherbrooke has formed over the years, but we will focus on a recent example involving a local artist named Gabby DaSilva.

Last year, Gabby worked on the second edition of her zine, ‘invisibly ill’ with Sherbrooke residents and Grade 6 iGen students. The zine, which resembles a magazine, explored themes of disabilities and invisible illnesses through stories and artwork from residents and students iGen students. Gabby’s work brought visibility to artists living with visible and invisible disabilities and we were proud to be included in this zine.

We were also proud to partner on this project with Saskatoon’s AKA Artist-Run Centre and the Remai Modern, which hosted a launch party for Gabby’s zine. You are about to meet some very excited Sherbrooke residents, along with iGen students, Sherbrooke staff and Gabby DaSilva, on what this collaboration meant to them.

Thank you for listening to the Welcome to Sherbrooke podcast. Please leave a 5-star review if you like what you hear and feel free to share the podcast with all of your friends!

Episode Credits:

Produced, edited, mixed by Eric Anderson

Executive Producer is Kim Schmidt

Music licensed through APM Music

Gathered on location at Sherbrooke Community Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada