Health, Aging, and Disability Services

-Emmaus- -St. Mary's Court- -Iona Senior Services- -We Are Family- Service Coordinator Corey Barenbrugge Email: hads@gwu.edu

Emmaus

Emmaus Services for the Aging was founded in 1978 by a coalition of five churches to provide a variety of services to the elderly poor in Washington, D.C. Emmaus serves over 500 senior citizens every year in the Shaw neighborhood of D.C. Over three hundred volunteers provide valuable services to seniors in their homes that allow them to live independently. Emmaus provides a wide variety of services: phone calls for reassurance, regular visits, escorts to medical appointments, help with cleaning and home repairs, assistance in finding housing, and grocery delivery. Emmaus also connects clients to government and private assistance, including Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Medicare/Medicaid, and other government resources.

Volunteer Opportunities

Emmaus coordinates several Saturday morning activities for volunteers to help seniors with their everyday activities:

Outreach Visiting: Three times a month on weekends, volunteers go out in pairs and visit seniors in their homes.  Each group will visit 304 people and reports back to the Emmaus office after outreach.  The volunteers should arrive at Emmaus 30 minutes prior to their first time volunteering for a short introduction. 

Computer Instructors: Volunteers will teach basic computer skills to seniors during an agreed upon time on a weekday.

Grocery Bagging: Bag groceries for food deliveries on the 2nd and 3rd Thursdays of the month

Food Delivery:  Emmaus has free deliveries of food bags to seniors on the 2nd and 3rd Friday of each month and on the 3rd Saturday of the month.  Volunteers who deliver regularly get acquainted with the seniors that receive the bags. 

Cleaning Crew: Volunteers from Emmaus clean out senior citizen's apartments.  Groups are welcome and hours are flexible.

Thanksgiving Dinner:  Volunteers help with the preparation and delivery of about 200 Thanksgiving Dinners each year.

Holiday Party:  This annual party will be held on December 9th this year.  The whole Emmaus community is involved.  Volunteers are needed for planning, getting gifts ready, phoning all the seniors prior to the party, providing transportation for any senior who wants to come, taking a meal to all those who cannot come and staffing the party itself. 

Emmaus also provides opportunities for One-on-One Relationships with Seniors:

Telephone Friends: This is a daily reassurance call to seniors.  The caller agrees to phone a senior at the same time everyday to check on well-being and safety.  These calls can take less than 5 minutes a day.

Shoppers assist older persons in getting groceries at least twice a month.

Check writers/Bill Payers assist seniors in paying their bills each month.

Food Stamp Proxies represent homebound seniors in getting their food stamps.

Saint Mary's Court

St. Mary's Court is a non-sectarian residential community of seniors 62 years of age or older, or individuals with accessibility needs. Persons of all racial, ethnic, social, political, and religious backgrounds are welcome.  St. Mary's attempts to provide a community environment for seniors so that they do not suffer from isolation or detachment. The project uses federal assistance for low and moderate-income elderly households. Sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, it is financed by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Annual income must not exceed limits set by HUD. 

Volunteer Opportunities

Adopt-a-Senior: Volunteers are assigned a one-on-one relationship with seniors to assist with an individualized task for the entire semester. These volunteers not only provide socialization benefits, such as conversation, but also provide services that may include: outings, help with paperwork (sorting and reading mail, for example), or help with minor household chores (hanging pictures). 

Monthly Clean-Ups: GWU volunteers visit St. Mary’s the second Saturday of every month from 10-1 PM to clean the apartments of residents who are unable to do the chores themselves and cannot afford to hire assistance.

One-Time Events with Seniors: These events include the Christmas and Valentine’s Day parties, among others.  Student organizations looking for a one-time service event that can accommodate a large group of volunteers are encouraged to inquire about planning an event. In the past, examples of these events included a senior prom, as well as demonstrations of special skills, such as dancing, singing, or playing instruments.

Saturday Bingo: Students can “call bingo” for residents twice a month on Saturday evenings.  This is a great chance to interact with seniors, and they love having the young students around! Bingo starts at 7:30pm and rarely lasts past 9.

Lunch Program Assistants: Help serve a warm and nourishing lunch, or assist with phone calls and paperwork at one of the three area lunch sites.  These programs are open Monday-Friday from 10:00am-2:00pm and are run by IONA Senior Services.

Individual Service Opportunities: St. Mary’s is unique in that it is very flexible with its volunteers, both in the times they can come as well as the tasks they perform. If none of the above seems appealing to you but you would still like to get involved at St. Mary’s, please contact Christine to discuss your ideas. Examples of ways to get involved are: painting residents’ nails, teaching computer skills, playing chess or pool, or starting a club. The opportunities are endless!

Iona Senior Services

IONA Senior Services is a nonprofit community organization in northwest Washington, DC, dedicated to enabling older people to live with dignity and independence. Through its professional staff, corps of volunteers, and close collaboration with other organizations, IONA provides services and access to programs designed to meet the needs of seniors and their families. IONA educates and advocates to achieve a deeper understanding of and a strong community commitment to seniors.

