Appointments are available from March 5 – April 25, 2025. Phone 250.545.0585
If you are a senior or soon-to-be a senior, doing your taxes on time is important for you to be eligible and continue to receive benefits such as the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), the Shelter Aid For Elderly Renters (SAFER) and the quarterly Goods and Services Tax (GST) credit.
At NexusBC, we understand this and so we provide free basic income tax returns for lower-income seniors through the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program. This free service is provided by trained volunteers and operates year-round by appointment, as well as through a tax clinic during regular tax season (March and April). If you haven’t filed taxes in several years, we can file back taxes as well.
Here is what you need to know.
- The maximum income level for this service is $35,000 for a single person, or $45,000 combined for a couple.
- Please bring all your T-4 slips and your previous year’s tax return. This is a drop-off and pick-up service only.
- NEW: If you are claiming the Renter’s Tax Credit, please have ready the name of your landlord/company that payment was made to, and know how many months you were a tenant at that address.
Please note that we do not prepare returns for:
- Deceased persons
- Bankrupt individuals
- Self-employed individuals
- Individuals who report capital gains or losses
- Individuals who report interest income of more than $1,000.
- Individuals who report employment expenses or business or rental income and expenses.
If you have questions or would like to book an appointment, phone 250.545.0585.
Date: Monday, April 7, 2025
Time: 1:30pm to 3:00pm
Location: NexusBC Community Resource Centre
Presented by: Seniors First BC
This engaging workshop, presented through Zoom (not in-person) by Seniors First BC and hosted at NexusBC, introduces what frauds and scams are, common methods and schemes targeting Canadian seniors, safety strategies, and resources to consult if you or someone you know has been affected by frauds/scams.
In Canada, as of October 2024, there were 40,623 fraud reports processed, 28,634 victims of fraud and $503 million dollars lost to fraud.
Don’t miss out – register today. Seating is limited. Phone 250.545.0585 or sign up here:
Workshop Registration
NexusBC is proud to bring you the largest and best-attended hiring event in Vernon on Thursday, April 10, 2025 at the Prestige Vernon Lodge (11am to 3pm). This event featuring 40+ actively-hiring employers is free for jobseekers to attend.
Candidates should bring resumes, dress appropriately as though going to a job interview, and be prepared for discussion and a possible interview with a recruiter. Visit the WorkBC Employment Centre in Vernon or Enderby for tips on how to best prepare for the job fair.
You can find more information at www.vernonjobfair.ca
Date: Monday, April 14
Time: 1:30pm – 3pm
Location, Schubert Centre, 3505 30th Avenue
Join us for a presentation by Dan Levitt, BC Seniors Advocate, followed by a question period.
Dan Levitt has tirelessly championed the rights of seniors for 30 years at local, provincial, national and international levels. Prior to his appointment as BC’s Seniors Advocate, Dan held leadership positions in senior-living and long-term care homes for more than 10 years where he helped shape a dementia-friendly future for seniors and their loved ones.
Everyone is welcome to attend! Refreshments will be provided. No registration required.
Download a Town Hall Meeting Poster (pdf)
Are you a senior who loves gardening or wants to learn? Join The Gathering Garden, a community gardening group where we work together to grow fresh vegetables, share responsibilities, and enjoy the rewards!
This is a self-led group, where everyone plays a role in making the garden thrive. Please note that transportation is not available. You will have to make your own way (or carpool) to the garden.
What We Offer:
✔️ A welcoming group of fellow gardeners
✔️ Shared access to 12 garden beds, each growing different vegetables
✔️ A collaborative schedule for watering, weeding, and tending to the garden
✔️ A Harvest Meal Celebration at the end of the season, where we enjoy the fresh produce we’ve grown together!
Why Join?
✔️ Stay active and engaged in a meaningful way
✔️ Meet new friends and enjoy the outdoors
✔️ Share in the joy of growing and harvesting your own food
Location: East Hill Community Garden, 900 Shantz Rd
Season Kickoff: April 15, 2025
Space is limited – reserve your spot and grow with us! ️
Vernon Rec Centre
Whether you are an older adult, a young adult, a caregiver, or someone interested in learning more about the healthy aging resources available in our community, you are encouraged you to attend this informative event. The Expo will feature 40+ vendors, offering information about health, financial, legal, and physical-care services and products available in Vernon and area. There will be door prizes.
