Telephone support for socially isolated seniors, by senior peer volunteers.
Older Adult Mental Health & Social Isolation
Supports for during a crisis, improving mental health or during social isolation.
Catholic Family Services of Hamilton Senior Peer Volunteer Program
60 years of age or older and at least one other from the following list:
- Client previously required coordination of multiple services through Intensive Case Management and follow-up/monitoring is now required.
- Change of residence and/or supports within the past year, e.g. absence of an involved family member, spouse, friend or agency
- Evidence of self-neglect or any form of elder abuse by a family member, caregiver or any other individual
- Circumstances compromising functional capacity including cognitive or physical impairment with confusion, memory and sensory losses
Contact for information.
Community Visitation and Seniors Support, Welcome Inn Community Centre
Seniors living in the central and north end of Hamilton.
Contact for information.
Friendly visitation and/or telephone reassurance for persons who are living in their own home/apartment or recovering from hospital stays. Time is spent listening, playing games, making crafts, going on outings, telling stories, and enjoying one another’s company. Individual interviews with both the senior and the volunteer are conducted before a match is made.
Volunteer Visiting, Dr. Bob Kemp Hospice
Open to anyone living with a life-threatening illness in Greater Hamilton. Programs available specifically for children and for adults.
Contact for more information.
Specially trained volunteers offer social and emotional support to children, adults, and families living with a life-threatening illness in Greater Hamilton. Support is provided through phone and video chat.
Dundas Community Services Friendly Calling
Older adults and adults with disabilities.
To register for the Friendly Calling program please call or complete the contact form on the website. Information about volunteering as a friendly caller can be found on the volunteering webpage.
Friendly callers offer companionship and quality conversations through weekly calls. Clients will also have access to other helpful resources and information within the community. Calls usually last 15-30 min. Trained volunteers are matched with a client by similar interests and background. Please note that this service does not include in-person friendly visits.
Friendly Calling, Chatting to Wellness
Open to all seniors in Canada.
Call 437-702-2025 to register or sign up online.
Provides youth companionship to seniors over the phone to reduce loneliness and improve health.
Life Long Care Program
Open to all urban Aboriginal men, women and their families
Contact to register
Provides support services to the Indigenous community, regardless of age, who are disabled, chronically ill, frail, elderly or require acute/chronic continuum of care.
Services include:
- medical transportation services
- assistance with completing forms
- community referrals
- home visits
- security checks
- caregiver support
- aid in transitioning from ODSP to Old Age Pension
- congregate dining meals
- social activities
March of Dimes BeFriending Program
Volunteers must be aged 18 or older and pass a Criminal Reference Check. Students under 18 can sometimes be accommodated if supervision can be arranged. Contact for details.
To apply for the BeFriending program: fill out the program application. To become a volunteer: fill out the volunteer application. Completed applications can be sent to the address on the form. Call for more details.
Matches volunteers and clients who have similar interests and who want to share their time. Activities can include shopping, movies or events, or just a chat over coffee.
Dundas Community Services Friendly Visiting
Older adults and adults with disabilities.
Call to register or register by completing the online contact form. Information about volunteering as a friendly caller can be found on the volunteering webpage.
Provides companionship and support to help seniors or persons with disabilities remain independent in their homes. This programs aims to enrich the social interaction of individuals by connecting them to the community and other helpful resources. Visits last around one hour and usually take place in the client's home (including retirement residences) once per week.
Each friendly visitor volunteer is carefully matched with a client by similar interests and background. All volunteers are required to provide a valid Vulnerable Sector Screening Check, take part in the interview process, pass the reference check, and participate in a training session.
At Your Senior Service
Services designed to support seniors and their caregivers
Contact to register
Provides support services by qualified professionals that improve the quality of life for seniors and enables seniors to maintain their independence while living in their home. Hourly, weekend, short term, long term, and respite care available. Staff are properly screened, fully licensed and insured. Services include:
Personal care
- Exercise and range of motion
- Transferring
- Feeding
Companion care
- Fall prevention
- Medication reminders
- Meal preparation
- Light housekeeping
- Shopping and errands
- Laundry
Specialty care
- Alzheimer's
- Dementia
- Parkinson's Disease
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Hip Replacement
- Stroke
SE Health Help at Home Services
Open to all.
Contact for information or complete the online application form.
Offers a variety of home supports to help older adults live independently in their own homes.
Services include:
- housekeeping, light chores, and laundry
- meal preparation and grocery shopping
- social supports including appointment accompaniment, friendly chatting, and day excursions
Canada Post Alert Program
Older adults and adults with disabilities.
Call to register or apply online.
An added measure of security for older adults, people with disabilities, and those with other illnesses who live alone in their own homes. Letter carriers are on alert to possible security issues during their regular delivery duties Monday through Friday. If a client's mail is uncollected in their mailbox, the carrier will report it for Dundas Community Services to follow up on the client's well-being.
Senior Mental Health Behavioural Inpatient Program
Seniors age 65 or younger who have an age-related cognitive decline.
Fax referral and supporting documents to West 5th Campus central intake at 905-381-5620. Call Eric Van Raay (social worker) at 905-522-1155 x36848 to arrange a pre-admission tour. Referring sources should call the unit or the community program with questions about eligibility.
Specialized service and treatment for individuals who have behaviours related to a diagnosis of dementia. Program provides service to Local Health Integrated Network (LHIN) 4 (the regions of Niagara, Brant, and Halton). Program goal is to return clients to an appropriate care setting within their home community after assessment and development of a treatment plan.
Dundas Community Services Crisis and Intervention Assistance
Older adults and adults with disabilities.
Contact for information
One-on-one supports for coordinating services. Includes personal advocacy, community referrals, assistance with filling out forms, and intervention and supports for people facing homelessness, critical life changes, abuse, or isolation.
St. Matthew's House Seniors Crisis Intervention Program
Individuals who are at risk of homelessness or in need of crisis support.
Call or visit for information.
The program supports seniors who are at risk of homelessness and/or have an urgent situation that requires immediate supports. It develops goal oriented crisis support plans aimed to assist individuals in stabilizing their current crisis and connects individuals with the most appropriate community services. A plan of care is created that responds to the presented crisis. The program also provides short term case management (up to 3 months) as well as linkages and referrals to long term community supports.
Connect Mental Heath and Addiction Outpatient Programs
Individuals with mental health concerns.
Complete and submit the online application form. If the fillable form will not open, download the flattened referral form, complete it by hand and fax it to 905-389-3815
Connect is a centralized intake service for St. Joe's Mental Health and Addiction outpatient programs.
Accepts and processes referrals for the following clinics:
- Anxiety Treatment and Research Clinic (ATRC)
- Women's Health Concerns Clinic (WHCC)
- Senior's Mental Health Clinic
- Eating Disorders Program
- Mood Disorders Program
- Youth Wellness Centre
- Community Psychiatry Clinic (CPC)
- East Region Mental Health Services (ERMHS)
- Concurrent Disorders Program
- General Psychiatry Clinic
- Bridge to Recovery Program
- Border Personality Disorder Service
- Cleghorn Early Intervention Clinic
- Schizophrenia Outpatient Clinic
- Developmental Dual Diagnosis Program