Volunteer Opportunities

IONA Medical Escorts - Escorts transport and accompany homebound or disabled seniors to medical appointments. Volunteers must have a car and a good driving record.  Transportation may be a one-time or on-going assignment.  Time: Weekdays, flexible hours.

Adult Day Health Center Volunteers - Volunteers assist the recreational staff with providing activities for frail or memory impaired clients. Those who serve in the Adult Day Health Center fulfill a variety of roles. Volunteers can work with the staff in activities such as leading sing-a-longs, instructing exercise classes, or they may plays games of chess and talk with the clients. Volunteers can also help prepare and serve lunch. Time: The center operates Monday – Friday from 7:30am to 5:30pm. Volunteers can stay for part of or the whole day.

Friendly Visitors – Visitors work with social workers to visit homebound or isolated seniors at least one hour per week. As a visitor, you enhance the quality of life of a senior through concern, support, companionship and conversation. Time: Flexible.

Grocery Shoppers – Shoppers help clients with grocery shopping on a regular basis (which may mean once a week or twice a month).  Time:  Flexible.

Hands-on-Helpers – These volunteers are more active friendly visitors, not only providing socialization benefits, such as conversation, but also providing services that may include outings, help with paperwork or minor household chores.  The volunteer is not expected or required to provide any personal care services (bathing, dressing, etc) or housekeeping services such as dishes or laundry Time: Flexible.

Administrative Volunteers – Volunteers assist administratively by making phone calls, preparing mailings or packets, filing, or entering information into IONA’s database on a temporary or regular basis. Time: Flexible during the 9am-5pm work week.

Lunch Program – Volunteers help serve a warm, nourishing lunch, or assist with phone calls and paperwork at one of the three area lunch sites. These programs are open Monday-Friday 10:00-2:00.  Each lunch program has a site manager who not only serves lunch, but also provides interesting recreational and educational programs.  The lunch programs are great for group activities.

1.      Adas Israel Synagogue in Cleveland Park – Join seniors throughout the week or celebrate Shabbat on Fridays. This site is in Cleveland Park off the red line.

2.      St. Alban’s Church – Located on the campus of the National Cathedral.

3.      St. Mary’s Court – A senior citizen residence building right in Foggy Bottom behind New Hall.

Men’s and Women’s Clubs – Volunteers use activities and discussion to stimulate seniors experiencing depression or in the early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease or related dementia. The clubs’ agendas often include social activities, interactive lectures and interesting trips. The IONA Clubs provide respite to family members taking care of a person experiencing early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia.  Club members benefit from the opportunity to engage in meaningful, stimulating programs and activities and to socialize with their peers. Under the supervision of the program coordinator, volunteers provide companionship and assistance to club members as they engage in the day’s activities. Volunteers also support staff to set up and serve lunch. Time: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and/or Fridays from 10:00 am – 2:00 p.m.

Available Internships:

Volunteer Program Intern:  Interns have the opportunity to learn how to train, manage, recruit, and appreciate volunteers.

Early Alzheimer’s Clubs Program Intern:  This internship requires interns to assist with the daily activities at the clubs.

Information and Referral Intern:  Provide senior resources to the community through answering phones and conducting research.

Marketing Intern:  The Marketing Intern will assist the Marketing Coordinator in developing and implementing marketing strategies.

Advocacy Intern:  Through this program, interns will help homecare workers obtain their benefits.

Health Advocacy Program Intern:  Via outreach and assistance, interns help seniors understand and get the best health care.

We Are Family

We Are Family is an outreach organization for the seniors of the North Capitol Street and Shaw neighborhoods.  The staff and volunteers of We Are Family bring advocacy, services, and companionship into the homes of the elderly while helping to build friendships across the boundaries of race, class, religion, age, culture and sexual orientation.  More than just simply a social service agency, We Are Family is an experiment in building empowered, just, caring, and inclusive community. 

Volunteer Opportunities

Senior Visits/Adopt-a-Senior: Volunteers visit an isolated or home bound senior at least one hour a week. As a visitor, you enhance the quality of life of a senior through concern, support, companionship and conversation. Friendly visitors become part of the social service team by alerting staff of any changes in a senior’s mood of behavior that may signal a possible problem. Hours are flexible. Mark will work with you to find a senior that will be the perfect fit!

Weekend Special Events: On Saturday mornings every other week, We Are Family hosts special events for seniors that range from grocery deliveries to senior visits. This is perfect for groups that are interested in volunteering. If you sign up in advance, We Are Family can provide transportation from Foggy Bottom to the site.

Apartment Cleaning: Volunteer to clean the apartments of residents who are unable to do the chores themselves but cannot afford to hire assistance. Hours are flexible.

Senior Phone Calls: Volunteers can offer telephone reassurance, conversation and interest to a homebound senior. This is an ideal schedule for students with a busy schedule. A brief phone call is made at an arranged time to each client.    

Internship Opportunities: Interested in tailoring your own internship experience serving seniors? Mark will work with you to create the perfect internship opportunity which will allow you to work hands-on with a large number of seniors in the community.