Caregiving Volunteer Corps Coming Soon

"We want the organizations that apply to be very flexible and creative,” said Anne Montgomery, deputy director of Altarum's Program to Improve Eldercare. “And we're aiming to create a volunteer infrastructure that can last and be sustainable."

All volunteers will undergo background checks and training, and there will be an emphasis on evaluating program results.

"We want to be able to say, ‘Here are the services that people really need, and these are the types of things that work well for specific populations,'” said John Schall, CEO of the Caregiver Action Network. Services could include preparing meals, taking seniors to church or providing home-based tech support for computer users, among many other possibilities.

Care Corps faces several challenges. A big one: The grant is tiny, compared with the trillions of dollars spent on health care. It could take a long time to build it into a national effort that attracts more investment.

Get help and advice on caring for a loved one at home with AARP's Care Guide

But nonprofit organizations working in the aging field are optimistic. “It's a lot of money — they can do quite a lot with these grants,” said Sandy Markwood, CEO of the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging. Programs may find ways to license successful models, and local and national foundations may step in with additional support, Simone said.

Recruiting volunteers could be another challenge. The Center for Volunteer Caregiving in Cary, North Carolina, has been providing “friendly visiting,” transportation and caregiver respite services for 27 years. Finding enough people to help is “the biggest issue we face,” said Executive Director Elaine Whitford.

Because her organization focuses on building relationships with seniors, it asks volunteers to commit to at least a year. “We get a lot of interest,” Whitford said, “then people realize that this just isn't going to fit into their schedule."

Helen Anderson, 86, has sickle cell disease, lupus and chronic pain. She lives alone in an apartment. Without help from the Cary center's volunteers — three women and a man who've taken her shopping, cleaned her apartment and done her laundry since 2008 — “I could not live independently,” Anderson said.

Scores of volunteer programs serving seniors and people with disabilities already exist, but most are small and many older adults and their families don't know about them. How Care Corps will build on these efforts is not yet clear.

One of the largest is Senior Corps, run by the Corporation for National and Community Service. Through its Senior Companion program, volunteers age 55 and older visit needy older adults and help them with tasks such as shopping or paying bills. About 10,500 volunteers spend 15 to 20 hours a week, on average, serving 33,000 seniors nationwide through this program. The group also offers less intensive services to 300,000 older adults and people with disabilities through its Retired Senior Volunteer Program.

Recent research from Senior Corps demonstrates that volunteers receive benefits while giving to others. After two years of service, 88 percent of Senior Corps volunteers reported feeling less isolated, while 78 percent said they felt less depressed.

To learn about other volunteer programs in your community, contact a senior center, a nearby Area Agency on Aging or your county's department of aging, experts suggest.

In Montpelier, Vermont, Joan Black, who is 88 and lives alone in a one-bedroom apartment, has been a member of Onion River Exchange — a time bank — for 10 years. Onion River members contribute goods and services (a ride to the airport, a homemade casserole, a newly knit baby sweater) to the time bank and receive goods and services in exchange. For years, Black gave out information about the exchange at farmers markets and other community events — her way of banking credits.

It's a form of volunteerism that “creates a sense of community for many people,” said Edisa Muller, chairwoman of the Onion River board.

For Black, who lives on a small, fixed income and who can't vacuum, scrub her tub, dust her wooden furniture or shovel the driveway that leads to her apartment, participating in the time bank has become a way to meet new people and remain integrated with the community.

"I like a tidy house: When things are out of order, I'm out or order,” she said. “I don't believe I'd be able to do everything I do or live the way I do without their help."

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation that is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.