Project: LIFE Project (Lifeline to Independence for the Elderly)
Organization: American Red Cross, Greater Buffalo Chapter
Buffalo, NY
Story submitted by Stephanie Malinenko, Project Director for LIFE Project

How well do you really know your neighbors? The house two doors down looks dilapidated and the walkway on this cold January morning has not been shoveled all winter. Who lives there? None of the children on the street know and the adults can’t seem to remember the last time anyone saw Mrs. S. Is that her name, Mrs. S? She seems to have lived in that house forever although the neighboring homes have seen four, five, sometimes six different owners in that time.

How does she survive? Who takes her to the doctor or the store? When was the last time she stepped foot outside her home? Has anyone checked up on her? The street has become increasingly dangerous and neighbors are staying to themselves. “Best to not get involved,” they all think.

Inside the home, Mrs. S is doing what she can to survive. Since losing her husband last year, her home has begun to fall apart. She has managed to live in the two rooms closest to the bathroom and has not been to the second floor in years. Her bad knees and hips make it nearly impossible for her to get up the stairs. She has missed her last two doctor’s appointments because the senior van, which provides only curb-to-curb service, is unable to assist her down the stairs and she is afraid of falling on the ice. She knows her prescriptions need refilling, but the doctor won’t call the pharmacy until she comes in for a visit.

Mrs. S does not know who to call, her children have moved away and she does not want to bother them. She does not know her neighbors and with the changes she sees in the neighborhood she is scared to go outside. From her window she witnesses groups of teenagers hanging around the corner. She wonders how much longer she will be able to go on like this.

Then one day Mrs. S hears an ad for Meals on Wheels on the radio. Although she is reluctant to call for help—she’s sure there are people in greater need than she is—she calls the number. After speaking to the lovely woman on the other end of the line, she receives a call from a case worker inquiring if there is anything else she needs. That afternoon a referral is received at the Red Cross office.

A LIFE Project staff member spends 45 minutes on the phone with Mrs. S explaining that they send volunteers out to homes of seniors to assist them around the house. After some initial hesitation she agrees to have some volunteers visit her. She is relieved and anxious all at once. Who will this volunteer be? What if they get scared of her neighborhood and do not come back? What if they try to take advantage of her?

These are all typical questions asked by the hundreds of LIFE Project seniors who receive services on a daily basis; seniors whose numbers are growing by the day, who don’t know where to go for help.

With much anxiety, Mrs. S slowly opened the door when her volunteers arrived. Staff at the LIFE Project had tried to reassure Mrs. S that these young people from her neighborhood school were good volunteers. Her heart raced when peering back at her on her porch were three teenagers, bigger than she, who looked strikingly like the troublemakers that hung out on her corner. Their teacher introduced himself and asked to be invited in. Much to her surprise the three teenagers, upon entering her home introduced themselves and politely asked where they were to begin.

Over the course of the next hour, Mrs. S instructed her volunteers on what she needed help with. While two of them shoveled out her walk and salted her stairs, one of the young men and the teacher spent time with her inside, cleaning up and asking her about her family. At the end of the afternoon, Mrs. S felt not only comfortable with the volunteers but was excited to call the Red Cross and schedule them again. The young people made plans with Mrs. S on what they could help her with next time and even planned to do some spring cleaning with her later in the year.

Today Mrs. S is still at home; her volunteers have helped her arrange her first floor so that it’s easier for her to maneuver. Her walk gets shoveled in the winter and the grass is cut in the summer. The LIFE Project van comes to get her once a week so she can go to the grocery store. While she hasn’t spoken to her new neighbors, she feels safer. She knows that she can pick up the phone and talk to the LIFE Project staff anytime; that if anything were to happen to her, someone would know. Along with help around the house, the teens from LIFE have brought her peace of mind—just what she was searching for all along.

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