Mary and Robert

Mary and her husband Robert bought a mobile home in 1978, and put it in on a small wooded lot on the Plateau. Robert retired, and then passed away, but Mary has continued to live in this home. Sammamish has grown around the property they bought so many years ago.

Mary first started Faith in Action just so she could occasionally get help with her yard work. Her vision has gotten worse and worse, though, as she has aged, and she can no longer drive. A neighbor was taking her shopping from time to time, but the neighbor has a new baby in the house, and ended this informal help. Her "sandwich" generation daughter, who lives in Shoreline, has her own kids and full-time job to attend to, and can only take off so much time to help her mom.

Like so many of our clients, Mary is caught between what she needs, and her sense of independence. Mary signed up for a match with a volunteer to take her shopping, but then reconsidered. She thought that maybe her daughter would be able to take her regularly. But then, after the first time they give it a try, the daughter, stressed out and under time pressure from other obligations, rushed her through the grocery store, and then something was forgotten from the shopping list. Mary felt guilty for asking her daughter to help yet again, and at the same time perplexed about how she was going to get back to the store to get the item she wanted - or cope without it.

So Mary called us.  She is so polite, and reluctant to put forth her request, I have to coax it out of her. Yes, she really does need help with shopping. "I hate to bother you again", she says. I tell her what I know to be true, from so many of the conversations I have with our volunteers - our volunteers genuinely really like helping the elderly, and we would have someone patient and specially trained to work with those with low vision. The thought that this is something someone would do for fun, rather than obligation, is reassuring.

Can you join me hoping for a friendship to develop between Mary and her new volunteer? It will really help Mary if knows that she's not being a burden, but a joy to someone else. And if you would like to donate funds for training this volunteer ($25 to screen, $50 to provide basic training, and $100 for full training for working with low-vision clients), please go to our website to donate on-line, or send a check to:

Faith in Action

1121 228th Ave SE,

Sammamish WA 98075

Hermina

Hermina's adult children moved to Sammamish, and moved Hermina with them. After all, she was in her late 80s, and they wanted her close by. They moved back to California a few years later, but it's easier to pick up and go when you're middle aged than when you're elderly. Hermina had made friends here and had settled in. Hermina decided to stay. Hermina's now 90. She's pretty independent, and uses her walker only for longer distances. She lives close enough to a shopping center that she can walk there, and relies on Faith in Action mostly for transportation to her medical appointments. When the Tulalip Tribe's charitable foundation, a long-time support of Faith in Action, wanted to make a video of our work, Hermina came to mind. It's not just that she lives not that far from our office, making it easier for the filming crew. She's a bright and verbal person - a good interviewee. Hermina was a nurse for many years, and keeping active throughout her life has kept her young. Hermina is someone, with just a little help from our volunteer corps, can continue to live in her own home. Faith in Action makes the difference in keeping her living independently. And I hope we can get a copy of the video from the Tulalips, and put it up on our website, so you can see it too.

Expanding our services to Carnation and Fall City

We've just started expanding our services to Carnation and Fall City.

One of our new clients from this area is going blind from macular degeneration. She has COPD and is on oxygen. She is also very hard of hearing.

She gets help from her family for tasks like shopping and transportation. But she is very isolated while they are at work and school. She tried getting a ride to the local senior center, but her hearing loss made it difficult for her. She needs someone to visit with her one-on-one, in a quieter environment, and where she can see, as best as she can, the person speaking to her.

We've just started to approach the local congregations to try to find her visitor. Sometimes, all an elderly and disabled person needs is a friend.

Your support makes finding these friends possible - thank you!

Ellie

Ellie lives in what many would consider to be a nice neighborhood, so her neighbors might not realize that she her income is below the “Very Low” standard according to the federal government.  She could even be a neighbor of yours, if you live in our service area.

Ellie is in her late 80s. She has severe osteoporosis – the last time she broke bones, it was from simply turning around and leaning the wrong way. Her bones are so fragile, she is nearly imprisoned in her house. She can not make routine trips in a car. The risk of injury is too great.  Instead, she makes a shopping list for her regular assigned Faith in Action volunteer, who goes to the grocery store and the drugstore for her on a regular basis.  Faith in Action volunteers will take her in a car to get to medical appointments, but they are alerted ahead of time that she moves very slowly, carefully, and deliberately, so lots of time can be allotted to getting Ellie in and out of the car and to and from the doctor’s office.

Severe osteoporosis eventually may completely cripple. Sufferers can’t open and close drawers, can’t carry anything (even a paperback book), can break a finger turning on and off a button on a remote control. Ellie may not be able to live on her own in her home for the entirety of the rest of her life, but for now, she is able to maintain her dignity and independence, thanks to her Faith in Action volunteers.

Your support means Ellie continues to have volunteers to help her - thank you!

Mildred

Faith in Action's oldest client, Mildred, is 101 years old. She uses a walker to get around. She has macular degeneration which impairs her vision somewhat, but with the use of a magnifier, she can read. She might have these physical impairments, but she is bright and alert, and has no problem getting around her apartment and managing her life.

She's used Faith in Action volunteers only very occasionally, for getting to medical appointments when her family members were unable to help. I talked to her recently on the phone, and she told me that what she really wanted was transportation to poetry events. She's a published poet and a founder of a local poetry society. She'd love to be able to attend the meetings. This sort of transportation is not our top priority, but if you know of someone who would be willing to drive specifically for this sort of event, please contact our volunteer coordinator, Margie, at margie@faithinaction4seniors.org.

