Are you overwhelmed by a complex system of health & housing options? Are you not sure of what happens next for you or your aging loved one?
Edmonton55 is about aging actively – being an active participant in how your health and housing choices influence your aging experience. This website is designed as a resource to help guide you through options so you can embrace the aging experience for yourself and your parents.
Jolyn created Edmonton55 to be your guide to resources for aging well, beginning to downsize, being a caregiver, navigating the system, discovering your age-in-place plan and avoiding social isolation. All the ingredients needed to age actively.
Meet Jolyn
Jolyn is an expert on seniors housing and care options in Edmonton area. Her vast experience in Alberta Health Services home care as a past registered nurse, and seniors housing options in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors assists older adults navigate an often complex system. In order to assist her clientele with full housing needs, Jolyn is also a licensed real estate agent & seniors real estate specialist (SRES®) registered with Schmidt Realty Group Inc in Edmonton Alberta.
My Why
When I was studying to be a RN, I had no idea that my life path would direct me into a world of working with older adults. It was a practicum in community health that would eventually lead me to be a Case Manger with Alberta Health Services Homecare Program. Daily I helped seniors and their families navigate the health care system. Years into my career, a chance conversation found me in the world of senior housing, working with a non-profit organization that housed over 465 low income seniors. I joined seniors housing at a time when housing and health services were just starting to be combined in community settings.
After a break to raise a family, I returned to seniors housing, this time in the for-profit sector and opened a brand new state-of-the-art residence. I then decided I could do more. To fully engage in promoting aging-in-place and active aging right when most people are making decisions about future health & housing plans. Every day I’m tired of see caregivers struggle, seeing older adults not getting the right information to make a decision, and watching many who make a choice to do nothing, rather than age actively.
I believe we need to redefine the passive aging experience, and highlight all the great opportunities be active decision makers in our aging experience. Aging-in-place is achievable, when you plan appropriately for it. I hope you’ll join me on this active aging journey!
Upcoming Presentations & Events with Jolyn
· Feb 20· Widow 2 Widow (Sherwood Park) · Understanding Housing Options as We Age (Private Event)
· Feb 25 · St. Albert Seniors Association · Navigating Care Options in Your Home 10:00am
· Feb 25 · RCMP Veterans Association · Is Your Home Ready to Age in Place in? (Private event)
· Mar 3 · St. Albert Seniors Association · Understanding Housing Options as We Age 10:00am
· Mar 9 · St. Albert Seniors Association · Selling Your Last Home for the First Time 10:00am
· Mar 10 · Southwest Edmonton Seniors Association · Real Estate Review : Buying & Selling as we Age 9:30am
· Mar 20 · SAGE · Embracing an Active Aging Lifestyle 1:30pm
· Mar 23 · St. Albert Seniors Association · What You Need to Understand When Buying a Condo 10:00am
· Apr 17 · North Edmonton Seniors Association · Housing Options as we Age 10:00am
· Apr 20 · SAGE · Create Your Age in Place Plan 1:30pm
· Apr 21 · South East Edmonton Seniors Association · When Your Parents Refuse Help 1:30pm
· Apr 24 · North Edmonton Seniors Association · Selling Your Last Home for the First Time 10:00am
· May 12 · North Edmonton Seniors Association · 10 Ways to Make Your Home Stand Out in a Slow Market 1:00pm
· May 15 · St. Albert Seniors Centre · Create an Age in Place Plan 10:30am
· Jun 2 · North Edmonton Seniors Association · Navigating Care Options in Your Home 1:00pm
· Jun 3 · St. Albert Seniors Expo · Get the Most Out of Your Retirement Living Tour 1:30pm
· Jun 12 · North Edmonton Seniors Association · 10 Ways to Keep Connected in Your Community 10:00am
What Presentation Attendees Say
“I thought she knew the information she was sharing very well . .I felt she held ones interest and gave one food for thought. I am in a position of not knowing what I will do.”
~ Transitions: When You Have to Move Attendee, Southeast Edmonton Seniors Association, November 2019
“I concluded that every senior needs this presentation. Jolyn is an excellent presenter. I am so very grateful to her. My husband and I are renters in a townhouse. Both of us are healthy and in our 70s. But now we will plan in the event that we have a health crisis. And if my husbands glaucoma causes blindness – planning is essential now that I have heard your presentation. Thanks for the slides. We will watch together and follow-up, discuss and plan. You are making an important difference in the lives of seniors!!!!”
~ Housing Options As We Age Attendee, St. Albert Seniors Centre October 2019
“Very well organized and it provided a new and valuable way of looking at housing options that I haven’t encountered before. The types of seniors housing are a confusing array of terms and it’s not clear what each entails. No one like to be caught by surprise and find themselves having to make decisions in an emergency situation. Being able to assess options and plan in a rational way are valuable tools for all of us. Thank you Jolyn!”
~ Housing Options As We Age Attendee, St. Albert Seniors Centre October 2019
