Burquitlam Lions Care Centre is committed to following the Eden Alternative™ Philosophy of Care and has been a registered Eden home since 2001. The Philosophy is based on ten principles. The first principle states “The three plagues of loneliness, helplessness and boredom account for the bulk of suffering among our Elders.” Additional principles identify the antidotes to these three plagues, promote client driven care, decision making and empowerment of the elders. The philosophy provides direction to achieve cultural change to create a life worth living and move away from the traditional institutional model of care.

Guiding Principles to Creating an Eden Alternative Home

1.    The three plagues of loneliness, helplessness and boredom account for the bulk of suffering in a human community.

2.     Life in a truly human community revolves around close and continuing contact with children, plants and animals. These ancient relationships provide young and old alike with a pathway to a life worth living.

3.     Loving companionship is the antidote to loneliness. In a human community, we must provide easy access to human and animal companionship.

4.     To give another care makes us stronger. To receive care gracefully is a pleasure and an art. A healthy human community promotes both of these virtues in its daily life, seeking always to balance one with the other.

5.     Trust in each other allows us the pleasure of answering needs of the moment. When we fill our lives with variety and spontaneity, we honour the world and our place in it.

6.     Meaning is the food and water that nourishes the human spirit. It strengthens us. The counterfeits of meaning tempt us with hollow promises. In the end, they always leave us empty and alone.

7.     Medical treatment should be the servant of genuine human caring, never its master.

8.     In a human community, the wisdom of elders grows in direct proportion to the honour and respect accorded.

9.     Human growth must never be separated from human life.

10.   Wise leadership is the lifeblood of any struggle against the three plagues. For it, there can be no substitute.