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Seniors worry about going outside in B.C.’s icy winter weather

Click to play video: 'Seniors being left in the cold'
Seniors being left in the cold
The snow and icy streets has left many seniors and people with mobility issues stuck indoors. For many this means not being able to grocery shop, get to appointments or even socialize. Catherine Urquhart reports – Feb 8, 2017

The winter weather that has hit B.C.’s South Coast has become a problem for some residents, with countless seniors and disabled people stuck inside as they avoid icy sidewalks.

“[I’m] terrified [of falling],” said Therese Dion, who lives in an assisted living facility. “I mean, I pray about that all the time, it’s one of my anxieties and I’m actually better in terms of my balance.”

“That’s why I have a walker.”

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Seniors advocates are now encouraging people to help out.

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They’re urging everyone to offer to pick up groceries, shovel someone’s sidewalk or stop to check on your elderly neighbour.

And it isn’t just seniors who are struggling as the slippery streets are also affecting paramedics.

“We also have calls related to seniors, the slips, the falls, breaks, hip fractures and we also get a number of calls [from] people out shoveling and those are cardiac-related calls as well,” said Bronwyn Barter from the Ambulance, Paramedics and Emergency Dispatchers of B.C.

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