A log cabin in Kakisa, N.W.T., is shared by four siblings in their late 70s and 80s. The floor is filthy and there are piles of unwashed clothes and dishes scattered about. The bedroom is small and many blankets are needed to stay warm, explains one of the elders, speaking in South Slavey.

This small bedroom in a log cabin in Kakisa is shared by four of the community's elders. Resident Margaret Leishman says that homecare and elders residences are desperately needed in Kakisa, which has a population of just over 50. (CBC)

"They're not being cared for," says Margaret Leishman, who lives in Kakisa and helps out the elders when she can. "Uncertain about things, because they don't understand. Imagine to live in fear like that, in your old age."

There are 12 elders living in the tiny community of Kakisa, which boasts a total population of about 50. There is no seniors' residence or homecare services available locally, something Leishman says has to change.

She says the elders are left to fend for themselves: It's up to them to deal with dementia, arrange their own appointments, take their medications and keep their homes up as best they can. If a health issue arises, they often show up at her door on a snowmobile, where she either alerts the community nurse or tends to it herself.

"Elders in Kakisa are isolated, very lonely," says Leishman. "And one of the biggest things is that they need to have food preparation for them. As you get older, your diet becomes different. Those educational things are not available for elders."

'It's going to get worse in the future'

Margaret Leishman (right) and elder Annie Chicot. Chicot knows she needs to take her medications, but doesn't know what they're for. Her brother helps remind her to take them. (CBC)

Leishman says the elders don't want to go to a long term care home in Hay River or Yellowknife because Kakisa the only home they've ever known, and they want to stay together. Traditionally, explains Leishman, elders remained at home and were taken care of by their families, but now, it's much easier to "push them into homes.

"They’re not able to take care of themselves," she says. "Even today, when you see difficulties, you know it’s going to get worse in the future.

"It makes me really sad. I do go to bed worried at night."

Leishman would like to see an elders residence built in Kakisa or have homecare services available. She'd like to see Kakisa's chief and council presure the Deh Cho Health and Social Services Authority to expand services to Kakisa, as well as the establishment of a community elder's council so they can make their voices heard.

"We don’t have anything for our elders," she says. "And in my tradition, the elders are well respected. They’re head of our people because we learn from them. And they’re role models for us. And when they’re old, they need to be taken care of.

"I’d like to see our elders get treated 100 percent. They’ve earned it."