Meet Lucy: She’s an 88-year-old living in Manhattan Beach who is no longer able to drive or take public transportation. Her husband is confined to a wheelchair, her children live on the east coast and she struggles to accomplish daily errands like shopping for groceries, picking up prescriptions or visiting the doctor. Lucy needed assistance to stay in her own home but worried she couldn’t afford it, until she read about Beach Cities Health District’s errand volunteers.
At no cost, Beach Cities Health District – the nation’s largest preventive health agency – routinely pairs older adults like Lucy with volunteers from the community who are willing to run errands, help with shopping, carry groceries and, perhaps most importantly, socialize one to two hours per week. Errands range from trips to the market to grab fresh vegetables to a quick stop at the pharmacy.
According to Beach Cities Health District Director of Older Adult Services Kerianne Lawson, errand volunteers positively impact their clients in far more ways than one.
Find out what's happening in Redondo Beachfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“It’s about forming relationships with people who need you to maintain their independence,” she says. “We find that most older adults can live securely and safely in their own homes with a small amount of assistance. We ask our errand volunteers for minimal time commitment, which makes it an attractive volunteer option for business owners, teachers, community officials and full-time mothers who can’t spare many hours per week but want to give back.
“On the surface, it may not seem like much, but running errands is often the key to someone’s independence.”
Find out what's happening in Redondo Beachfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Kerianne added that the Errand Volunteer program is Beach Cities Health District’s most requested older adult service and, right now, demand exceeds supply.
“There is a great need in our community,” says Kerianne. “And as our local population continues to trend older, we expect to see greater demand. That’s where volunteers come in. They are truly the lynchpin of this program.”
To learn more about the Errand Volunteer Program and Beach Cities Health District, visit www.bchd.org.
