Seniors program in need of volunteers

A phone call, a weekly visit, someone to play a game of cards with, or work on a jigsaw puzzle together while enjoying a cup of coffee, they are acts of kindness that can transform the life of a senior.

Volunteers connecting with seniors is a program initiated by the Canadian Mental Health Association Alberta Southeast Region. The program began a little more than a year ago and currently has about six volunteers.

“We’d love to have more,” said executive director Cori Fischer.

The need arose from an existing program that helps seniors experiencing various forms of abuse. In some cases, severing ties with an abuser means the senior could be extremely lonely, said Fischer. It can make for a difficult decision when a senior is looking at severing those ties. The abuser might be a link to the outside world for a senior who does not get out much.

“A lot of them are house bound and they don’t get a lot of visitors, and get pretty lonely and depressed,” said Fischer. “I think it is a great idea and something that should be happening city wide.”

This is the hope and goal but it takes a significant amount of work, said Fischer. Canadian Mental Health specifically matches the volunteer with the senior. Volunteers have to be properly screened and police record checks are required.

“For the ones we are working with, we don’t want to put them in the situation where they’re going to be taken advantage of again,” said Fischer.

The volunteers also need to be provided with some training to know how to respond to concerns the senior may raise. They need to know what to watch for, including signs of depression, anxiety and other problems, said Fischer. In some cases it is appropriate to connect the senior to other resources in the community.

“We have to support the volunteer as well,” said Fischer, noting there may be times when the volunteers need debriefing.

Ideally the program could be expanded. To facilitate this, a volunteer senior to help head up the program would be needed. Fischer says someone willing to give about 10 to 15 hours a week would be ideal. Canadian Mental Health would provide the office space and telephone. There is the potential for grant funding for aspects such as training.

“For me to get any of those grants I need to have a volunteer senior running it,” said Fischer.

For anyone who would be interested in being a volunteer to connect with seniors, the amount of time required depends on what they have to give, said Fischer. Some may have time to make one phone call to a senior once a week. Another may have three hours to make a visit in person to one or two people every week.

“I am not looking for a lot of time. I am just looking for one to five hours a week,” said Fischer.

If you are interested in volunteering to provide this service to one or more seniors, or if you would like to help expand the program and could give 10 or 15 hours a week of your time, Fischer would like to hear from you. Call 403-504-1811.