Community Service Ideas for Helping the Elderly

Many older adults nationwide are reaching the age where they need help. Whether it’s taking care of their homes or themselves, daily activities become more complex over time. People can help the elderly in various ways, such as helping with yard work or driving to doctor’s appointments. The key is finding ways to offer the assistance that elders need. 

At Nursing Home Law Center, we offer legal assistance to seniors. However, we would also like to coordinate additional forms of assistance. Read on to find out how you can help the elderly around you. 

Why Community Service Matters

Volunteering to help other people has a positive impact on the world. It can improve someone’s health and address some of the challenges people face as they age. It is good for volunteers and recipients. 

The elderly population has many needs that often go unaddressed with existing services. They frequently face loneliness, reduced independence, and struggle to maintain their health care. What other people do for the elderly may not seem like much, but every person can significantly impact their lives.

Direct Assistance and Support for Older Adults

Older adults often need to rely on others to help them complete daily living tasks, such as grocery shopping or health care needs. 

In many cases, this comes in the form of in-home care services from a home health aide or relatives who provide daily living assistance under a health care plan. However, many seniors may not be eligible or ready for this level of care even though they still need help.

There are many ways you can provide direct assistance to the elderly population without providing health care services. Whether simply scheduling a visit with your friends who are older adults, taking care of a neighbor’s yard work when you mow your yard, or driving a senior to their doctor’s appointments, you can help.

Visiting and Companionship

One of the easiest ways to support aging adults is to visit them and offer companionship, friendly conversations, and emotional support. Up to 24% of older adults admit to feeling lonely and isolated, especially if they live in nursing homes and assisted living communities [1]. Many seniors have lost family members and friends over time and need someone to talk to. 

You can spend time with an older adult at a senior center or in their own homes. Some local organizations connect seniors with companions for whom they can volunteer. One national program that connects volunteers with vulnerable aging adults is AmeriCorps [2]. Regular check-ins can help older people feel heard and stay connected with other people.

Every person needs someone to talk to or connect with since people are social creatures. Being isolated, especially at an advanced age, can quickly lead to worsening mental health and physical injuries. For seniors, this is a prevalent problem. Falls, in particular, are a significant threat to seniors, as a simple fall can become a major healthcare crisis.

Transportation Assistance

Some older adults can no longer drive to doctor’s appointments and grocery stores. Driving can make seniors a danger to their health and others. However, not driving doesn’t mean they don’t need to travel. Seniors need help getting to appointments and doing errands, so they need someone to drive them around. 

If you can drive, you can provide transportation assistance, run errands with them, or take them to social outings. While some transportation services are available for seniors, not all older adults are eligible for them, and they are limited in where they can go. 

For example, services are likely available for health care needs, such as doctor’s appointments, but may not be available for social outings, such as bingo.

Meal Preparation and Delivery

Older adults living in their homes may struggle to shop for groceries and cook healthy meals. Preparing nutritious meals and delivering them to an older adult can dramatically impact the life of a senior in your area. You can identify a family friend or a neighbor that you know that could personally benefit them.

An estimated 2.5 million older adults do not have access to the nutrition support services they need. If you don’t know an older adult who could use your help or want to volunteer your time more formally, consider signing up to help established meal delivery programs, such as Meals on Wheels America [3]. The organization makes and delivers meals to homebound seniors. 

Home Maintenance and Repairs

Home maintenance and repair, such as yard work, are another area where older adults living at home could use additional support. 

This includes services like mowing and raking, minor home repairs, and installing safety ramps. They may no longer be physically able to complete these types of tasks or not have anyone to ask to help them complete these essential household tasks.

Hiring services for an older person is also an option, but it comes with a substantial cost the elders may be unable to afford. Instead, you can help by taking on some of the work yourself or paying a service to do the work for you. Doing so is one significant step toward allowing a senior to stay in their home.

Technology Assistance

Older adults did not grow up using technology such as printers, smartphones, or online services. Many find it difficult to apply for the valuable support they need using a computer. By providing technology assistance, you can help them fill out applications, troubleshoot problems, and stay connected to other people, including far-away relatives and friends, using social media. 

