This month, the Giving Back Tuesday focus is Senior Services. Senior services are a variety of support services to help older adults with independence, health issues, and overall quality of life. The support offered could include help at home, nutrition, transportation, social activities, and support services for caregivers, and often coordinated to address physical, social, and financial needs. They aim to help seniors live safely in their homes, prevent abuse, and connect them with resources for dignified aging in the community.
When people think of seniors, they often think of people over 65, but the age for senior services can be as young as 55 or 60. According to some unofficial research, the U.S. aging population is growing rapidly, with over 60 million people and is expected to grow up to 20% or more within the next 15 to 20 years. It’s estimated that 1 in 5 Americans will be over the age of 65 by 2030. Although persons over the age of 85 represent less than 1% of the total population, this age group has increased significantly in the last 20 years—an increase of over 120%.
Seniors can face a variety of challenges, including social isolation, loneliness, financial insecurity, physical health issues, ageism, and fraud. The industries servicing seniors also face numerous challenges, including rising operational costs, difficulties navigating healthcare, and, most significantly, a critical shortage of caregivers and staff to care for seniors. The need for persons working with seniors is increasing, yet fewer young adults are interested in working with them. Working with seniors often can be perceived in less positive ways by younger adults due to ageism, low pay and prestige, and physical/emotional demands. The need for care is rapidly increasing, and yet fewer and fewer people are choosing geriatrics as a career choice.
Volunteering for a senior organization, although I could be considered a senior myself, is one of my weekly volunteering roles. I currently volunteer for a senior program that provides services to help seniors live independently with dignity in their own homes. I deliver food to seniors who are homebound or in need of financial support. I chose this volunteer experience because I have done so in the past, and the organization does wonderful work. The experience has been positive, as well as humbling. Many clients are homebound with mobility issues or no longer drive. Several clients may not have children or family in town, so the organization helps to support the senior to allow them to remain in their home.
ElderHelp provides personalized services and information that help seniors remain independent and live with dignity in their own homes. Since 1973, ElderHelp has been an advocate for San Diego’s older adults, believing that helping seniors age with dignity in their homes creates a more vibrant community for citizens of all ages. Today, ElderHelp is an integral part of the spectrum of government, health care, and community-based providers focused on providing long-term solutions for seniors struggling to navigate complex challenges. We’re one of the only agencies solely focused on providing quality services and programs to help seniors age successfully in their own homes.
As the landscape for seniors is changing, ElderHelp provides vital services that keep them healthy and connected to our community, impacting the lives of more than 6,600 seniors and their families each year.
Since its first delivery in 1954, Meals on Wheels has been driven by one simple goal: to improve the health and well-being of our senior neighbors. What began as a compassionate idea has grown into one of America’s largest and most impactful social movements. With a focus on nutrition and social connection, we’re committed to ensuring that every senior who needs Meals on Wheels has access to it.
With millions of seniors at greater risk of hunger and malnutrition, Meals on Wheels providers deliver nutritionally balanced, age-appropriate meals designed to meet seniors’ needs. The meals are often the primary source of nutrition a Meals on Wheels client will receive.
With more seniors living alone and feeling isolated and lonely, Meals on Wheels providers play a crucial role by offering services that help seniors build meaningful connections. These include regular phone calls, friendly visits, opportunities to socialize with peers, and even pet assistance. For many, a Meals on Wheels volunteer is often the only person they interact with in a day — and sometimes the only human connection they’ll have all week.
The Pets for the Elderly Foundation (PFE) is a 501 (c)(3) public charity whose mission is to provide companionship to senior individuals through pet ownership while saving the lives of companion animals in shelters; animals which might otherwise be destroyed due to lack of appropriate homes and space limitations.
The program began in 1992 with two shelters near Cleveland, Ohio. Since then, PFE has seen great success and has grown to a nationwide program. PFE branched out nationally in 2002 and has helped successfully place over 121,000 companion animals with senior adopters.
**What We Do
**The Pets for the Elderly Foundation helps pay the fees to participating animal shelters throughout the United States for senior citizens (age 60 and over) who adopt a companion dog or cat from a participating shelter – including pre-adoption veterinary exams and spay/neuter, if part of the adoption fee.
In 2020, PFE announced that its program would also include funding for shelter programs that cover veterinary services, retention services, food shortage support, and other services for animal adopters aged 60 and over. That PFE funding is implemented through a certified PFE partner shelter and includes routine veterinary care, surgery, food, home visits, and grooming. Since our veterinary care service grant launched in 2021, we have helped over 3,700 senior pet owners with veterinary costs, and nearly 700 with retention.
Research shows the most serious disease for older persons is not cancer or heart disease – it’s loneliness. Pets offer affection, unconditional love, fight loneliness, and can help ease the loss of a loved one. Please help. Your monetary donation can make a difference. Few causes can have the potential benefits that will result from your contribution – you not only save the life of an animal, you can make a dramatic difference in the life of a senior. Currently, 58 shelters in 34 states are participating in the program. With additional funding, PFE would be able to expand the program to eventually include several shelters in each of the 50 states.
Giving back to the senior community is greatly needed, and I hope more people will consider finding a way to help out. You can volunteer your time or provide financial support; either way, you’ll be making a meaningful difference for a senior in their final years.
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