Interfaith Caregivers
Help Seniors Stay Home
By Sandy Vondrasek

Robert Gaiko and Jack Borella install a ramp in Hal Rafuse's home in Randolph to aid him in getting about as part of their volunteer work with Interfaith Caregivers. (Herald / Tim Calabro)

What do our elders need to stay—safely—in their own homes for as long as they possibly can?

Sometimes it’s as simple as a grab bar or two in the bathroom, or a ramp that bypasses a few steps. Or someone stopping by to make sure the home has working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.

Or maybe the problem is mostly one of isolation—and an outing to the music hall with a companion, or a garden "buddy" would make all the difference.

Interfaith Caregivers, a non-profit group serving an 18-town circle around Randolph, is devoted to doing all those things, and more, to keep seniors safe in their homes and connected to their communities.

This year Interfaith Caregivers turns 20, and its executive director, Sandy Singer of Randolph, stopped by The Herald to talk about the history of the organization and the services its corps of volunteers offer to seniors.

Caregivers started in 1987 as a "grassroots" organization with a focus on helping seniors at home, in a variety of ways. The group "bifurcated" a few years later, Singer said, when the nationally-affiliated Hospice program came to the area.

Caregivers dropped its hospice-like services, focusing instead on ways to serve seniors in their homes. Caregivers continued to morph, over the years, adapting to fill niches not filled by other service agencies.

Now, Singer said, the mission is offering "hands-on care" to keep seniors "safely independent" in their homes, under three distinct programs. Services are available to folks 60 and up in Central Vermont, she said.

Three Programs

First is the "Home, Safe Home" initiative, which supplies a variety of "low-tech" devices and installations, at no cost, to seniors. The service begins with a one-hour "home safety check-up." Residents are then eligible for the free installation of grab bars, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and other helps.

The program focuses on preventing the two leading causes of death and injury for seniors: fires and falls. According to Singer, "More seniors 80 and up die because of falls, than young, 18-year-old men die in motor vehicle accidents."

The second and third programs—"The Buddy System" and "Garden Buds"—tackle the isolation issue.

In "The Buddy System," volunteers drive seniors to and from concerts or plays at Chandler Music Hall, again at no charge to the seniors, not even for the tickets.

Singer said a surprising number of area seniors have never been to Chandler.

"It’s not just the cost of the tickets," she explained. "It’s driving at night, walking into social situations alone."

The program is very popular, especially for the July 4 musical and Mud Season productions. Annually, at least 20 seniors attend these shows each year in the company of a Caregivers volunteer.

"Garden Buds" sends volunteers to seniors’ home to work with them on a range of garden projects. Even a small container garden outside the door can be a big source of interest and activity, Singer said.

Through all of these programs, Interfaith Caregivers volunteers and their director—who loves doing the hands-on parts of the program herself—end up being an important contact for seniors. Singer noted that being a trusted "point of contact" periodically, over a number of years, in itself, provides a kind of safety net.

Singer noted that family members from as far away as California have called her to request services or to express a concern about an elderly parent who lives here.

And volunteers, Singer emphasized, reap their own rewards.

Unlike most of us caught up in the demands of making a life and a living, she said, "Seniors have their priorities together—they are so appreciative."

"This is the best job," she said.

For more information—either to volunteer or to receive services—call Interfaith Caregivers at 728-2347. The office is at 4 Maple Street, and hours are Mondays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Singer noted with appreciation that Gifford Medical Center provides office space and administrative support for the non-profit.

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