Ottawa, Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Being a caregiver for an aging loved one can be a very rewarding experience.

But as you know, it requires a lot of energy.

And the challenge is even greater if our loved one is slowly losing their faculties.

Anyone in this situation knows how difficult it can be to interact with a parent, a sibling or a spouse who may not remember the caregiver or other family members, and may not understand what is happening to them.

It is heartbreaking and it is exhausting—there’s no other way to describe it.

And of course, as caregivers, you cannot allow yourselves to get exhausted. Your loved one depends on you for everything.

Inevitably, however, people do get tired.

Caregivers may do the work of angels; nonetheless, they are only human. They have the same needs as anyone—the need to rest, the need to laugh, the need to relax and enjoy themselves, even if only for a few hours.

But where can you turn to when you need a break?

While other family members may provide some help from time to time, the reality is, the greater part of the day-to-day duties usually falls to one person. And most people don’t have the funds to pay for extra help.

As our population grows older, this situation will certainly affect more and more people in our society.

Increasingly, Canadian men and women are being called on to act as the primary caregiver of a spouse, a sibling, a parent or even a good friend living with dementia.

And so a facility like the Guest House, which we are officially opening today, provides a very valuable service to our community.

By offering such a warm and welcoming environment, the Guest House will help ensure that the guests who need care will feel at ease during their stay. This is especially important for people with early to mid-stage dementia, the group that this facility will cater to.

All the partners involved in this initiative deserve our congratulations.

The Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre, the Alzheimer Society of Ottawa, and Carefor Health and Community Services have demonstrated both vision and compassion in creating this new resource.

By providing respite care for the primary caregivers of people with dementia, the Guest House will help those people continue to assist their loved ones in their home communities.

As a result, the people in care can continue to enjoy all the benefits of living at home.

As someone who has watched a beloved parent travel down the darkening road of Alzheimer’s disease, I know how meaningful it is for a person to have a few more precious weeks or months living in their own home.

And so, in closing, I wish to salute the partners for helping to make that a reality for many families here in Ottawa.

I am confident that this Guest House is going to make an important contribution to the quality of life of this community in the years ahead.

Thank you.