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Friday April 13, 2007

Helping seniors get around can become a real trip

by rachel sarah
correspondent

“Be the wheels.”

That’s the motto of one of San Francisco’s “Seniors At Home” programs, run by Jewish Family and Children’s Services to help older adults live safe, independent lives.

It all began more than 20 years ago when Debbi Goodman, the volunteer coordinator for Seniors at Home at JFCS, noticed a dilemma: Local seniors who lived fairly independently at home were getting stuck. Those who couldn’t drive weren’t able to get to and from medical appointments or go grocery shopping.

Surely, there had to be a way to fix this. Goodman was set on making this happen. She put the word out and volunteers started to call.

Today, approximately 20 Bay Area helpers commit two to three hours a month (mileage is reimbursed) to drive San Francisco seniors in their late 60s through early 90s to the doctor and the grocery store.

One volunteer is San Francisco’s Mike Lips, who “wrote some computer software for the Y2K computer problem, built a company, and then sold it.” Three years ago, he decided he wanted to do something good for his community.

“When I was growing up, I always thought of a mitzvah as doing a good deed,” Lips said. “But at some point during the last few years, I made note of the fact that mitzvah means commandment. Yes, I could perform a good deed. But God has commanded me to perform this good deed.”

His good deed came about when he connected to San Francisco’s Laura Bock, who became legally blind in 1971.

“One of the biggest issues of my life since then has been transportation,” said 61-year-old Bock, who is also hearing-impaired. “How can I go about my life in the most independent way possible?”

Although Bock hired someone twice a week to read to her and run an occasional errand, there wasn’t enough time to do her grocery shopping. Moreover, “shopping is a stressful activity for someone with dual-sensory loss.”

This is when Goodman asked Lips if he was open to a weekly grocery-shopping trip.

One of the first times Lips arrived to pick up Bock, he brought along his dog, Cocoa. “I was bereft and without a dog,” Bock said. “Cocoa was a puppy and he’d lick my face. It was an extra bonus.”

Every Tuesday morning, Lips — who also volunteers his lunchtime twice a month through JCSF with a local Holocaust survivor who “makes great corned beef” — picks up Bock and off they go.

“It’s a joy to be with her, it’s fun,” Lips said, explaining that they “go up and down the aisles, and I load the groceries into the cart.”

But at the end of the day, this is more than just about shopping.

“This is enhancing my life tremendously,” said Bock, adding that Lips translates for her if she has trouble hearing in the store.

“I consider her a friend,” Lips adds.

One of the longest-standing volunteers “on wheels” is Marianne Strauss, who landed San Francisco in 1943 and contacted the JFCS “to help me find a job.”

They did: She became a preschool teacher in Potrero Hill.

“I’ve always remembered them from that time on,” Strauss said. “I wanted to give something back to the community, and I had some spare time.”

Strauss also takes local seniors grocery shopping. “It makes you feel really good,” she said. “People should really get out if they’re able to.”

For information on volunteering, contact Debbi Goodman at JFCS at debbieg@jfcs.org, or call (415) 449-3832.

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