Neha Chollangi

Special to the Times-Chronicle

One Christmas a few years ago, Sabrina Courtoreille and her family saw that after eating their dinner, they still had about a dozen plates of leftover food. The next morning, she and her family packaged them up to take around the downtown area and give them to homeless people on the streets of Edmonton.

Since then, her family has been doing “homeless feeds” in Edmonton’s inner-city area as much as six times a year. The last one they did earlier this year fed about 300 people.

Two and a half months ago, Courtoreille moved to Osoyoos from Alberta. She closed her business there as an aesthetician after COVID-19 hit, and will be continuing her work here in town. Her son and mother only recently joined her a few weeks ago, and with only the three of them together for Christmas, she realized there would be a lot of leftover food.

Courtoreille said she feels very fortunate to live in a community like Osoyoos in regards to the lack homelessness in town. So, she was asking herself what can she do with all the extra food?

Realizing many seniors will be alone for the holidays, she decided to make a post on Facebook asking people if there are any seniors who would like a “Christmas dinner brought to them on Christmas afternoon.”

A handful of people messaged Courtoreille with seniors they knew who would love to have a dinner brought to them on Christmas.

“I’ve only got eight people now that I’m going to bring it to. But I hope that in future years, that’s something more that I can do a little bit of; make it a little bit more impactful because I know there’s so many seniors by themselves,” said Courtoreille.

The food was a classic Christmas feast with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, and some veggies. Courtoreille and her family even bought some crossword and puzzle books to gift with their dinner packages.

“If it wasn’t for COVID I definitely would offer more time and whatever I could,” said Courtoreille. “This has been dragging on now for 10 months, and it just seems to get bigger and bigger and bigger. And mental health wise to be by yourself, I couldn’t even imagine.”

A study done in May by Debanjan Banerjee called “The impact of COVID‐19 pandemic on elderly mental health,” looks into a serious issue of how restrictions can cause a decline in mental health for seniors. The precautions in place are vital, but they also draw attention to a more sensitive matter, such as a rise in loneliness and social isolation.

The study states that the pandemic can have serious psychosocial impacts including depression, chronic stress, and anxiety.

“Social connectedness is vital during the public health breakdown, more so when ‘ageism’ becomes a factor for stigmatization in this marginalized population. This leads to neglect and therapeutic nihilism,” writes Banerjee in the study.

With these issues in mind, and knowing that Osoyoos has a higher demographic of seniors, Courtoreille wanted to help in any way she could. One of her favourite quotes is, “If you have a few that are more than enough, build a longer table, not a higher fence.”

It’s an attitude she tries to teach her kids, and abide by herself.