The Aging Well Expo is open to the public with free admission.
Table Registration
Registration will be open to organizations or businesses that provide services, products or support for older adults in our community.
If you would like to be contacted when registration opens, please add your contact details to the Aging Well Expo Interest List.
Written by Ali Gangji, CSPSC Medicine Working Group member & medical student at the University of British Columbia
February 3, 2025: “I met Jade Hamilton at the offices of NexusBC, a Community Resource Centre in downtown Vernon, British Columbia. After two decades in childcare, she embraced the opportunity to explore a new career path. She pivoted to help a different generation of vulnerable people, through NexusBC. She started in the Connect Program, an Information Navigation and Referral Program, and later transitioned to her current role as a Community Connector.
Jade shared that a large portion of her clientele are vulnerable individuals, particularly those with health, financial and/or mobility challenges. Many clients’ initial contact with NexusBC begins with the free tax filing service through the Federal Community Volunteer Income Tax Program, where they first become aware of the wide range of services offered. Once referred to Jade, she provides personalized support, helping participants access and navigate various resources and services throughout the community to meet their unique needs. A particularly popular program is the Social Club for Seniors, which hosts events three times a month. These include lunch-and-learn sessions, social gatherings, workshops and partner collaborations for info sessions throughout Vernon. According to Jade, one of the most important aspects of these events is the shared meals, which promote discussion and building lasting connections in the community.
I accompanied Jade on a community visit to check in on one of her clients. This client, a lively woman in her 70s and an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, had faced significant challenges in recent years. These included a metastatic cancer diagnosis and a fire that destroyed her low-income senior apartment building. Jade and NexusBC helped her access transportation, housekeeping, food supports, counselling, social events and advocacy for safe housing after the fire. Due to barriers that technology has brought to many seniors, this senior, and many others, are unable to complete online applications for many vital benefits. Jade was instrumental in navigating the complicated programs, forms, and requirements. This allowed her client to focus on rebuilding her life after her cancer diagnosis and the fire. The client expressed gratitude for the daily check-ins and assistance with tasks like cleaning, saying the support had made a huge difference. With so many seniors facing complex needs and requiring extra support, Jade is hopeful that the organization will continue to grow and enhance its programs and services to better serve them.
Referrals to Jade continue to grow weekly. Interestingly, most referrals come from community nurses and social workers rather than physicians. When I asked Jade about barriers preventing doctors from accessing community connectors, she pointed to the simplicity of their online referral form. It requires only the patient’s name, the referring physician’s name, and a checkbox indicating whether the physician would like updates about their patient. The bigger barrier seems to be a lack of awareness about social prescribing programs; not only does social prescribing help seniors make vital social connections in the community, improving their mental health, they can alleviate doctors’ workloads by assisting seniors with non-medical tasks.
Training community connectors is another challenge. When Jade began her role, she completed a one-day social prescribing course created in Alberta and later adopted by the United Way BC, NexusBC’s primary funder. Jade feels that training would be more effective if it were tailored to the specific context of each community. This would help connectors become more familiar with local resources. She also noted that implementing such programs in larger centers could be more challenging. Distances, adverse weather, and higher turnover rates could make it harder for connectors to build expertise in local resources. Despite these challenges, social prescribing is thriving in the North Okanagan and could serve as a model for similar programs in Canada and beyond.”
– Ali Gangji, CSPSC Medicine Working Group member & medical student at the University of British Columbia
Original article published on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ali-gangji-cspsc-medicine-working-group-5b0sc
Are you concerned about the health and wellness of Vernon seniors? Here is your opportunity to get involved.
The Vernon Seniors Action Network [VSAN] is a coalition of community representatives working together to share information and resources, and address priority issues that impact the health and wellness of Vernon seniors.
VSAN Mission: Vernon Seniors Living Well
VSAN Vision: The community works together to identify and address the needs of Vernon Seniors
VSAN Goals: To listen to the collective voice of Vernon Seniors, caregivers and service providers in identifying priority issues; to seek and implement solutions that have mutual benefit and; to share information and resources among service providers and agencies
For more information, contact VSAN at [email protected]
VSAN’s activities and initiatives are sponsored by the Shuswap North Okanagan Division of Family Practice
