Senior Companions

Senior Companions are low-income volunteers, age 60+ who serve 20 hours per week providing on-going support services to older adults. Most of those served by the Senior Companions are elderly, homebound individuals, who would normally require nursing home and/or assisted living services. The services provided by the Senior Companions include daily tasks such as companionship-talking and listening, transportation, peer counseling, grocery shopping, meal preparation and light housekeeping. Senior Companions receive benefits including a non-taxable stipend, mileage to and from the work site, on-duty insurance, an annual physical exam, and four hours of sick and vacation leave accumulated monthly.

The goal of the Senior Companion program is to pair low-income adult volunteers with homebound older adults in order to provide senior services to the elderly, as well as provide benefits to the Senior Companions.

The Senior Companion program currently consists of 47 companions. Last year, the Senior Companions volunteered 50,407 hours to help 98 frail elderly, for a value of $302,454. This program saved a total of $864,000 in nursing home/assisted living facility costs.