Volunteering with Elderly

1. Information for caregivers about volunteers
2. Information for present and future volunteers
3. My personal experiences when volunteering

Volunteers can be found in nursing homes, health care agencies, and private agencies that offer numerous services to the elderly.

If your loved one lives with you, you may not be aware that there are many services that you and your loved one can receive. If you need a few hours a week to run errands, there are volunteers that can come to your home and sit with your loved one. These are often known as in-home respite.

If your loved one lives in a living facility, volunteers can be seen helping with the cooking, cleaning, and activity planning. Volunteers in homes can also visit with residents and take residents on walks to get some fresh air.

If your loved one lives on their own, there are many services that send a volunteer worker over and perform mild cleaning duties and cooking to help your loved one.

Volunteers can play a major role in your loved one's well-being, especially if your loved one is in a nursing home facility. Some volunteers may even do the tasks that other workers are paid to do. For instance, I performed some social work duties in a facility when I was still in college.

If you would like to speak to the volunteers that are providing care to your loved one, do not be afraid to speak with the agency. After all, it is your loved one and you want to make sure that they are in good hands. When I volunteered in a nursing home, I spoke to many caregivers about what I was doing and was honest about my qualifications. I enjoyed speaking to the family and encouraged feedback. It also made me feel better knowing that the family cared enough to ask me questions.

If you are currently volunteering or are thinking about volunteering in the future, I would like to commend you for what you are doing or about to do. Volunteers can sometimes be the backbone of agencies. There are many agencies that have a few "paid" workers, while the majority of the workers are volunteers. Nursing homes strive for volunteers because many facilities are understaffed for the amount of workers they have per resident. This can especially be seen in facilities that have a dementia/Alzheimer's unit.

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