When she was just nine-years-old, Megan Verhey knew she would move to the mountains someday.
The southern Ontario transplant first came out west on a family vacation. The Rockies’ landscapes, the space, the wildlife…it all stuck with her.
“I was chomping at the bit to get out here,” she laughed.
A decade or so later, she was able to realize that dream when she got a summer job at Sunwapta Falls Resort. The following year she took a job at Maligne Lake.
“I felt at home,” she said.
Verhey was happy to be amongst the mountains, and she enjoyed her work in the tourism sector, but there was another dream she had: a dream of starting a career. Post-high school, her field of studies was in recreation and leisure services, with a focus on recreational therapy. She was very close to her family, and when her grandmother passed, at age 95, the service providers where her grandma spent her final months and days helped Verhey see the importance of such programming.
“They did a great job of helping my grandmother’s end of life,” Verhey said. “They made it much more pleasant for her.”
Verhey, herself, had for years enjoyed volunteering with seniors in Ontario. And as she got to know the community of Jasper through her seasonal work here, she kept hearing the same thing: services for seniors are in demand, but there is a lack of providers.
“People said families are interested, seniors could use some help,” she said.
Verhey wanted to bridge that gap. In October of 2019, she started her business: Verhey Friendly Visiting. Although the COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench in her start-up momentum (people, and especially seniors, were all of a sudden more vulnerable to having home visits), she continued with her plans to build the business. She again heard—at the Jasper Community Team community conversations she attended and at Alpine Summit Seniors Lodge, where she volunteered—that there was a need for what she could provide. She wanted to offer companionship, rec and leisure programming, light housekeeping, meal prep and general assistance with daily living.
“I enjoy connecting with elder people,” Vehrey said. “I love helping them engage with their past.”
And now Verhey is trying to make a future in Jasper. She’s started developing relationships with some of Jasper’s seniors, but she’s hoping word will get out that she’d love more clients. Services don’t always have to be in the form of an at-home visit, either. Verhey places high value on getting outside with a generation who spent their childhood outdoors.
“It’s the best place to connect,” she said.
Verhey is hoping seniors and their families will connect with her. Verhey Friendly Visiting is on Facebook, and Megan can be reached at 780-883-0442
Bob Covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com