Community Involvement and Engagement for Healthy Aging

There are many ways to engage with local older adults and give back to this community. Here are some of the ways that you can volunteer with community groups.

Volunteering at Senior Centers

Senior centers enable older adults to stay connected with other seniors and the many resources available within your community. They offer social activities to seniors, including bingo games, mahjong, and dances. 

At a senior center, you can volunteer your time to help groups of older people. Through regular visits, you assist with activities and events or provide companionship to seniors who need it most.

Organizing Social Events

Consider organizing social gatherings or outings for seniors to combat loneliness and isolation. Offer to host and organize events at local senior centers or libraries. 

If you own a business, schedule senior coffee hours one morning weekly to get older adults together for socialization. Such events could help build your company’s reputation as one that deeply cares about the community. 

Participating in Advocacy Efforts

One of the most important ways to support aging adults is to advocate for them. There are organizations like your local Area Agency on Aging and non-profits focused on providing other services to seniors, from financial assistance to community resources. Many of these organizations welcome help from volunteers. 

A local Ombudsmen office may need volunteers, too. These offices help those in nursing homes who need someone to advocate for their health care needs. A local ombudsman can help elderly patients address healthcare disputes, find legal assistance, or help them with an emergency transfer to another facility.

You can also politically advocate for the needs of older adults through the government. You can support local politicians and amendments that help them. This means voting for politicians supporting and maintaining social security programs and Medicare. 

Depending on where you live, there might be other ways to advocate for seniors to ensure they get the care and support they need to thrive. 

Supporting Caregivers and Families

Being the caregiver to an aging adult is challenging. It is physically demanding to provide in-home care, especially if your family member requires mobility assistance to get in and out of bed or chairs. 

About 66.6% of unpaid caregivers for older adults living at home reported at least one negative mental health symptom, such as stress or depression, as a result of their caregiving duties [4]. 

If you’re a family caregiver, it is essential to take care of your health and know resources are available within the community to help you. If you know someone currently caregiving for an older adult, understand that helping caregivers of an older person can be highly beneficial for your friend or family member and the seniors in their care.

Respite Care

Respite care means temporarily taking over care services for an older person’s primary caregivers, either so they can complete tasks they need for themselves or to get a break. While some professional respite care services and paid home health aides are available, sometimes these services are beyond what family caregivers can afford.  

To help out friends or family members who are the care providers of an older person, you could offer respite care so they can get a much-needed break. This is important for their mental health and can help them feel less overwhelmed.  

Support Groups

Support groups can be invaluable for caregivers of older adults to help them learn about available resources, connect with others facing the same challenges, and feel heard. It is common to find support groups at nursing homes, assisted living communities, hospitals, and senior centers. 

Even if your loved one does not receive care from the facility, there is a good chance that they will allow everyone in the community to participate. Most of these groups are free and open to the public. 

If there are few support groups for caregivers of elderly people in your community, you could always start one. Ideally, you’d keep the meeting time the same so that attendees can try to go every week and form strong connections with each other.

Educational Resources

Several educational resources are available to older adult caregivers to help them learn about topics related to personal care, health services, healthy aging, and growing older. 

Locally, resources on aging are available at senior centers, home care services, nursing homes, and local agencies. You may also be able to request educational resources and brochures during medical appointments. 

There are also educational resources available online. Some good places to start looking for resources that can help include:

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Health and Human Services offers a range of resources for caregivers, including research and contacts for other agencies [5]
• Eldercare Locator – Eldercare Locator is a government website that connects you to resources, such as health care and social workers, for older adults by entering your zip code or city and state [6]
• Family Caregiver Alliance – This organization provides resources for caregivers to help them stay healthy and access the resources they need [7]   
• Alzheimer’s Association – The Alzheimer’s Association has a 24/7 helpline available, as well as several online resources to meet the healthcare needs of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive disorders [8]
• National Council on Aging – The National Council on Aging advocates for the health services of older adults and provides resources to their families [9] 

Creative Community Service Ideas

Volunteering to assist older adults through direct personal care and their families is one way to give back through community service. However, there are many different ways to engage with aging adults. 

