WINNIPEG – Press 0 to hear Cheryl’s advice about being true to yourself. For Randy’s perspective on growing in new ways, press 3.
To hear moose calls and Maurice’s wisdom on hunting, press 6.
This is how callers are greeted when they dial into the life advice line at Misericordia Place.
The project, launched last month at the Winnipeg-based personal care home, features 10 recorded messages from residents.
There’s help on how to dress from Geraldine: “Don’t wear a sleeveless blouse. The men can look down your armpit.”
And musing on dating: “Most guys out there are hopeless,” says Susan. “Follow your interests and they’ll lead you to the one you love.”
From 97-year-old Nina: “My advice? Geez, I don’t know … brush your teeth and listen to your mother.”
It’s the brainchild of artists-in-residence Francesca Carella Arfinengo, Natalie Baird and Toby Gillies.
The three have been leading art workshops at the care home and the adjacent Misericordia Health Centre for about 14 years.
“People share or they get really enthralled with art, when they’re making things that are telling stories about their lives — important times, places, meaningful spaces, things like that,” said Gillies.
“We look at the kind of things that people make in the visual art workshops and then we design our projects around that.”
The artists asked residents to think of a memory or space — a happy place — and document it in a drawing, painting or writing. The group then used the art to prompt conversations and recorded them.
After listening to hours of chatter, they pulled 10 clips for the hotline.
“The people who live here are our neighbours, and I think the project has often been about how do we get to know people and develop friendships and then share what excites them with the larger community in the neighbourhood,” said Baird.
There’s no way to know how many people have so far dialed 204-788-8060, but the hotline has made headlines. The Drew Barrymore Show has called to inquire.
And Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham has asked there be an option for callers to leave him advice on how to run the city.
The artists are considering adding different messages in the new year.
Brightly coloured pages of psychedelic plants and mushrooms, pencil drawings of an owl, bear and tiger, and framed watercolour paintings transport 58-year-old Cheryl Towers to a place beyond the four walls of her room in the facility.
Painting is her go-to art fixation right now. “It lets me go places that I wouldn’t normally get to go,” she said.
Art was always something Towers loved to do, but her creative passions were put on the back burner while she raised her daughter, she said.
Now, she’s taking the time to explore new things, like sculpting, while staying true to who she is. And she recommends others do the same.
“I just do what I do. I think that it’s very important to live according to what you believe, because it’s you who has to live with yourself later. Trying to do what everybody else wants doesn’t work,” Towers says in a hotline message.
Randy Jestin, 74, tells callers that more opportunities opened up to him when he became a more open person.
“Listen. Most people don’t listen. You know, people tell you what they need if you listen. Sometimes the meaning is between the words, not the words themselves,” he explains in an interview.
He said he recalled getting advice years ago from a friend who said he has to think and do for others without expecting anything in return.
The advice came in handy when he raised his two daughters as a single father. He has learned to share his mistakes and victories, while supporting and celebrating his kids when they do the same.
“That’s what dads are supposed to do,” said Jestin.
It’s hard for the artists to pick which sage advice resonated with them the most. Baird said as someone working with seniors for years, she could relate to Jestin’s counsel. “You have to find new ways to engage with people all the time and it has helped me grow a lot.”
Carella Arfinengo said the artists got “gold” during an interview with one senior who never married.
“It was just really cool to hear an older woman that doesn’t have a family, like husband and kids, talk about her life and her love life. I think that that’s something that we don’t necessarily hear a lot about,” she said.
Elaine Clifton, 80, talks about her marriage on the hotline. She and her husband just celebrated their 57th anniversary.
While gushing about the man with blue eyes and grey hair, her advice is simple: “The fellow you marry should be your best friend.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 5, 2025.
