MissionAt Friends of Seniors it is our mission to deliver volunteer services to individuals 60 years and older to promote independence, to strengthen participants’ receptivity to giving and receiving support, and to deepen community belonging both for senior participants and our volunteers.
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Contact InformationEmail: volunteer@ccsak.org
Phone: (907) 463-6111 |
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Home Independence Support
An obstacle faced by many seniors is a lessened ability to do things they once could, accompanied by the fear that this will interfere with their independence. Volunteers can provide supports in the home either for or alongside participants.
Health, Wellness & Connection Support Crucial to helping seniors feel supported and connected within a community is having access to the things that keep them healthy, safe, and well. Our volunteers can support participants in staying connected with medical providers, engaging in traditional ways of subsistence, and providing meaningful companionship.
For seniors isolated during the dark winters or for other reasons, companionship visits ensure not only camaraderie but also that personal care and home safety is maintained.
Volunteers provide support in operation of technology to improve participant’s enjoyment of online resources and increase confidence in safe use. Home Safety & Medical Equipment Support Juneau does not have a local medical equipment supply company, though a few organizations maintain hospital beds, walkers, wheelchairs, and other medical equipment to lend out. With few resources, finding the equipment needed to stay safe in the home can be challenging. This service aims to make essential medical equipment more accessible while increasing the ability to stay independent safely in the home.
Community & Cultural Connection Support Pivotal to increasing one’s confidence to independently age in place is making sure they know what resources are available and how to access them. Volunteers can support participants in navigating and connecting with the right people or organizations. As their confidence in feeling connected and supported increases, volunteers encourage opportunities to deepen community engagement.
For many residents, subsistence fishing and hunting supplies food throughout the year and is fundamental to cultural tradition and values and sustains life. Volunteers support participants in accessing traditional food sources either by accompaniment or proxy fishing/hunting. |
ABOUT
Friends of Seniors is a Catholic Community Service volunteer program that offers non-medical, advocacy and daily living support to Juneau individuals 60 years and over. The program reinforces Juneau’s strong community ties by supporting our elders’ staunch desire for independence and their essential place in our larger community. (Scroll down for more about Friends of Seniors and our COVID-19 safety measures.) REFERRING SENIORS TO THE PROGRAM Our senior participants come to us from (1) the individual seniors themselves who are seeking services, (2) their family members, and from (3) local medical and advocacy organizations. Our initial intake from the referral source is received by phone or email to our staff volunteer coordinator.
HOW IS SAFETY ADDRESS WITH COVID? Friends of Seniors is born from Hospice and Home Care of Juneau in which homebound patients have been safely seen throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We recognize the need, now more than ever, to address both the physical and mental risks of our senior population. Our volunteers fill gaps in services that could jeopardize older adults’ independence and their mental and physical safety. To ensure the safety of both our volunteers and seniors, volunteers receive training on infection control and, for in-home visits, follow strict protocol. Volunteers wear surgical masks while in the home and use sanitizing wipes and gloves per protocol. Participants are also given surgical masks and instructed to wear while the volunteer is present. Since many of our volunteers are of an at-risk age, not all feel comfortable doing home visits. In these cases, volunteers can provide services outside the home including dog walking, check-in calls, shoveling snow, lawn maintenance, grocery shopping, etc. |
MORE ABOUT FRIENDS OF SENIORS
Alaska is built of the strong and independent, evident in our elders’ staunch resolution to maintain independence. However, aging in Juneau presents unique environmental and cultural challenges. And yet, despite the challenges, our seniors hold deep traditional roots to Southeast Alaska. Our elders are native Alaskans, legacy homesteaders, long-standing residents raised to hunt, fish and develop our community; they are determined to live independently in their homes throughout their life.
Friends of Seniors supports this independence by addressing two underlying challenges—Juneau’s environmental and cultural barriers to safe, independent aging as well as a second more universal challenge. This second challenge we recognize as the social and physiological barrier associated with aging into a phase of life in which ability becomes limited. We seek to address resistance to asking for and accepting help, as it presents a significant risk to older Juneauites’ health and independence especially in our community.
Integral to Friends of Seniors is a fluidity between serving and receiving services. We seek to dissolve a hierarchical model of givers and takers and instead create mutuality between providing and giving care. It’s this deeper expression of community, of recognizing each participant’s value to support and be supported that is woven into the framework of the program. We accomplish this by learning each participant’s goals for independence, their capacity and interest to be part of the larger community and the wisdoms of their life experiences. Through these interactions, through defined procedures and tracking mechanisms, we mine for what’s alive inside each person and invite them to express this in their own meaningful way within the community.
Friends of Seniors seeks to alleviate stigma associated with asking for and receiving help. We recognized that loss of control and fear of losing independence is a barrier to seeking help. We anticipate that some volunteers will cycle from volunteer to participant during different phases of health and ability.
Friends of Seniors discovers the unique experiences, interests and gifts of our participants. We recognize how and when individuals can support another or share their experience and expertise, and we create avenues to make these opportunities possible.
Alaska is built of the strong and independent, evident in our elders’ staunch resolution to maintain independence. However, aging in Juneau presents unique environmental and cultural challenges. And yet, despite the challenges, our seniors hold deep traditional roots to Southeast Alaska. Our elders are native Alaskans, legacy homesteaders, long-standing residents raised to hunt, fish and develop our community; they are determined to live independently in their homes throughout their life.
Friends of Seniors supports this independence by addressing two underlying challenges—Juneau’s environmental and cultural barriers to safe, independent aging as well as a second more universal challenge. This second challenge we recognize as the social and physiological barrier associated with aging into a phase of life in which ability becomes limited. We seek to address resistance to asking for and accepting help, as it presents a significant risk to older Juneauites’ health and independence especially in our community.
Integral to Friends of Seniors is a fluidity between serving and receiving services. We seek to dissolve a hierarchical model of givers and takers and instead create mutuality between providing and giving care. It’s this deeper expression of community, of recognizing each participant’s value to support and be supported that is woven into the framework of the program. We accomplish this by learning each participant’s goals for independence, their capacity and interest to be part of the larger community and the wisdoms of their life experiences. Through these interactions, through defined procedures and tracking mechanisms, we mine for what’s alive inside each person and invite them to express this in their own meaningful way within the community.
Friends of Seniors seeks to alleviate stigma associated with asking for and receiving help. We recognized that loss of control and fear of losing independence is a barrier to seeking help. We anticipate that some volunteers will cycle from volunteer to participant during different phases of health and ability.
Friends of Seniors discovers the unique experiences, interests and gifts of our participants. We recognize how and when individuals can support another or share their experience and expertise, and we create avenues to make these opportunities possible.