Art and Music Programs

Art, music, and drama programs benefit people as they age, promoting a higher quality of life and better cognitive function [10]. These benefits are significant, as they could potentially help ward off dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and other cognitive disorders. 

The research community has long known that music therapy and art therapy have benefits in many settings. However, access to creative arts doesn’t always have to come from formal therapy programs. Forming a theatre troop that includes older adults, chorus, or art classes can provide opportunities for seniors to benefit from what the creative arts can offer them.

Intergenerational Programs

A significant number of elderly people spend relatively little time with children and young adults, especially if their children are older adults themselves. Older adults living in nursing home care often welcome visits from children, teens, and other adults to spend quality time with them. 

Intergenerational connections benefit everyone’s physical, mental, and emotional health. They combat social isolation, improve health, and ease fears about getting older [11]. 

Intergenerational programs enable the passing down of wisdom for younger people. Even in a culture that prioritizes youthfulness, it is essential to recognize that older adults have a lot of wisdom to pass on about life, culture, and history that can only be accessible by living many years. 

For elderly people, especially older adults living in healthcare facilities, regular visits with younger people have health-related benefits. Research shows that when seniors spend time with children, there are cognitive, physical, and emotional health benefits [12]. It can give seniors a sense of purpose and help stave off depression.

While it might be easier for different generations to spend quality time together inside a multi-generational familial unit, intergenerational programs make it possible for people of any age to connect. 

Senior Volunteer Programs

Because the benefits of intergenerational programming are well-known, many cities and towns have existing senior volunteer programs that provide valuable opportunities for seniors to stay active with volunteering. Most organizations offer volunteer opportunities, from working with animals to intergenerational programs and environmental cleanup efforts.

Senior Tutoring Services

Generally, older adults have a lot of wisdom and advice to offer, and many students need tutoring to stay on pace academically in school. As a result, many communities have programs that connect senior volunteers with children who need tutoring in English or math. This creates a mutually beneficial situation for seniors and children.

Local Library and Churches

There are places within every city and town where people of different generations already congregate, such as churches, synagogues, mosques, libraries, and other central locations. You don’t necessarily need to volunteer in any capacity to make connections this way. You simply need to participate. 

Local Schools and Universities

Many local school districts and universities have programs that connect different generations. Sometimes, this is in the form of mentorship, but it might be a once-a-week chess game in other cases. 

If your local school district or colleges do not have any intergenerational programming available, you can help to start it. Often, this is because they don’t have anyone to volunteer to start it. If you can, help launch these programs that are so important for so many groups of people.

Community Gardening

Gardening is a popular hobby, especially for older adults. It can help keep them active, connected with others, and cognitively alert. Growing and maintaining vegetable gardens for the community can give seniors a sense of purpose. 

It doesn’t take very much to start a community program. If you have some land available that can be turned into a garden, you can get started, even if it’s a yard or a smaller space. 

You can reach out to secure donations from local garden centers and home improvement stores for soil, seeds, and starter plants and advertise the garden at senior centers, community centers, and neighborhoods nearby.

Check with your local chamber of commerce and city officials to ensure you don’t need special permits or insurance first. You want to ensure that anything you do complies with local laws and regulations. However, many neighborhood gardens and pathways likely exist to bring one to your area. 

The Bottom Line  

There are so many ways to volunteer and make a difference in the lives of the elderly people near you. You can provide breaks to a care provider for an older adult, volunteer your time for local non-profit organizations, or create opportunities for intergenerational programming. 

If you find that there are not as many services and opportunities available where you live, you can plan them.

Even if it is just a small gesture, such as providing nutritious meals or transportation services for seniors you know to get to the doctor’s office when they have an appointment, you can make a difference. 

Resources: [1] National Library of Medicine; [2] AmeriCorps; [3] Meals on Wheels America; [4] American Psychological Association; [5] HHS; [6] Eldercare Locator; [7] Caregiver.org; [8] Alzheimer’s Association; [9] NCOA; [10] National Institute on Aging; [11] American Society on Aging; [12] AARP