Building community with healthy, independent,
and honored seniors.
Community Volunteers Build More Responsive Neighborhoods
for Seniors
When the Blueprint for Aging talked with Washtenaw County seniors and their caregivers in the planning phase of its Robert Wood Johnson grant, residents said they lacked information on available services and how to access them. They also reported having a low level of trust for social service providers and placing high value on recommendations from people they knew.
The Community Volunteers Pilot Project was developed in response to these findings. In test neighborhoods in Washtenaw County, residents were trained to serve as trusted and familiar contacts to older adults living in their communities and to help them access needed services.
 
Janet Gwinn and Eloise Withers of Ypsilanti Edna Smith of Lincoln
School District
The project was launched in January of 2007 with the training of 8 volunteers in four urban and rural communities: the West Williow neighborhood in Ypsilanti; the Spring-Brooks-Summit Street area in Ann Arbor; the Lincoln School District serving Milan, Willis, and Ypsilanti; and the Webster United Church of Christ congregation in Dexter.
Volunteers met recently to share stories, discuss resources, and brainstorm new ways to reach out to seniors in their communities. The Blueprint would like to thank Pilot Project Coordinator Rachel Dewees and our outstanding volunteers for all their hard work on this important project.
See side panel for more photos from the Community Volunteers
Pilot Project.
Are you a senior or do you know of seniors in the pilot neighborhoods who could use the help of community volunteers? Please let us know. Contact Rachel Dewees at rdewees@csswashtenaw.org
or (734) 712-2586.
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Community Volunteers 
