Neighbors Care Alliance
Neighbors Helping Each Other What is Neighbors Care? The Neighbors Care Alliance is a collaboration of volunteer programs of Neighbors Help their older Neighbors with simple, helpful non-medical services so they can remain independent at home. There are 18 programs. More are needed throughout Tucson and Pima County. Peggy was enjoying her retirement. She made paintings and loved helping children learn to read. Then she was diagnosed with macular degeneration. With her eyesight failing, she had to stop driving and learn to ask for help. Fortunately, a Neighbors Care program provided services in her neighbor- hood. Peggy now gets rides to the doctor and can begin to enjoy discovering her “new normal” way of life at home. Who benefits? Older adults receive needed and deserved services, attention and care; keeping themselves social, safe and independent. Alice and Jerry are both in their 90’s. They’ve been blessed with a long and happy – most of the time – marriage. Neither can drive anymore. A Neighbors Care volunteer visits regularly and offers rides to the doctor and grocery store. Now they can avoid moving from their home in their beloved neighborhood. Julie and Anna had been together for a long time, finally able to marry a few years ago. When Anna died suddenly, Julie became isolated, depressed and untrusting of everyone. One Neighbors Care program has specially trained volunteers who now regularly visit her, helping her to enjoy life again. Volunteers receive priceless gifts from sharing in the lives of those they help. Helen loves her volunteer job so much. She helps schedule rides a couple days a week for a Neighbors Care program. Her dedication is so great that sometimes, when she can’t find an available volunteer to fill a ride request, she just takes them to the doctor herself. She knows the importance of that appointment, and she enjoys the people she drives! Where? In a neighborhood nearby, or not. 18 unique Neighbors Care programs are inside and outside of
Tucson. Many areas, especially central and southern Tucson do not have these volunteer programs, though they would clearly benefit from the caring services. When? Services are provided each day as the need arises and the volunteers are available. Neighbors Care programs are unique and have their own guidelines for operation. Recipients are individually met, then registered for services. How? Generous, caring people offer their time and talents for serving others using organizational tools to maintain and sustain services. They continue recruiting, vetting, and training volunteers to help in ways in which they are willing and available. Did You Know? All year, from July 2018 to June 2019, Neighbors Care Volunteers: • Assisted 2 thousand people with services • Enabling them to remain independent in their homes • Reducing isolation – Increasing safety and wellness • Sharing, enriching each other’s lives – all parties win! • Drove 490,294 miles serving older adults • To get them to doctor appointments • To take them to the grocery store &/or pharmacy, social or lunch events • Visiting, fixing small repairs, checking in for well being • 1141 reported volunteers performed 93,320 different services, such as: • Friendly Visits – time spent listing and sharing • Friendly phone calls – to check in to say, “Hi! How are you doing?” • Transportation – for rides for doctors, groceries, other needs • Errands – for groceries or supplies or meal delivery • Light home repair, yard work or household attention • Reported serving 120,524 hours • Value of donated hours = $3 million contribution to Tucson and Pima County For information about volunteering or starting a Neighbors Helping Neighbors program, please contact roads@pcoa.org, or call (520) 258-5063. Need help, information? Call the PCOA Help Line at (520) 790-7262
Page 26 | September 2019, Never Too Late
Pima Council on Aging
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