UPDATE: due to poor road conditions, the office will also be closed January 19 as well.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Our office will continued be closed through January 20. We hope to be back in the office on Monday.

Snow Day for Eastside Friends of Seniors!

It’s not going to happen tomorrow, or the next time.  It will happen because we show up.  We settle in.  We become part of the fabric of the community.  Ideas spread within the community.  When we consistently over deliver, then drip by drip, day by day, that’s how we change the world.

This is our story here at Eastside Friends of Seniors.  Our volunteers, and our supporters – show up.  We have become threads in the fabric of the community. We change people’s lives every day, and through our work, change the world.

Golden Retriever and her Owner Need Help

Who among us is NOT an animal lover? Here is a wonderful opportunity to help out one of our independent seniors and make a new four-legged friend at the same time.

Our client is staying at a nursing home while she recovers from surgery and her dog is temporarily staying with a friend.

She is afraid she will not be able to give her 11-year-old dog enough exercise now that she is home recovering from surgery. She was in tears when she called the office because she was afraid she’d be forced to give up her beloved companion if she cannot give the dog enough exercise. Besides, the energetic dog might pull so hard on the leash our client could fall, and end up with a much longer recovery.

The Humane Society has programs in place to assist dog owners living with HIV/AIDS. But nothing for seniors. Anybody interested in walking the precious pup on a regular basis for a few weeks? Maybe longer?

Meanwhile, Eastside Friends of Seniors, using its volunteer corps, is able to serve seniors facing the challenges of aging for only $63 a day. When you support our agency, you know that your donation  is going to the most cost-effective way to provide services: person-to-person, by volunteers.

At a ground-breaking event where the attendees texted their votes, the Community Choice Award was given to Claire Petersky, Executive Director of Eastside Friends of Seniors (formerly, Faith in Action – Supporting Senior Independence).

On October 20, 2011, the Leadership Eastside Network (LEN) held an event honoring and highlighting inspirational community leaders who embody the LEN values of Diversity, Sustainability, Vision, and Catalyst. Of the 47 nominees, four received enough on-line votes from the general public to be finalists for the Community Choice award. At the event itself, Leadership Eastside participants, elected officials, business executives, and other community leaders voted for which candidate they felt has addressed important community issues and met those specific challenges, and have worked to create healthy and mutually supportive communities. Based on these criteria, Claire Petersky, Eastside Friends of Senior’s Executive Director, received the most votes. In her acceptance speech, Claire dedicated her award to the over 100 volunteers who have been screened, trained, and work in the community helping seniors through the organization.

Yet, possibly the most challenging and formidable experience in her life happened to her this year when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Not only did she have to manage her own illness, but she has had to look after her husband who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Fortunately, she was not alone in her fight against cancer, and Faith in Action was there to help her whenever she needed it.

“I personally would not have been able to cope without Faith in Action” she says. Meryl’s radiation treatments were in Seattle, and she no longer is able to drive on highways to get to them. Faith in Action volunteers have been driving her up to Seattle every day for 3 weeks so that she could receive her treatment.

“Without your organization” she says, “I would have had to take a taxi every time I had a radiation treatment in Seattle. That would have cost me about $100 every time. That was a $100 I could not afford. I would have had to deny my cancer treatments.”

When Meryl was younger, she’d offer to give rides to the elderly in her own neighborhoods. She admits though, that initially asking for the help herself was hard. “I was active when I was young” she says. “I used to volunteer at a senior home… I guess I’m not used to asking for help – but I didn’t really have much left.”

She says this about her volunteers: “I’ve had several volunteers and they couldn’t have been nicer – caring, thoughtful, warm… I am very grateful. Not one soul that drove me forgot to make me feel good – made me feel good, warm, just great. They offered support in a way that was not condescending or embarrassing for me, but in a very genuine and humble way.”

Fortunately, Meryl’s battle with cancer has reached an end and she recently had her last drive with Faith in Action to receive her last radiation treatment. “Everyone along the way had been so helpful and kind.”

She feels thankful to have Faith in Action nearby. “My sisters live in St. Louis and they were amazed when I told them about Faith in Action and the services they provide; there’s no such thing near where they live and they are amazed.”

 Faith in Action is here to serve clients like this because of donors like you. On her behalf, and the behalf of all our clients, thank you!

In other words, they’d look a lot like our clients. Our clients are elderly, and nearly three-quarters of them are below the federal low-income standard. So many of them have multiple disabling chronic health care conditions that we had to modify our database so its reports could list four or more per client.

Are our clients, though, really among these high spenders? According to the data underlying the radio report, the disabilities of the high spenders mean that they have difficulty managing their health. Without regular medical care and monitoring, they wind up in the emergency room and in crisis, over and over again.

This is where our client diverge from the profile. With our help, they get to their health care appointments. A look at the ride calendar for next week shows: an eye exam, a heart medication check, a blood draw and x-ray diagnosis, a pick-up from the kidney center, a visit with a psychiatrist, a pacemaker check, a ride for cancer treatment, and more – all sorts of ways that our clients’ health care is being monitored and treated every day.

While I can tell you many reasons of the heart to support Faith in Action, here’s a reason of the pocketbook. One of the best ways we can lower health care costs is helping our big health care spenders be smaller spenders. It’s not complicated. A friendly face, a helping hand, and a ride to the local doctor’s office – that’s what it takes. It saves money, and it saves lives.

Faith in Action does not get funds from the federal government, the State of Washington, or King County. 68% of our funding is from individuals like you.

You make it possible for us to serve elders in need, in our community. Thank you so much for your support of Faith in Action.

Jean doesn’t drive any more, and needs rides to medical appointments. While she lives close to the market such that she can walk there, she can’t carry back anything heavy, or very many groceries at a time. She also is having difficulties keeping up with her housework. Her apartment is small, but it could use a good cleaning and airing out. It wouldn’t take much to make it feel fresh, and sparkling again.

Jean doesn’t have family, except for a sister in another state. There is no one here who can help her - exceptFaith in Action.  Jean is hoping we can match her to a volunteer for shopping and housekeeping, and then she will be calling us for rides for medical appointments.

Your donations mean that we can recruit volunteers that can help low-income seniors like Jean. Thanks to you, they can live in health and dignity. On their behalf, we thank you for your support.