Silvera residents are parents, grandparents, friends and neighbours – the people who built our communities. No one ever intends to need affordable housing, but for some it’s a reality due to circumstances beyond their control:

·         low-paying jobs without pensions

·         outliving their savings

·         loss of a spouse

·         cost of health care

·         a lifelong battle with mental health or addiction

·         a financial crisis later in life with no time to recover

·         job loss before retirement

·         little or no family support

Fulfilling a basic need for seniors – stable housing – provides them a great sense of security. But Silvera also aims to build an entire community of caring for our residents, every day of the year.

Silvera’s 25 Calgary communities offer our 1,450 residents quality living through our philosophy of person-centered care. We are guided by our core values of service, respect, teamwork, safety, creating homes and making a difference.

Lower income seniors tend to experience greater rates of loneliness, anxiety and social isolation. Nearly 65% of Silvera residents don’t have family support nearby. Silvera provides programs, supports and services that help fulfill that role and enhance our residents’ spiritual, physical and mental well-being.

There are hundreds of seniors living in Calgary hospitals today. Many don’t require hospital care but cannot be discharged because there is simply no other place for them to go.

An acute care hospital bed costs roughly $1,500 per day, compared to about $75 per day for an affordable supportive housing unit at Silvera. If a senior spends one year in hospital, it could cost more than $500,000, compared to just $27,000 in supportive living.

Every year, seniors face a large waiting list for affordable housing with Silvera. The need is greater than we can currently meet.

 Silvera has several different communities to support a variety of seniors and their non-medical needs. Some homes are self-contained independent living suites, while others are single or couples’ suites with common dining rooms and a variety of supports and programs.

Silvera takes a unique approach to encouraging active aging by offering residents high-quality programs and services.

According to the World Health Organization, there are six dimensions to healthy, active aging: intellectual, physical, social, emotional, spiritual and vocational.

Silvera’s active aging programs are designed to improve residents’ well-being in all of these dimensions. We use an evidence-based model to provide gold-standard programs that are based on research, are responsive to resident feedback, and are executed by specially trained employees.Seniors are facing an affordable housing shortage in Alberta.

Today, roughly one in 10 people in Alberta is 65 or older. In the next 25 years, that number will double. We are living longer and are therefore facing more complex health and social needs.

In addition, the cost of living continues to rise for seniors, and that means their limited incomes need to stretch further.

While we receive supporting funds from the provincial government, we rely on the generosity of our individual and corporate supporters to make up the difference.

Individual donations are crucial to Silvera’s ability to support our seniors. We need your support and will proudly partner in a way that is meaningful to you. Silvera accepts cash, in-kind gifts and pledges from individuals, groups and corporations.