Lightening the load for seniors: Neighbors lend a helping hand

Tempe Neighbors Helping Neighbors volunteer Kay Slaven with Elsie Mulligan.
Tempe Neighbors Helping Neighbors volunteer Kay Slaven with Elsie Mulligan. (Wrangler News photo by Alex J. Walker)

By Joyce Coronel

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Tempe is home to the largest university in the U.S., but it’s also home to a burgeoning population of senior citizens.

The little things in life—a drive to the grocery store, a dental appointment, pullinga weeds—often become burdensome or impossible as people age. That’s where Tempe Neighbors Helping Neighbors steps in to lighten the load.

Josephine Levy, managing director of the organization, noted that the city’s population of older adults, which now stands somewhere around 14,000, is expected to double by the year 2030.

“The goal of the program is to help older adults in the city of Tempe to continue to age in place and remain at home as they get older,” Levy said. The volunteer-based program has brought a smile to the face of Elsie Mulligan, a Tempe resident who called the volunteers “remarkable people.”

“They’re so friendly and kind and helpful. I couldn’t ask for anyone better,” Mulligan declared. When the volunteers arrive at her home, she says, “They are early or right on time and they stay with you if you want them to in the grocery store, and they will help you find things.”

On a recent Friday morning, Mulligan was transported to the doctor’s office by volunteer Kay Slaven.

“People say, ‘Oh, you’re so good to do this,’” Slaven said, “but it’s not an unselfish thing on my part because I get more out of it than—or as much as—the people I help.”

Frank Quijada knows the feeling. He retired from Honeywell last year and has been volunteering for Tempe Neighbors Helping Neighbors ever since.

“My biggest enjoyment is meeting our members and making them feel there is someone there to tend to their needs,” Quijada said. “You can tell they sense that there is somebody that takes a part in their life.”

The organization is membership based, with individual members paying $96 annually. Couples pay $180 and for those who are over 62 and have an annual income of less than $23, 970, membership is free.

Potential volunteers who will transport and engage with the elderly must submit to a background check and attend an orientation session.

“If they just want to show up Saturday morning and there are five or six of us out there pulling weeds and so on, they’re not going to have contact with that actual member so we don’t require all of those steps,” Levy said.

Quijada said that since he became a volunteer he’s taken part in all the services the group provides—from friendly visits and phone calls to installing a security door or fire extinguisher. He’s also the official phone scheduler who lines up members with volunteers.

One member called to say she needed a lightbulb changed. “I live real close so I zipped on over there,” Quijada said. “Sometimes what I’ll do is spend some extra time, so after I’ve taken them to the doctor, I’ll go in and for half an hour we just talk about their lives and they show me pictures.”

Sometimes, members ask volunteers to look over a mystifying bill or tricky paperwork. Other times, they need help walking the dog or troubleshooting an errant computer.

“There was a phone bill that looked odd, so I looked it over and advised the lady what was wrong with it. They were over-charging her on service,” Quijada said.

The smiles and helpful attitude of the volunteers who show up for what the organization calls “friendly visits” are one way to break through the wall of loneliness that often goes up as people age.

“The purpose of the friendly visit is just to let people know that we’re there for them and that people still care for them,” Levy said. “People who live alone tend to be vulnerable to isolation, so we want to have volunteers who can be an additional point of contact in someone’s life. It’s a chance for people to know each other and have a friendly conversation.”

Slaven said she’s become friends with some of the members. For example, she drops in—independent of the organization—to visit one woman she has met at Westchester Senior Living. Such an informal visit, she says, broadens the scope things she can do to be of help and strengthens the one-on-one bond that can grow from the members’ involvement.

Information: tempeneighbors.com or call
480-381-8336.

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