ESTEVAN — Estevan's Trinity Tower, the senior living facility which is a part of the LutherCare Communities Corporation, has had a busy summer with many activities for the residents.
"Our summer was excellent," said facility manager Tara Mitchell in an interview with the Mercury and SaskToday. "We've had our barbecues on the patio. We had families come in. An ice cream truck came for one of our birthdays. And we've planted a bunch of flowers. It's been busy. People are always out on the patio having a good time."
Trinity Tower in Estevan has 52 suites, with eight available through life-lease purchase and 44 available through affordable rent. They currently have a waiting list for two-bedroom suites, but they have a "handful of one bedrooms open", Mitchell said, and they are always happy to welcome new residents.
One of the residents made Trinity Tower their home shortly after it opened 33 years ago, others joined this community more recently, but a lot of people have been living there for years. While enjoying the independent lifestyle, seniors living at Trinity Tower also get to benefit from various organized opportunities.
On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays they have exercises for seniors. Following the exercises, residents enjoy coffee together. They also have an afternoon tea on Thursdays. One of the residents runs a crafts group, and the Estevan Public Library comes in a few times a month to do adult craft sessions as well.
Mitchell also puts on monthly birthday parties for the residents to celebrate those who were born that month with tea and a cake. Their potluck is another monthly tradition. They also have Bingo and movie nights to step it up a notch, as well as a monthly meal for everyone, organized by Mitchell, with residents chipping in however much they want. But barbecues on the patio remain residents' favourite, Mitchell said.
"We had our Father's Day barbecue on the patio. It's a nice place for them. It's all covered for when it's hot. We had our July 1 barbecue out there. And people can book it too; it's free, and we had a family that came and had a wedding party there this summer," she said, noting that many residents were there as well.
Trinity Tower's High Riser Society is a group of residents that helps organize barbecues and other events. They collect money from some events, and also attract grants from the corporation and donations from the community to help cover some of their common expenses like Access TV in the lounge, the barbecue equipment and other things.
This summer, the facility also saw many upgrades, with the main one being their lighting system.
"We got new LED wall packs on the building and all our parking lot lights are as bright as they can be. So, when residents come home at night, it's like daylight out there. All new LEDs are up in our stairwells because they are fire exits and elevators. By the end of the year, four floors will have new flooring, and then of course, just suites renos," Mitchell said.
"But the lights were probably one of the bigger things because we've replaced so many. And it's really a safety factor, especially in our parking lot … Everybody appreciates that."
Mitchell noted she has some further projects in mind to make it even better and more engaging for the people in their little community at Trinity Tower, which she believes is indeed a wonderful facility and a good group of people.
"Trinity is just a really great place. And it's not just a manager saying that, it's actually the truth. It's such a cool little community that we have here. We take care of each other. It's a great place and the corporation that puts us up, they've been doing this forever. They've been into senior living since the 40s or the 50s. So it all, all the amenities are in tune directly to seniors and for seniors," Mitchell said.
