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Senior Companions

[image: two senior men in a garden]

Senior Companions Lend a Helping Hand

Senior Companions are volunteers age 60 and over who provide assistance and friendship to seniors and other individuals who have difficulty with daily living tasks. The service they provide helps others live independently in their homes instead of moving to expensive institutional care.

Senior Companions assist clients with paying bills, grocery shopping, and finding transportation to medical appointments. They offer contact with the outside world and help make the lives of the people they serve less lonely. Senior Companions usually serve two to four clients during their twenty hours of weekly service.

Many volunteers serve the same clients for several years and often form the most meaningful friendships in their lives. Family members of clients often consider a Senior Companion part of the family. Senior Companions also provide respite care to relieve primary caregivers for short periods of time.

Since its inception in 1973, the Companion Program has helped thousands of Senior Americans maintain their highest possible level of independence. Today, approximately 12,000 Senior Companions are serving 37,000 individuals in communities all across the United States.

Needed Now More Than Ever

Americans are living longer than ever before. As our population ages, more older Americans will need long-term care. Most seniors and their families prefer homebred rather than nursing home or hospital care.

That's why Senior Companions are so valuable. They provide the assistance that frail seniors need in order to live independently in their homes. As our elderly population grows, so will our need for Senior Companions.

Well Trained and Responsive

Senior Companions do not begin serving until they complete a forty-hour orientation. Each month, they receive four hours of training in specific topics such as Alzheimer's disease, strokes, diabetes, and mental health. Because Senior Companions spend significant amounts of time with their clients, they are often a critical part of a client's "care team." Senior Companions alert doctors and family members of potential health problems, allowing them to provide immediate care to the client.

[image: two senior men in a park]

Who Serves as Senior Companions?

Senior Companions are at least 60 years old, meet income eligibility requirements, and serve twenty hours a week. Eligible Senior Companions earn a small tax-free stipend to cover the cost of serving. They also receive reimbursement for transportation, meals while on duty, an annual physical examination, and supplemental accident and liability coverage while they are serving. All Senior Companions receive forty hours of pre-service orientation and additional monthly training.

• "It's so nice to be helped by my friend, someone who really wants to be there with me. Thanks to Albert (the Senior Companion), I'm not so depressed anymore. —Client
  
• "She is so helpful, just a wonderful person... She doesn't seem to mind bringing me groceries each week, helping me cook meals or taking me to doctor appointments." —Client
  
• "I don't know what you've done to my mother, but it's such a wonderful improvement. She's been getting out of the house for the first time in years. If it weren't for her (the Senior Companion), my mother would definitely be in a nursing home." —Daughter of a Client
  
• "It's as much therapy for me as it is for the seniors I serve. I'm a part of them and they're a part of me." —Senior Companion

How Can I Learn More About the Senior Companion Program?

Call the toll-free Senior Corps information line:
1-800-424-8867
TDD 1-800-833-3722
http://www.cns.gov

A Good Idea — A Great Investment

Senior Companions often make the difference between living at home or moving to an institutional setting. This translates into major health care savings far seniors, their families, and taxpayers:

• Nursing homes cost an average of $38,000 annually per person. However, the cost of supporting one Senior Companion for an entire year is $3,850.
• The estimated value of Senior Companions' service is $150 million annually, a five-fold return on federal dollars invested.
• Every federal dollar invested in SCP generates 60 cents from other sources.

How Does a Company or Organization Become a Sponsor?

Public agencies and private non-profit organizations should contact their state office of the Corporation for National Service. Call 1-800-424-8867 for the appropriate number.

[image: two senior women in a kitchen]

Created with bipartisan support from Congress, the President, and community groups nationwide in 1993, the Corporation for National Service is a public-private partnership that administers three national service initiatives-the National Senior Service Corps, which includes Foster Grandparents, Senior Companions, and the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program; AmeriCorps, which includes more than 400 local and national sponsors, as well as AmeriCorps*VISTA and AmeriCorps*National Civilian Community Corps; and Learn and Serve America, which provides models and resources for teachers integrating service into classrooms from kindergarten through college.

Printed on recycled paper. This material may be available in alternative formats for people with disabilities.

[image: two senior women in a market]

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