Glacier View Lodge is operated by the Glacier View Society, founded in 1979. (Jeannie Lin / CHLY 101.7FM)

The Comox Valley community came together Sunday for the third annual Walk for Glacier View Lodge, a non-profit long-term care facility that provides residential care for seniors.

Erin Neely is a board member of the Glacier View Lodge Society. She said residents’ care is funded through sponsorship from Island Health, but programs such as music therapy rely on additional community support.

“This year is again to sponsor music therapy, which really has great meaning for people with dementia particularly, because the relationship to music is a memory that can be brought up and sustained, when a lot of their capacity may have been lost for their interest in other areas. So the music really has a really meaningful impact on the quality of many of those residents' lives,” said Neely.

Board member Roslyn Smith said music can provide moments of connection and joy for people living with dementia.

“ We do know that music really touches the part of the brain that is least damaged. And for moments, people really have periods of joy. Dementia in its many forms has lots of challenges. And so a lot of times we really don't know how people are really feeling. But music therapy helps make them feel better for a period,” said Smith.

The two-kilometre walk took participants through the grounds of Glacier View Lodge, located on Back Rd. in Courtenay, with proceeds supporting music therapy for residents.

Organizers said the event is about more than fundraising, it’s also an opportunity to bring the community together and show support for local seniors.

Neely said Canada is facing growing demand for seniors’ care as the population ages.

“There's massive gaps across the country and actually, you know, globally. There’s an aging population. I think we're just heading into when the baby boomers are hitting their 80s, and the number of beds and care facilities required for our current needs are barely being met, and our future needs are grossly underfunded and definitely need attention,” said Neely.

According to Statistics Canada, the number of Canadians aged 65 or older increased by 3.4 per cent between July 2024 and July 2025, reaching more than 8-million people.

Neely said the growing senior population means communities need to start preparing for greater demand for care and support in the near future.

“Our government has done a lot to try and further housing for all walks of life. But for the seniors, the costs of bringing the extra care, it has been very, very challenging. And we definitely have a desperate need to start preparing now, because the wave of people that are going to require services is just going to keep building,” said Neely.

At the heart of Glacier View Lodge’s work is a goal of creating a community of care where people can thrive and feel at home.

Smith said Glacier View also offers a respite bed to support families caring for seniors at home. The facility currently has 101 full-time residents, along with one respite bed for seniors who need temporary care.

“I think maybe people think a lot of people end up in residential care, but it's a small percentage of the aging population, which is probably good. And a lot of people are at home, but they may be really struggling too, and families have to deal with that too. So our lodge is our facility. It takes 101 residents, and there's one respite bed, so people have, if they wanna go on holiday, they can leave their loved one for a couple weeks,” said Smith.

Neely is encouraging people to learn more about the challenges facing seniors, whether or not they have a family member in residential care.

“I recommend people go to the Glacier View Lodge site, glacierviewlodge.ca, and you can look there for opportunities. They may not have residents there. They may know friends that have stayed there over the years, and they may know that Glacier View might be in their future. So we just wanna invite the community up and let them know that we have a wonderful facility, it's a nonprofit, and that it is there to support the community now and in the future,” said Neely.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.

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