West Vancouver teens host painting sessions for seniors during pandemic - Action News
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British Columbia

West Vancouver teens host painting sessions for seniors during pandemic

A 16-year-old launched the intergenerational workshops with some friends as was a way to help seniors and youth connect through art after an isolating and challenging year.

Sessions leading to intergenerational connections after an isolating year, says 16-year-old organizer

Jena Yue launched the art sessions this summer in hopes of connecting seniors and youth through art. (Youth Art for Action)

Sixteen-year-old Jena Yue has been busy this summer organizing and hosting painting sessions for seniors, with the help of some of her high school friends.

The West Vancouver teen came up with the intergenerational workshops as a way to help seniors and youth connect through art after an isolating and challenging year.

"I started painting a lot more [during the pandemic], because when you can't go outside, what else do you do? So I thought we could bring that to other people," said Yue who starts Grade 12 in September.

When the sun is out, the sessions are held outdoors at Amica West Vancouver with anywhere from four to eight residents participating. (Youth Art for Action)

For residents Lise and Ellis Brayham, married for more than 60 years, it's a way to renew a hobby they both enjoy. They bring their own paint brushes to each session.

"We've been painting for 20 years, less and less as the years go," explained Ellis as he chuckled, "It's fun but the hands aren't as steady as they used to be."

Lise and Ellis Brayham, married for over six decades, bring their own brushes to the sessions. While Lise follows each lesson plan, Ellis goes rogue coming up with his own paintings. (Shawn Foss/CBC )

In total, three sessions have been hosted at Amica West Vancouver, a seniors living residence, with plans to add more dates and locations in the months to come. The art supplies are primarily provided by the residence while the teens volunteer their time and plan the lesson.

"[Residents] were really excited and they were looking forward to new stuff to learn, not only painting," said Ava Butalid, the residence's life enrichment assistant.

Yue and her volunteering friends teach new painting techniques each session. But she insists the learning is mutual.

"While we're teaching seniors how to paint, we're also learning so much. Like last session, we learned about a [resident] who was from Germany. She was a nurse who told me her life story. So it's also great for us to interact with some seniors, hear stories from a time before we were even born."

In total three sessions have been hosted at Amica West Vancouver, a seniors living residence, with plans to add more dates and locations in the months to come. (Amica West Vancouver)

The sessions are among several initiatives Yue organizes through her non-profit Youth Art for Action, which she founded in the midst of the pandemic in the summer of 2020 with a mission to use art for good in the community.

Members of Youth Art for Action sell their art pieces and donate the proceeds to charities, including Learning Buddies Network and the Alzheimer Society of B.C. Twenty-sixpaintings have been sold so far bringing in $2,500 in donations.

Youth Art for Action has donated paintings to the B.C. Children's Hospital and several long term care residences, in addition to hosting sessions. (Youth Art for Action)

Some paintings have been donated to hospitals and retirement homes to be enjoyed by the public.

The team is looking to grow its roster of youth artists willing to donate pieces and who can help host sessions.

Pairing up teens and seniors to keep pandemic loneliness at bay

4 years ago
Duration 2:45
A group in Chilliwack, B.C., has paired young people up with seniors to stave off loneliness and isolation in this pandemic. The intergenerational conversation is flowing and friendships are forming that, for some, are life-changing.