The partnership, she explains, “is helpful to those residents who grew up in the area because they can see their friends.”

Lindsay is largely a “farm community,” she adds, with a near majority of residents in local homes coming from the surrounding area.

Activity directors in the seven residences – Caressant Care McLaughlin Rd., Caressant Care Mary Street, Frost Manor, Victoria Manor, Extendicare Lindsay, Continuing Care at Ross Memorial Hospital and the 140 Residence on Williams Street – meet once a month and collaborate on programming, holding shared events up to eight times a year.

Apart from bringing friends from different homes together, the collaboration allows for new friendships to flourish, says Haringa.

The partnership is in its tenth year, says Haringa, who worked at Victoria Manor prior to Caressant Care McLaughlin Rd., where she has worked since its opening in 2003. Caressant Care McLaughlin Rd. is an A-class, 96-bed residence.

Activity directors rotate responsibilities for their mutually held events, which include Remembrance Day celebrations, Christmas and Easter dinners, and live musical entertainment. A camping/cottaging trip was introduced last year with five homes taking small groups of residents for a two-day stay at the local “Housekeeping Cottages.”

At varying times activity directors will be responsible for booking space, organizing transportation, or ensuring meal preparations.

The activity directors also offer feedback to each other on entertainment acts, and make supportive suggestions, says Haringa.

The seven homes just recently held their annual Christmas lunch at the Moose Lodge, a favoured local venue for bigger meals and celebrations. More than 125 residents were entertained by musical act “Tunes from the past” while a traditional turkey dinner was served.

Vi O’Leary, life enrichment coordinator for Frost Manor, says that there is a lot of goodwill between the directors.

“We have good interactions,” she says.