On a recent sunny spring day, the aroma of chicken pot pie and the buzz of conversation filled the activity room at the Pleasanton Senior Center as more than 50 seniors gathered for a “Friendly Visiting” luncheon.
“This is one of the nicest luncheons in town,” said Ethel McDonald, 85, who lives alone in a nearby senior apartment complex.
Kathryn Auger, 87, who is in a wheelchair, said she enjoys the social outing the luncheon provides. “You have to get out. You can’t stay in the house like a hermit.”
Fred Brown, 92, an Alameda County native who has lived in Pleasanton for 48 years, said he attends the luncheon for the company. “Also, it gives me something to do,” added the World War II veteran, whose tablemates were quick to note he was awarded the Purple Heart.
When several other luncheon guests were queried about why they attend, good food and a free lunch were the top responses. Those answers delight executive director Marlene Petersen, who has been with the program for 23 years.
“We have quite a group of wonderful people. Each one of them has stories. Each one of them has had something that caused them to need assistance at some point. For them to feel comfortable in a social setting like this really says how far they’ve come,” she said.
The Senior Support Program of the Tri-Valley is an independent, nonprofit agency that serves seniors 60 years and older in Pleasanton, Livermore, Dublin and Sunol. The program, which is housed at the Pleasanton Senior Center, started in 1985.
It relies on city, county and federal grants, as well as private donations to provide a vast array of services, from case management to support groups for caregivers to an in-home registry to help link seniors with care providers and homemaker services. There are also a variety of health screenings as well as exercise and nutrition classes offered at senior apartment complexes. Currently, the program assists 900 seniors in the Tri-Valley, Petersen said.
The Friendly Visiting program, which is just one of many services the Senior Support Program offers, pairs volunteers with seniors living on their own. Volunteers visit the seniors in person or by phone, assist with shopping and running errands, give rides to appointments, and provide a social connection.
“Our volunteers become a friend. It’s a wonderful feeling for the volunteers,” said Lorie Rohloff, the Friendly Visitor coordinator.
She currently oversees 90 volunteers who assist approximately 250 seniors.
“It’s very flexible. We work with the volunteers on what the senior needs and what the volunteer wants to do,” said Rohloff, emphasizing that the time commitment is up to the volunteer.
“We desperately need more volunteers. They can run errands or visit the seniors in their own homes on their time schedule. It is such a flexible schedule. For some volunteers, it can be as little as once a month,” Petersen added. “The Friendly Visitors program really works. It is amazing.”
Seniors are referred to the program through word of mouth, the Senior Center, hospitals and friends and family, Rohloff said.
Annette Mulder, 71, is a typical client. She moved to Pleasanton three years ago from Fremont and was experiencing problems with her medical insurance and finding new providers.
“I didn’t know which way to go. They were my lifesaver,” Mulder said. “They are beautiful people. I want to let the world know that if they need help, they can call here. They made such a difference in my life. I think I would have gone crackers on my own.”
Helen Hunley, 76, said she has been helped by the program in many ways, most importantly through caring phone calls.
“They call me regularly to see if I’m OK. I’ve had a lot of medical problems in the last three weeks so it’s nice to have someone in my corner,” Hunley said. “They’re called volunteers, but what they are is extra special.”
Another Senior Support Program service that’s making a difference for local seniors is the Healthy Lifestyles. Registered dietitians Carol Garberson and Debbie Whiteside, along with exercise instructor Denise Edwards, lead nutrition and exercise classes at three senior residential sites in Livermore and Pleasanton. The classes are offered free, although donations are gratefully accepted, Garberson said.
Using fitness balls, rubber bands and exercise bands, participants in the classes are able to do gentle exercises to increase their strength, flexibility, balance and stamina.
“I can move my fingers better and I can balance on one leg better,” confirmed Robbie Meyer, 79, who regularly takes the classes offered at Pleasanton Gardens as well as an exercise class at the Senior Center.
Carmen Ruiz, 87, and Mary Garcia, 88, are also regulars at the twice weekly exercise class at Pleasanton Gardens.
“My body is more relaxed and it helps my thinking,” Garcia said.
“I get a lot out of it,” added Ruiz, who also takes weekly yoga and line-dancing classes at the Senior Center.
Garberson and Whiteside conduct a fitness assessment every six months to measure the seniors’ progress. The results have been positive and were the basis of an abstract presented by Catherine Inouye, an associate professor of kinesiology at Cal State East Bay, at a 2005 conference of the Western Society for Kinesiology and Wellness.
In one fitness test given to 22 participants, 91 percent experienced improved balance, 100 percent gained strength, 86 percent increased their muscular endurance and 95 percent had improved agility.
“We have seen changes in diet, changes in exercise and changes in strength,” Garberson said. “People who had limited range of motion and couldn’t do daily activities are able to do more. When they start increasing activity, they can often lower some medications. It makes a world of difference.”
To get involved
For more information about the Senior Support Program or to volunteer, call 931-5379.
