Seniors group says McQueen story rings all too true with clients
Posted Jan 26, 2016 3:14 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A local group that helps seniors says the deadly shooting by police of a wheelchair bound man in Huntington Hills on the weekend has hit home for them.
Calgary police shot and killed 53-year-old David McQueen after he challenged police with a handgun.
Caregivers of the man say he was clearly dealing with serious mental illness and it’s believed his long-time companion dog had just died.
Annastasia Stevens with the Calgary Senior Resource Society told 660 NEWS that the story resonated at their office.
“We tend to see seniors who are severely isolated, they have limited mobility. There might not be a lot of social support from family and friends,” Stevens explained. “We often come across seniors (where) their animal is their whole world. Their pet is everything to them.”
Stevens added that while McQueen doesn’t necessarily fit the category of a senior citizen, they will make exceptions in many cases.
She’s urging those who know someone in a similar situation to contact them or find them online.
“Things like: friendly visiting where we match seniors with a volunteer who will go and visit them on a regular basis. We have a telephone reassurance program, where someone calls the senior and they call them every day at a pre-set time. So, if they’ve fallen, or if something has happened, they’re not just laying there endlessly.”
