Volunteer Visitor
Every human being has value. Each one of us has something to give to others – even those who face mental and physical challenges.
Institutionalized elders are among the most isolated individuals in our society. There are an estimated 30,000 seniors living in San Francisco Bay Area long-term care facilities. This number is expected to double in the next two decades. Their average age is 85; the majority is wheelchair-bound and cannot easily leave these facilities; 65% are women. More than 60% of these elders never have visitors.
Volunteer Visitor Program (VVP) recruits volunteers from the community, orients them to that they are comfortable meeting with frail elders in an institutional environment, and provides on-going support to encourage long-term relationships that lessen isolation.
Visiting in nursing homes isn’t for everyone, but many volunteers remark on how much they get from the visits – as much, if not more, than the residents, they believe.
But frankly, VVP – ELDERGIVERS original program – is harder to maintain these days. There are several reasons for this.
The nursing home population in 2006 is quite different from what it was in the year ELDERGIVERS was founded – 1985. Due in large part to longer life spans and continuing turmoil in the U.S. health care system, this population is more frail – mentally and physically – than it was two decades ago. Nursing home residents can be difficult to communicate with.
The volunteer scene has changed, too. The pools from which ELDERGIVERS has traditionally drawn those who visit in nursing homes have undergone many transitions. Membership in faith congregations, for instance, have leveled off or declined.
There are other reasons, too, for a decline in VVP. But one of the primary causes of this decline has more to do with our society’s current moral culture than anything else. Study after study indicates that there is a growing alienation among Americans. People today seem busier, more pre-occupied with their own well-being and less inclined to give time to someone who needs it. The isolation of nursing homes residents is only the most extreme example of this selfcenteredness.
A variety of commentators (e.g. Robert Putnam in his book, “Bowling Alone”, which was published shortly after 9/11) have observed this drawing inward. Such emotional and spiritual poverty has affected volunteering in nursing homes and other long-term care environments more than any other factor.
You and I may reside in a nursing home some day. We many want a visitor, too.
Now is the time to challenge and change our current moral drift, to look more closely and to appreciate the potential value which each human life adds to our community. Reach out to someone who needs attention, companionship, encouragement.
Together we can make that statistic mentioned earlier obsolete.
ENRICH THE SPIRITUAL DIMENSIONS OF YOUR OWN LIFE, OF THE LIFE OF AN ELDER, AND BENEFIT THE WHOLE COMMUNITY.
PARTICIPATE IN ELDERGIVERS’ VOLUNTEER VISITOR PROGRAM TODAY.