Meet Laura Stovel, the Revelstoke CRN Coordinator. Don’t let her quiet and unassuming veneer fool you. She’s a passionate advocate for the senior residents, working with the local network to bring seniors’ needs to the forefront and creating connections to combat isolation, abuse, neglect and self-neglect.
Having grown up in Revelstoke, Laura personally knows many of the older adults in the area. She became acquainted with BC CRN and the community-based work they do while working at the women’s shelter, which is the CRN host agency. When the coordinator position opened up in early 2022, she was interested in taking it on. Laura admires BC CRN’s example of leadership for inclusiveness practices and proactive approach in educating and providing referral resources for the seniors.
Advocating for Change
As a journalist and historian, she spends quite a bit of time looking at the past, which gives her a keen sense of how things are changing and the current issues that need to be addressed. Shortly after taking on the coordinator position, Laura began to realize the deep and lasting impact the forced separation the pandemic had created, particularly for seniors. Many of them did not, and still don’t, have internet access and remain isolated from the community, leaving them completely uninformed on local events, environmental alerts or temporary services for extreme heat and wildfire threats.
Laura got busy using her journalism experience and started assembling a monthly newsletter with social services contact information, current events and activities. The newsletter grew over time to include inspiring stories on local seniors and featured partner organizations. Within a short time the local newspaper began picking up and publishing the main articles from the newsletter. More than 200 seniors receive the newsletter by email and 50 printed copies are distributed, helping them to stay informed.
Laura is also a member of the municipal Social Development Committee and has highlighted the need for appropriate and adequate seniors housing and emergency planning for vulnerable residents. Revelstoke, a growing community, lacks sufficient apartments and supported housing to serve the aging population, resulting in many long-time residents leaving town when they can no longer manage.
What’s Next
When she’s not attending meetings, taking care of CRN business or writing the monthly newsletter, Laura enjoys spending time in her vegetable and fruit garden or “walking the land” with her dog in the Revelstoke area. She often goes walking with friends, enjoying all that the land has to give. She also holds a deep interest in the Indigenous history of the Revelstoke area.
Laura is currently set to begin handing over the Revelstoke CRN Coordinator role to a new person, though she plans to stay involved with the municipal committees and as a newsletter contributor to continue advocating on behalf of the community’s seniors.
Explore our website to learn more about BC CRN or connect with your local CRN for more information or resources.
