Interview with Sherwood House resident, Gaye Benson

I’m independent. Occasionally, I have difficulty walking. My knee goes out, so I have meals brought to my suite at Sherwood House. But so far, I’m able to look totally after myself.

I think I appreciate most that the staff is so warm and friendly. Everybody at Sherwood House just seems to bend over backwards to assist in any way possible.

There's a craft group, and we’ve got knitters and crocheters. We’ve started a book club, and we’ve got a really good library here, both fiction and non-fiction titles.

Our activity director has brain games and physical games on specific days. We have someone coming in specifically for men, but not totally. We’ve got a pool table, and he teaches people how to play billiards and cards if they want to. Other card games are going on downstairs.

On the weekends, Saturdays, there’s usually a documentary, and Sundays, there’s a film. There’s our walking group right now. We’ve got 39 Days of July going on, and it’s accompanied down to the entertainment. We’re right in downtown, so it’s only a two-block walk.

If you’re independent, you can go out for entertainment. If you still have your car, you can drive to theatres and go further afield, things like that.

We've got a new cook, and the food has really improved. So I think that my advice to anybody would be, if you’re able, sit down for a meal, not just lunch, but dinner as well. And if you can, look at the menu, maybe for the week or for the month, however it’s presented.

We get two choices at lunch and two choices at supper. You can have either, either. Really good soups at lunch. Some places can cater to food problems, dietary problems, and some will not. I’m lactose-intolerant, so a lot of the custards and things, they make me a little fruit cup or something like that, so I’m not left out at Sherwood House.

You’re always [part of something here]. So if you’re new, you’re included. Everybody learns your name fairly quickly. So you’re included in conversations and at meals. You’re encouraged to join activities so that you’re not left alone. I think that’s the most important one.

You’re coming in new to a situation perhaps that you haven’t seen. You might have been placed at Sherwood House. And so now you’ve got all these strangers around you. If you’re the least bit shy, you’re not going to be the one that is approaching others. But there are people here who approach you and encourage you to participate.

Even if you sit quietly and listen, at least you’re in a group. You need that. It’s pretty hard to feel isolated in here. They allow cats. I’ve got a cat. There’s a couple of dogs here and a few more cats.

Since I made the move, I don’t have the maintenance on my house, so that is a worry that’s totally gone. I was feeling socially isolated where I was, so that is now totally gone.

The more that my knee goes out, I still have people around me at Sherwood House, and I don’t feel frightened that I can’t access help. So, yes, it has improved.

Downsize radically. You can’t put a household of furniture into one of these apartments, and you’ll be very disappointed if you try, really. You’re probably not going to be cooking, so you don’t need every utensil. We’ve got microwaves and a full-size fridge. On the fourth floor, they’ve got stoves, so you can do cooking if you decide to do that.

Check the food. The kitchen has improved a lot in the three years that I’ve been at Sherwood House.

Come with an open mind because there are all kinds of people here. Every suite has a balcony, so if you like gardening, depending on what side of the building your balcony is on, I’m north-facing, so I’ve had to look for shade plants. But the other two sides get some sun, so it depends on where your suite is.

I was in a mobile home park, and one of my neighbours came into Sherwood House. On visiting her here, it wasn’t much different in size than what she was leaving. So then I thought about it.

Because my husband had died and I was now looking after everything, especially with my knee, it was becoming a chore.I was socially isolated and everything. 

This was actually the only place like this place in Duncan, and I didn’t really want to go to Victoria or north to Nanaimo. So I talked to a few people, and they thought that it was a good idea. And so I came in and got on the waiting list, and it was easy. But others, we have one lady from the mainland who came over, and she loves it here. So it depends on what you’re leaving and what your expectations are, too.

Come for lunch or supper. Do your walk around and have a look at the available suites. I think those two things are probably the best advice.

Then, if you choose to move into Sherwood House, downsize what you’re leaving to come in here. House-sized furniture doesn’t fit into a small apartment.

I got help from friends. My good friend helped me stage my place, and she came and looked at this suite with me and took some measurements. When we went back, she said, "This will go. That has to go. Get rid of this. Keep that." And so we did. That worked into the staging of the house very easily.

I called the movers, but we moved a lot of the smaller items that we could in a pickup truck and stuff like that. So that part of it was very, very easy. I think the thought that kept running through my mind was, I’m really doing this? It was a whole next stage. I’m no longer on my own at my house. I’m at Sherwood House, basically in an apartment.

Then you turn around and realize, "Oh, I don’t have to make meals." If I really want to, they would bring it up for me, which happened later that week because I did put my knee out.

The move-in was fantastic. Everybody was extremely helpful. And, yeah, we got her done. I like this place.