For Lorna Penner, joining the BC CRN as Regional Mentor for the Northeast felt like a natural extension of her lifelong passion.
“Throughout my whole life, I’ve worked with vulnerable people, so this role just made sense,” said Lorna, who helps people with developmental disabilities as a support worker.
Having just started this role in January, Lorna is still quite new to BC CRN, but she brings heartfelt enthusiasm and deep-rooted experience to her new position.
Building Connections and Raising Awareness
Lorna’s primary responsibility involves forming Community Response Networks (CRNs), fostering collaborations between CRNs and other organizations, and bringing awareness about adult abuse and neglect to communities across the Northeast of B.C.
“My role is to engage communities and form networks of people to work together in preventing adult abuse and neglect,” Lorna explained. “It’s about making connections and encouraging people to inquire more, to look inside themselves more, to look inside their communities, and then to form those supportive networks to prevent and help others.”
Lorna is particularly energized by the untouched potential in the Northeast, as limited prior exposure to elder abuse education and awareness programs in this region provides a meaningful opportunity to make an impact.
Unique Challenges and Strengths in the Northeast
Within the short amount of time that Lorna has been with BC CRN, she’s seen firsthand both the challenges and strengths of communities in the Northeast when it comes to elder abuse.
She said two prominent challenges are the lack of available resources and a lack of volunteers.
For one thing, many of the small communities in her region are lacking access to agencies and/or services that are more widely available in more densely populated areas.
What’s more, in these kinds of communities, it tends to be the same group of people doing all the volunteering work with seniors, so the risk of burning out is much greater.
At the same time, Lorna sees significant advantages in smaller communities, including deeper personal relationships and stronger community bonds, which may make it easier to identify elder abuse, neglect, and self-neglect and respond to it.
“You know your neighbour more when you live in a small community,” she said. “And so hopefully you’re more aware.”
Recent Success and Future Goals
One highlight for Lorna was the recent World Elder Abuse Awareness Day event in Fort St. John, featuring B.C. Seniors Advocate, Dan Levitt. It was her first significant event as a regional mentor.
“That was super exciting,” she said. “We had to keep adding chairs to the space. It was a great turnout!”
Looking forward, Lorna would love to help expand the CRN network across the Northeast.
Currently, Fort St. John is the only community with an active CRN in this region, but she sees substantial opportunity for growth.
“My hope is to start connecting with more areas outside of Fort St. John – to start reaching northward, connecting, and building networks that way,” she said.
Addressing Cultural Barriers
Lorna is also keenly aware of cultural barriers that affect BC CRN’s outreach efforts.
She emphasized the importance of fostering culturally safe environments where all community members, including Indigenous and diverse cultural groups, feel included and secure.
Lorna also pointed out that different cultures may look at the issue of elder abuse from different perspectives and be more or less willing to discuss these issues, to feel comfortable reaching out for help, or to even be aware that these services exist.
With that in mind, she said, “Culturally, we need to really come together more on this issue,” and acknowledged that it’s important “to feel that you’re safe to be who you are.”
Lessons Learned
Even in her short tenure, Lorna has gained new insights into elder abuse prevention.
She’s learned that this issue is much more nuanced than many of us might realize, and that it tends to take on many different forms.
“I don’t think that people set out to always necessarily be, let’s say, an abuser of a senior or an elderly person or vulnerable person. I think that sometimes things really just evolve that way,” she said. “I can imagine there are a lot of people who think they’re doing the best they can or the right thing for a family member, for instance, but they’re also stripping them of their dignity and autonomy.”
Life Beyond BC CRN
When she’s not serving as a mentor, Lorna leads a vibrant life on her farm near Fort St. John, where she creates art, gardens, and cares for her livestock.
She also runs a small business called Penner’s Patch, which offers gourmet preserves, canned goods, baked items, clothing, and artwork, all crafted with ingredients and inspiration from her local area.
Above all, Lorna cherishes her role as a mother of three, and she loves spending time with her granddaughter.
“My life is crazy right now,” she laughed. “But I just want to be a grandma all the time. I’m with her as much as I can.”
A Shared Responsibility
According to Lorna, “We all have a part in making our world a better place and it begins with each of us doing one small part. Together we are stronger and better.”
Lorna embodies this spirit, proving daily that community service, compassion, and creativity can help to shape better, safer, and more connected communities.
