By Claire Petersky

Have you thought about what it might be like to invest in older generations? The following story comes from Eastside Friends of Seniors, one of many such organizations connecting Boomers and Builders, older and younger generations in friendship.

Faith in Action was founded in our region over a decade ago with the spirit of community volunteerism at its core. Today, we are Eastside Friends of Seniors: a dedicated team of trained volunteers and professional staff providing vital support and assistance to seniors facing the challenges of aging. We are devoted to serving isolated and low-income seniors who live in East King County, in Washington State.

After volunteers are trained, our staff matches clients needing on-going services with volunteers who will assist them regularly; once matched, the client and volunteer communicate directly to schedule services. Volunteer caregivers work directly with our clients, providing individual attention and developing close relationships with those they assist. The care, outreach, and tangible assistance provided by Eastside Friends of Seniors are invaluable tools for reducing social isolation and helping seniors to live safely and meet their essential needs.

 What is this like for Eastside Friends of Seniors’ clients? And their volunteers?

“I always call her one of God’s little angels,” Lucinda says fondly of her volunteer, DeeAnn. For over four years, DeeAnn has provided Lucinda with housework, transportation, and a friend.  Lucinda has macular degeneration and says, “I don’t see very well. I wouldn’t know if my house was dirty or not!”  She is remarkably optimistic, saying, “There isn’t too much I’ve had to give up.  I love life. I’ve always been grateful.”

Despite all her optimism, she would not be with Eastside Friends of Seniors if she didn’t need help. “I had open heart surgery and was at rehab in Marionwood. They said I had to have somebody at home to help or I couldn’t go home.”

DeeAnn has been there to help Lucinda with everything. “She’s been a blessing. I don’t know what I’d do.” Every other week, DeeAnn visits Lucinda and cleans her apartment.  The other weeks, DeeAnn takes Lucinda out to run errands where the buses don’t go.

Without Eastside Friends of Seniors, Lucinda says “I don’t know what other arrangements I would try to make. I would just be lost…I could never get anybody who could measure up to DeeAnn.”

Lucinda is grateful for DeeAnn’s help shopping, especially with her failing eyesight. “I have a hard time in the grocery stores. I can’t see the prices. If they give me back change, I have a really hard time telling nickels and quarters apart.”

DeeAnn, who has been matched with seniors since 2003, says that her service “opens up just a fantastic friendship. They become an important piece of your life.”

On the effect Eastside Friends of Seniors has had on the community, DeeAnn says, “I think it’s amazing. Having a matched situation is special. They really do need help, and the payback to the volunteer is just enormous.”

She also wants to get more people involved.   “It’s my favorite volunteer job. Just having a friend, knowing that you’re helping out. …and you’re getting so much back. I tell everyone at my church. I would scream from the rooftops if I could!” To potential volunteers, DeeAnn says “if you want to do something that’s really rewarding, fun, have a friend, meet wonderful people, step out and give it a try.”

Lucinda tells me, “the day DeeAnn came to interview me, I just had a feeling of what a great person she is. I felt like God had sent her to me.  And we’ve talked about this before, and she felt the same way…She’s just a really dedicated, honest, compassionate, caring person.”

All of our clients have a disability that impairs their ability to perform basic activities. These elders need and desire basic things – a decent home, life with dignity, companionship. Given their age and disabilities, however, many struggle to find ways to keep their homes clean and safe, shop for groceries, or travel to a doctor’s appointment. Too often these elders lose their independence and are prematurely placed in institutionalized settings. We provide relational and community resources that allow elderly residents to remain living independently and with dignity in their own homes.

We accomplish our mission by mobilizing volunteers to provide essential assistive services. These include:

  • Transportation to medical appointments
  • Assistance with shopping and errands
  • Housework, yardwork, and minor home repair
  • Friendly visiting to decrease social isolation

Clients are served regardless of income, race or religion. All of our services are provided at no charge to the recipient.

Eastside Friends of Seniors has a lean, dedicated, primarily part-time staff that oversees client and volunteer recruitment, administration, and fundraising, but volunteers completely implement our day-to-day services.  Our volunteers are truly our lifeblood, our backbone, and the reason we exist. Each volunteer commits to the program for a minimum of one year, but many continue to serve well beyond their initial commitment, including four who have served for more than 10 years. Volunteers are thoroughly screened, supplying two personal references and a driving record from the WA Department of Transportation. Volunteers are cleared of a WA State criminal background check, and all attend at minimum a 2.5 hour training to receive specialized information and instruction they will need to work with our client group. Our volunteers not only provide basic helpful services, they also act as the “eyes and ears” of our program, looking for deterioration in our clients’ health or mental state, and reporting signs of medical need or elder abuse.

 Claire Petersky is Executive Director at Eastside Friends of Seniors. If you are interested in volunteering for a senior, please contact Eastside Friends of Seniors at 425-369-9120. Or email Margie Costello, Volunteer Coordinator, at Margie@eastsidefriendsofseniors.org. To learn more, visit their website, www.eastsidefriendsofseniors.org.