Never Too Late November/December 2024

Neighbors Care Alliance

Carefree Village Helpers and Iskashitaa Refugee Network

The meeting at the Carefree Village Clubhouse included introductions to PCOA and Iskashitaa Refugee Network. Iskashitaa means “working cooperatively together” in Somali Maay, the language of the UN refugee volunteers who co- founded the program to harvest local fruit trees in 2003. The organization’s mission was to fight social isolation among refugees by bringing them into the community to volunteer with local residents. Twenty-one years later, volunteers continue to feed their community through the harvest program, gleaning up to 100,000 pounds of fruit per year to give to families in need. Iskashitaa’s NCP also provides assistance and support to older refugee volunteers and clients throughout Tucson. Iskashitaa volunteers have been harvesting in older adult communities like Carefree Village for years, where multiple fruit trees can yield up to 5,000 pounds of fruit in one efficient event. The experience is positive and teamwork-oriented, with people of all ages and backgrounds participating. Senior residents help feed their community with fruit that would otherwise go to waste (saving plenty for homemade lemon bars), and they do not have to worry about getting a landscaper to remove fallen or excess fruit. In late May, Iskashitaa visited Carefree Village to harvest and introduce residents to the program. When the volunteers stepped out of the van at the first residence, Iskashitaa NCP volunteer, Kay Bauman, immediately saw a friend, Steve, a Carefree Village resident with a beautiful garden and yard. Happy coincidences like this are known to happen when NCPs collaborate and form a network to keep older adults engaged and involved in their community.

Two Neighbors Care Programs are teaming up to keep older adults engaged and independent in their community. Iskashitaa Refugee Network and Carefree Village Helpers are building on a natural partnership that has been in place for years. Kitty Tobin is the coordinator for Carefree Village Helpers. This senior community boasts approximately 300 spaces on the northwest side of Tucson, in the Flowing Wells District. When Kitty moved to Carefree Village in 2015, she saw the need for some type of “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” program. Another resident told her about PCOA and the Neighbors Care Alliance (NCA). There was no need to “reinvent the wheel.” A PCOA representative visited Carefree Village and spoke to residents about confidentiality, helped with volunteer training, and thus, Carefree Village Helpers was formed. Until recently, Carefree Village Helpers was in hibernation after losing volunteers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kitty turned 74 this year and says she has less energy, but recently brought Carefree Village residents together to discuss reviving the Neighbors Care Program (NCP). Though the program had been on hiatus, neighbors continued helping each other and checking in on those in need. Grocery trips, light yard work, friendly visits, and baking lemon bars were mentioned as some of the things that helped the most. Renewing the NCP provides support for their activities with PCOA’s network of resources.

Left to Right: Zeru and Jim at a recent harvest with Carefree Village and Iskashitaa. NCPs play a vital role in allowing older adults to not just live, but to thrive in their homes. If you interested in starting a Neighbors Care Program or volunteering for one nearby, contact Christina Walker at cwalker@pcoa.com for more information. Residents of Carefree Village can also contact Christina to volunteer for the neighborhood program. To contact Iskashitaa about harvesting your fruit, visit https://www.iskashitaa.org/ donate-your-fruit.

November/December 2024, Never Too Late | Page 31

Pima Council on Aging

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