Future of Good: How One Montreal Organization Pivoted during the Pandemic to Respond to Seniors in Crisis

November 30, 2020

Second story in a series of five in partnership with Future of Good to dive deep into organizational adaptation during this time of uncertainty.

Changes social impact organizations make now will shape our country’s recovery — and our new normal. Are we adapting quickly enough? There’s much talk in social impact circles these days about what a post-COVID world could or should look like, but what we don’t often talk about is how we’ll get there. What adaptations are non-profits, foundations, and organizations making — or should consider making — to build a more resilient and equitable economy, and what should they be prepared for?

How One Montreal Organization Pivoted during the Pandemic to Respond to Seniors in Crisis

By Jacky Habib

The NDG Senior Citizens’ Council is balancing long-term impact with crisis management

WHY IT MATTERS

As the coronavirus pandemic exacerbates risks for the most vulnerable populations, seniors are experiencing poverty, food insecurity, and mental health crises while facing social isolation. A Montreal organization says that for some seniors in their community, it’s an issue of life and death.

At 95 years old, Muriel Fishman has lived through a lot, including a World War and the Great Depression.

“The main thing in my life was poverty,” she says. “There was no food, no clothes. I was wearing boots made of felt.”

Still, despite living through monumental world events, Fishman, who lives in Montreal, has never seen the world come to a standstill the way she has with the coronavirus pandemic. “It’s unbelievable, because we weren’t faced with these problems. Life went on and relationships went on. You met friends and you went out and you did things but we don’t do that now. The whole [world] is upside down.”