When Nanetta Washington of Hayward died a few years ago, her best
friends held a touching memorial service for her. They talked about how much
she had meant to them and how much they missed her.
The
remarkable thing is that she never met any of them face-to-face. Nor have they ever
met each other. The entire service was conducted as a conference call on the
phone.
They
were all participants in Senior Center Without Walls, a program that offers
homebound seniors dozens of telephone discussion groups, classes and support
groups each week, accessible from the comfort of their own homes. AND IT'S
ABSOLUTELY FREE!
The idea is so simple, it's brilliant. All they have to do is call in
at the designated time and join the conversation. And it's so low-tech, anyone
can do it. I mean, everyone knows how to operate a telephone, right?
SCWW's new catalog for the summer is just out, featuring groups ranging
from the light-hearted (jokes, pets, food, knitting, movies and real-time games
of Bingo and Boggle) to the serious (depression support, coping with loss, combating
elder fraud and living with chronic pain).
On Thursday mornings you can join "Armchair Bird Watching,"
where you'll discuss the birds you see in your own back yard.
Later that day, try "What's The Verdict?" where you'll be the
judge and jury in a discussion of real-life but unusual law cases.
Or how about a virtual tour of Elvis Presley's Graceland, where
facilitator Susan Lee Linderman will share stories and photos (mailed to participants
beforehand) of her visit to The King's eccentric home last May?
Or an "Intergenerational Pow Wow" with some young people for
a fun exchange of ideas about
new technology, slang expressions, changing fashion and etiquette?
I could go on and on, but there isn't room here to list all the
offerings, much less tell you details. Call 1-877-797-7299, and they'll send you
a catalog.
Senior Center Without Walls was
founded in 2004 by gerontologist Terry Englehart, who serves as its executive
director.
Each group has
about 15-20 people signed up, but the actual number of participants on any
given day is usually about half that amount.
"We encourage
them to go out whenever they get the opportunity," she says. "We tell
them, 'Don't stay home to make the phone call.' We don't want to be an excuse
for them not to go out."
In 2006 Episcopal
Senior Communities and St. Paul's Church assumed co-sponsorship of Senior
Center Without Walls as an outreach project. But the program is strictly
nondenominational, with participants from all faiths and none.
As I said, the
service is free. But SCWW still has to pay for the calls; so if you want to
contribute, please send a tax-deductible check to Senior Center Without Walls,
114 Montecito Ave., Oakland CA 94610.
And if you know
anyone who is 50 or over who could use this wonderful service, please tell them
about it.
After Washington's
memorial service, her husband told Englehart his
wife had been depressed because of her illness, and her world kept getting
smaller. First it shrunk down to her house, then her bedroom, and finally her
bed.
"But
these people brought her out of her depression," he said, "and gave
her a new world again."
Spread
the word.
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