Many seniors are feeling the pinch as the cost of goods and services continues to rise. Now, some are facing another challenge: the loss of the City of Calgary’s Home Services for Seniors program. The program is set to end Sept. 30, but some seniors say they’ve already seen their services disappear. Bruce Skilling has been using the program for more than a year to help maintain his home. The support saved him between $300 and $500 a month. Now, with the program being cut, Skilling says he’s being forced to make difficult choices on a tight budget. “My property tax going up, the food going up, the gas going up. I can’t afford it,” he said. Skilling is one of more than 1,300 Calgary seniors affected by the city’s decision to end the program, which provided services such as lawn care, housekeeping and snow removal at no cost. The program is scheduled to end for everyone in the fall, but Skilling’s services stopped much sooner, on July 13. “I phoned 311, and they told me that there’s hundreds of people in the city of Calgary in my position. Hundreds,” he said. The City of Calgary told CTV News it is currently the only municipality in Alberta administering the provincial program. The city says the program was costing taxpayers and that it is now stepping away from administering the service. Seniors can still apply for assistance through the province, but Skilling says he doesn’t qualify for the Special Needs Assistance for Seniors program because his annual income is more than $28,000. How can some person who’s making $200,000 a year say that somebody who’s making $32,000 a year is making too much money?" he said. Senior advocacy groups, including Unison at Kerby Centre, say they’ve heard from several seniors who are concerned about the loss of the services. Unison president and CEO Larry Mathieson says the organization is looking at ways to connect seniors with volunteer support in their communities. Unison also offers other support programs, including Alberta’s only seniors’ food bank. “For some seniors, that can mean the difference between being able to live in your community and having to go into long-term care,” Mathieson said. For Skilling, the uncertainty has him considering all his options, including selling the home he’s lived in for decades. “Pretty close to selling my house, and I’ve been here since ’91,” he said. The province says no existing clients will lose services because of the adjusted income threshold. Affected clients will remain eligible for their existing services through December 2027.
