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C
hapter
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our
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ou
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hall
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ave
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and agencies; 80% of its resources are
funded by Kingdom House. Although
the association has its own board of
directors and leadership, McRoberts
continues as a staff member of
Kingdom House. The Coalition serves
as an important example of how the
tradition of partnering with others in the
community continues.
The Senior Companion program,
initiated in the mid-1980s, also bears
similarity to the mission to older adults
that the Golden Age Club of the 1940s
served. As the Conference newspaper
describes:
Most people say they want to remain in
their own homes and communities as they
grow older. A program that helps make that
wish a reality through caring visits by other
seniors is the focus of the Kingdom House
celebration of this year’s Connections for
Independent Living Week.
From Oct. 25 through Nov. 1, Senior
Companions set up information tables in
the lobbies of the senior buildings in which
they work. They shared information on their
program and other programs and services
for seniors offered by Kingdom House and
other southside service providers.
The 11 Kingdom House Senior
Companions currently visit 42 frail, isolated,
elderly seniors living in the Webbe Elderly,
Paul Simon, St. Raymond’s and Allen
Market senior buildings in Near Southside
St. Louis city. Each companion ‘volunteers’
20 hours a week and attends monthly
training sessions. Each companion receives
a $2.45 per hour stipend to cover the costs
of volunteering. All Senior Companions are
themselves in low-income families and the
stipends do not reduce other government
benefits for which they are eligible.
B
C
‘This program is proven effective in
sustaining the elderly for a longer time in
their own homes than is true for those not
receiving the service,’ said project director
Mark Harvey of Kingdom House. ‘It also
improves the lives of the seniors who
volunteer, helping them stay productive,
useful and active.’
The Kingdom House Senior Companion
Program began more than 10 years ago
with a small United Way indigent elderly
program grant. Five years ago, the federal
Corporation for National Service recognized
the program after it was designated by
Visiting Nurses Associations of America as a
demonstration of ‘best practice’ services.
Kingdom House recently added
Medicaid-compensated Homemaker/Chore
and Personal Care services to complement
the work of Senior Companions and two
homemakers who serve non-Medicaid
seniors with Kingdom House United Way
dollars. Kingdom House hopes to expand
the program into other senior buildings
across the entire metro area but has been
limited by the amount of funding available
from the Corporation for National Service
and United Way. Some senior building
managers are considering paying for Senior
Companions out of their own budgets;
they would recruit companions from their
buildings who would be trained and placed
for visitation in their buildings by Kingdom
House.
According to Rev. Harvey, the program
may be as cost-effective as it is valuable to
all involved. “The Senior Companions do
the ‘talk’ which allows the younger service
professionals to do the ‘work.’We believe we
can help the state even further reduce the
costs of home care through using lower-cost
Senior Companions.”…
36
Continuing the legacy of childcare
provision that dates almost to the
founding of Kingdom House, Director
Eileen Immken guided the Day
Care Center to reaccreditation by
P
hotos
:
B:
Senior companion
assisting an elderly senior
C:
Social Services Director
Mark Harvey and his wife,
Mary