NOVA offers invaluable support

One of the region’s most valuable resources, NOVA West Island has been providing support to local families for close to a century. “We were originally founded as the Victorian Order of Nurses; the name was changed to NOVA in 2006. We’re coming up to our 100th anniversary (in 2011),” said director Jane Lumsden.

Based in Beaconsfield, NOVA offers myriad services and programs, from adult day centres to bereavement counselling for youth. “In 2008, we had over 300 clients of all ages,” she said.

But in recent years, the name NOVA has become synonymous with home palliative care, largely “for cancer patients and people suffering from ALS,” the Beaconsfield resident explained, adding health practitioners visit them on a near daily basis. “We manage their symptoms, pain control and side-effects. With the support of their families, we can help them stay in their homes as long as they want.”

There is also a cancer support group which meets monthly.

The non-profit organization, which is funded entirely by donations, also operates three bereavement groups which meet for eight weeks and are open to the community at large. The next group convenes in the fall.

The Carousel centre, which opened in Pointe Claire village in 2005, is designed primarily for “children who are living with a terminally ill parent,” Lumsden said, adding, “a lot of our counselling is done in the school. Often it’s a teacher who identifies the need.”

An offshoot of the centre is a weekend bereavement camp for youth, which was held at Cap St. Jacques nature park in Pierrefonds. The children engage in grief and remembrance sessions, but there are also recreational activities. “At the end we released butterflies on the beach,” Lumsden said.

The number of children who registered more than doubled from when the camp was first held last September. “We also run two low-fee adult day centres for the cognitively impaired and the elderly out of Briarwood Church in Beaconsfield and Roxboro United. They do different activities, have lunch, go on outings.”

The main objective is to provide a day of respite for caregivers. “We also offer personal support services in the home, as well as a series of foot care clinics for people at risk – diabetics and those with cardio-vascular problems, for example. We often hold the clinics at seniors’ residences, at the Legion, and in nursing homes,” Lumsden said.

All fees go to support NOVA programs and services.

We get amazing support financially from a lot of community organizations, among them the Beaconsfield Slo-pitch League, all of the Oldtimers hockey teams, the Lakeshore Artists Association, the Beaconsfield Garden Club and the Quilters’ Guild, as well as many churches.”

NOVA was also the recipient of proceeds from a tournament held in August at the Beaconsfield Golf Club.

Monies raised by three area thrift shops also make a substantial difference.

But NOVA’s very existence would be tenuous if not for its dedicated corps of volunteers. “They run the day centres, do home visiting, foot care, provide transportation to clients, and much more. We couldn’t do it without them,” Lumsden said, adding that in light of the aging population, more volunteers are always needed.

For more information about NOVA West Island, call 514-695-8335. . <@Cp>Chronicle, Jacques Pharand<@$p>