Your support makes finding these volunteers possible for the oldest members of our community - thank you!

Numbers can tell a story, too

Our clients, by the numbers

In the first half of 2010, Faith in Action served 169 elderly and disabled people in the greater Issaquah and Sammamish area. Twenty of these were new clients admitted into the program.

Disability: Of the 169 people we served, 62% use assistive devices for mobility or sensory impairment: 21% use a cane, 20% use a walker, and 3% use wheelchairs. 15% are severely visually impaired, and 7% are severely hearing impaired.

Income: Seventy-three percent of the clients served are at or below the federal low-income standard.

Sex: Reflecting women’s greater longevity in our society, 85% of our clients are women; 15% are men.

Age: the median age of our clients is 83. 58% percent of our clients are over 80 years of age. One of our clients in the 6 month period celebrated her 100th birthday!

Relationship to volunteers: 64 clients were matched with a volunteers for regular services in an on-going relationship, such as housekeeping, shopping, chores, or regular transportation to destinations such as a kidney dialysis center or for cancer treatment. The remaining 105 were in “will-call” for services.

Our Volunteers' Services, by the numbersIn the first half of 2010, our trained corps of 118 volunteers provided all of Faith in Action’s client services (except referrals, which were performed by staff). All of Faith in Action’s services are free of charge. Transportation for medical appointments and other essential destinations remains one of our key services. In the first six months of 2010, our volunteers drove our clients over 13,182 miles to essential destinations such as medical appointments. This is only 16 miles fewer than the total miles driven in the entire year in 2008! In addition, volunteers provided 623 hours in shopping and errands. Home chores, such as housekeeping and yardwork also have grown tremendously. In all of 2009, 451 hours of these chores were performed. In just the first half of 2010, our volunteers did over 532 hours! Volunteers also engaged in 158 hours of friendly visiting and computer consulting. In the two years I've been with Faith in Action, I've seen our numbers change to reflect our improved services: we are serving more people, with greater numbers and hours of services. After developing clearer criteria regarding client eligibility, our the numbers show that more of our clients are older and frailer - and more in need of services - than before.

Volunteers transform Joe's home

Joe, one of our clients, is confined to a wheelchair. He is very low income, living only on social security. His wife recently moved to a nursing home. Joe’s home was extremely cluttered. Possessions were stacked from floor to ceiling, and the doors would barely open. His garage was jam-packed with old, unused, or broken items.

Joe declared that he was ready to deal with this problem, and Faith in Action recruited a group of volunteers from Microsoft to help him sort through and discard most of these items. They also dusted, cleaned, and vacuumed.


Let's see what happened that day:

Bedroom "Before"

The Bedroom "After" - and two of the volunteers who worked on this room

Living Room "Before"

Volunteers hard at work - not just sorting through possessions, but also dealing with dust and debris on the floor

Living room "After"

Knick knacks "Before" - can you see the thick layer of dust?

Volunteer handwashing the knick knacks

Knick knacks "After" - they now sparkle!

Garage "before"

 

Reviewing items with Joe

Garage - almost "after" - just a few boxes left...!

Family Room "before"

Family Room "after"

The 20 yard container being filled

By the end of the day, fitting it all in is a challenge! We were lucky it did not rain, and we could use the driveway to sort and stage items into piles for keeping, donating, and discarding.

Our team of volunteers - and the extra truck Jim rented, as the 20 yard container was not large enough

Imagine being disabled, stuck in a wheelchair, and feeling overwhelmed by your dirty and cluttered home. Before the project, Joe said to me, “I’m kind of depressed these days, with my wife in the nursing home, and me left alone here”. You could believe him. His living environment was oppressive, unhealthy, and unsafe.

Now, things are different: our volunteers made an enormous difference in Joe's living environment. Joe's gratitude to our team of volunteers is immense. He has called repeatedly, telling us that their work has lifted his spirits, and inspired him to do additional work on his own, cleaning and tidying. He is no longer facing a project so huge, it was too overwhelming to even begin.

From here, Faith in Action's next steps are clear. First, the volunteers the day they worked found evidence of a rodent infestation. We already have a volunteer handyman scheduled to come in and install traps in the attic and other spaces next week.

Second, there's still work to be done to make the home safer and healthier. The carpet is torn, creating a tripping hazard - we need to find funds for replacement flooring. We still need to reduce dust and dirt. And then painting the most stained walls would make a huge difference in how the home feels. We are actively recruiting donors and another group to do additional heavy housework, and then make the most critical of the repairs and improvements that are required.

So, while this project is not complete, the work of the volunteers has still transformed Joe's living environment. We are proud of these volunteers, and join Joe in gratitude for the work that they did.And we want to thank Joe, for being willing to admit that the problem existed, being willing to deal with it, and allow strangers into his home to help.

Finally, we also want to express our gratitude to Faith in Action supporters Tracy Fitzsimmons, Lon Lindo, and Ruth Petersky who contributed funds to pay for a 20 yard container, dumping fees, and supplies. The Microsoft volunteers also donated to the project. Joe paid for some of the costs, too.

Thank you so much - donors, volunteers - you make such a difference in the lives of others.