People of Perley - Manon van der Horden

For the more than five years, volunteer Manon Van der Horden has helped with dinner service at Perley Health once a week. She first learned about the opportunity through her employer, Commissionaires Ottawa, which has long been a leading donor to Perley Health Foundation.

“I lost my dad to dementia five years ago and that just made me really want to start volunteering and helping people like him,” she says.

Through the experience with her father, Manon learned to connect with people living with dementia — to see past the disease and to appreciate a person for who they are in the moment.

“I understand dementia and none of it makes me sad. Sometimes a resident will think I'm their daughter or their mother. I usually go along, but sometimes, I say: ‘No. I'm just your friend. I'm glad I remind you of your daughter.' I love their stories, regardless of whether they're real or made up. It makes me feel good because it brings me back to my dad who at the end didn't know who my mom was and yet she was right there.”

Manon also has a special place in her heart for Perley Health staff.

“I also love the staff, the PSWs, the nurses and everybody who works here. I think they feel at home when they're working here. That's part of what makes this place special.”

The more she spends time here, the more she recognizes the attributes that make Perley Health exceptional.

“Perley Health is a village. It has a pharmacy and a bar, and the hallways are like avenues. With so many arts and crafts on the walls, as well as the photos, medals and other items displayed in residents' memory cabinets, it's also like a museum. There's just so much happening here. No matter where you walk, where you look, you get a heart-warming feeling.”

Most of all, however, Manon cherishes the one-on-one time she spends with individual residents.

“I kiss them all. I hug them all. I sing with them. I listen to their stories. When I don't see them, I miss them and worry about them. Volunteering here is so important to me; it makes me feel fulfilled. It's here for a reason and it could be us one day—it'll be me one day. I've seen Perley Health evolve over the years and just want to continue being a part of it. If I won the lottery, I would volunteer here full-time.”

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"I'm fulfilled when I'm at Perley Health. It's a village. There's just so much happening here. No matter where you walk, where you look, it's just a feeling. It's a heart-warming feeling.” - Manon van der Horden, Volunteer