Seniors First history

In 1973, the Meals on Wheels program began in Orange County as a fledgling volunteer program of the Christian Service Center which operated in church kitchens.

Seniors First, the Shenandoah Area Agency on Aging was incorporated in July of 1975, and is the only comprehensive regional provider of support services that enable older persons to continue living in their own homes.

1982 Community Care for the Elderly

In 1986, Seniors First BC began as a grassroots advisory committee comprised of North Shore Community Services (NSCS), the Justice Institute of BC and the Social Planning and Research Committee (SPARC). Members worked to support the Project to Review the Adult Guardianship Act.

In 1989, Meals on Wheels and Neighborhood Lunch programs were consolidated with the Orange County Citizens Advisory Council on Aging.

In 1992 SPARC and NSCS joined to form the BC Coalition on the Prevention of Elder Abuse and Neglect.

These events laid the foundation for the organization that would later undergo a name change to Seniors First, Inc. in 1993.

Seniors First BC is a community-based, non-profit organization incorporated as a society in 1994 as the BC Coalition to Eliminate Abuse of Seniors.

Since 2000, the Law Foundation of BC has supported the Legal Advocacy Program, which provides legal information and advocacy to older adults.

2004 Emergency Meals on Wheels

In 2008 Seniors First BC expanded its legal services when it received funding from the Law Foundation to open the Elder Law Clinic, the first legal aid clinic for older adults in Western Canada.