Call today: The Misericordia Place Life Advice Line! Dial 204-788-8060 to hear advice from personal care home residents and patients in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
This interactive audio documentary project gives seniors at Misericordia Health Centre an international platform to share their perspectives. The Life Advice Line offers a range of pre-recorded advice from patients, from very sincere to fun and quippy, but behind the snippets is a lifetime of experience. Cheryl gives the advice, “Be true to yourself, it’s the only way to live.” Her advice comes from being a mother, and her experience raising her daughter, who is a trans woman and autistic. Cheryl shared that as a mom, she just wants her daughter to be happy and to be herself. Each recording of advice is a window into the depths of experience and wisdom of the patients and residents at Misericordia Health Centre – all accessed through a phone keypad.
The media team at Misericordia put out a press release the day we made the phone-line live and every local news outlet came out. Randy and Cheryl were on the front page of the Winnipeg Free Press, and Geraldine was on CBC National. News spread to the United States, and then the Washington Post called. There was a segment on Good Morning America and the Drew Barrymore Show, and on and on. An ABC News headline reads, “‘You feel like you matter’: Care home launches ‘life advice line’ from seniors.” Talk about a good news story! The opportunity for residents and patients to share their perspectives on so many media platforms has been incredibly meaningful.
The Life Advice Line is an initiative by Misericordia Health Centre and artists-in-residence Francesca Carella Arfinengo, Natalie Baird, and Toby Gillies, in partnership with Artists in Healthcare. This project was funded by the Manitoba Arts Council and the Winnipeg Foundation.
Life Advice Line features on CBC National News, ABC Good Morning America, the Drew Barrymore Show, and CTV News
Press & Media links
- Washington Post: Need advice? Call these older folks for tips on love, dating, and moose hunting
- Winnipeg Free Press: Dial 9 for the sublime: A lifetime of experience only a phone call away
- CBC News: Misericordia Place launches hotline where senior residents give life advice
- ABC News: 'You feel like you matter': Care home launches 'life advice line' from seniors
- Toronto Star: ‘Listen’: Winnipeg care home residents offer advice on love, life, moose hunting
Patients working with artists and recreation staff on the health care unit
Examples of paintings and drawings by Misericordia patients and residents
