File photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Dylana Kneeshaw

COVID-19 CLOSURE

Kamloops Centre for Seniors Information halting service as COVID-19 precaution

Mar 23, 2020 | 5:15 PM

KAMLOOPS — In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, and risk to older populations, the Kamloops Centre for Seniors Information (CSI) says it will be closing its doors.

CSI Executive Director Brenda Prevost says, after the most recent board meeting today, the centre’s services will be temporarily shut down.

The information centre at the Northills Shopping Centre has already be closed for a couple of weeks, alongside most of the activities offered, but now the activity centre in the Brock Shopping Centre will close its doors.

The halt in operations means some of the centre’s usual springtime events and services will be postponed — including tax help. Each year, trained volunteers with the Kamloops Centre for Seniors Information help seniors file their annual income tax return information.

Given the current situation with COVID-19, the federal government has announced an extension for income tax deadlines for individuals to June 1, 2020. With that, Prevost says there isn’t a need right now to have seniors coming in to get help with filing.

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“We realize that individuals want to have their income taxes done, which are some of the main calls we’re getting,” she says. “But by doing that, we’re also really encouraging people to come out into our centre, and sometimes they’re coming as groups of two or three in a car. And we really don’t want to contribute to having people being out and about simply for income tax.”

Those who brought in their tax paperwork before the closure will have it filed, and Prevost says when the centre re-opens, people can pick up their paperwork and drop off any tax forms.

Along with this, CSI won’t be holding its frozen meals program unless it’s for an emergency. Prevost says the centre has a supply of frozen meals it was providing for seniors in need, but regularly delivering food directly to seniors was no longer a comfortable route for the centre to take.

“We will be taking our emergency calls, answering calls to our cell phones, so if we do have a senior in our community in crisis — especially if they can’t get out to the grocery store, or they can’t access food — we’ll find some way to help them out. Either through our frozen meal service, and deliver them to our door, or work out something with a grocery store with them.”

Prevost says it’s not an ideal situation, but given that most of their clients and volunteers are over the age of 65, they didn’t want to take any risks.

“I think the sensible thing to do is to follow the guidelines, create as much social distancing as possible, and not doing our programs to encourage people to not fulfill that.”

The Kamloops Centre for Seniors Information can be reached through its Northills Mall location at 250-554-4145, or through the Brock Activity Centre at 778-470-6000.

Their website can also be accessed here.