 Senior Companion Program keeps older adults connected to life
Elaine Marshall had been an independent, self-acclaimed live wire who drove everywhere and did whatever she wished.
"But then all of this monkey business started," said the 81-year-old, pointing to a leg brace and referring to the limits that the brace and the discovery of congestive heart disease have placed on her life. "I started really going down. And, ooooh! I'm mad. I want to do my thing. I might be old, but I'm still here."
Elaine turned to her friend and regular visitor Ellen Buschke. With a calmer voice she held out her hand and said: "If I didn't have people like you coming to visit me so that I'd have someone to be talking and complaining to..."
Read about the history of the program, click here.
Ellen turned to a visitor and quickly interjected: "It is very difficult for her to complain about anything, really."
And that is the nature of their friendship. They tease, they cajole and console. They talk about family, places they have been, things that are and were a part of their lives. They visit as though they have known each other for years. But in reality, they have known each other since Elaine applied to receive visitors in the Senior Companion Program and Ellen volunteered to be a visitor.
The Senior Companion Program is a free ministry of the Racine Dominicans. It matches older adults who are homebound or in living facilities with volunteer visitors. The program offers older adults a chance to reminisce, share experiences and relieve boredom. It also helps to foster relationships between the older adult and local services, faith communities, spiritual care, family and friends. Volunteers serve as advocates for those they visit as well.
The Senior Companion Program serves older adults in their homes, apartments, nursing homes or assisted living facilities. Volunteer visitors keep these seniors in the loop of life. The program is supported by the Racine Dominicans, as well as by donations from individuals and organizations.
Receiving a regular visit from someone makes all of the difference to Elaine.
"Before all of this baloney, I didn't need help," Elaine said. She turned to her visitor, Ellen, and added: "I need your help. When you come, I've got someone to talk to. I need something. I'm not a television freak."
The companionship is good for Ellen, too. When she retired last year, she attended a Kiwanis meeting in Racine and heard a presentation from Senior Companion Director Gloria Brown. The timing was right for Ellen. She had decided to do some volunteer work, but was unsure just what that might be.
"My two favorite things are senior people and animals," she said. "If I volunteered at a humane society, I'd be bringing animals home, and she doesn't want to come home with me," she said jokingly pointing at Elaine.
For Racine Attorney Cynthia Crowe, becoming a volunteer gave her a feeling of being connected with family even though her family is miles away in Boston. Visiting with the elderly has taught her a lot.
The elderly are not the only beneficiary of Cynthia's visits.
"For that time that Cynthia was visiting my mom, if I wanted to walk by the lake, I could. If I wanted to listen to a Harry Potter book, I could. If I wanted to talk on the phone with a friend, I could," said Carl Hubbard, who cared for his mother, now deceased, full-time at home.
"When on the weekend a person like Cynthia visited, I was a beneficiary of that good will. I appreciated her cheeriness as much as my mom," he added.
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