Family Services of Western PA with North Hills Community Outreach
Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers

Description:  Using a volunteer-driven model for service delivery, these “Faith in Action” programs will collaborate to match seniors with volunteers. The volunteer/senior relationships help seniors to maintain their independence and foster connections with community supports. This program is currently funded as part of the United Way’s Initiative entitled Open Your Heart to a Senior and previously through the RFP.  United Way funds will allow the agencies to fully integrate their programs to make larger gains in numbers served and amount of volunteer hours through program management support.  Funding will support program staff, travel stipends for volunteers, and purchase safety supplies and contractor services.

The Program Serves a Population with Great Needs:  The program recruits volunteers to assist frail and vulnerable seniors, 60 years old and older, and the seniors’ caregivers.  Together, the agencies serve the City of Pittsburgh, its eastern suburbs, South Hills, and northern boroughs.  Hilltop, Squirrel Hill, Wilkinsburg/Forest Hills, and Monroeville generate the most requests for service.

The Program Achieves Measurable Results:   In 2008, the program addressed a record 1,369 service requests, logging a 41% increase in call volume, serving an additional 342 seniors, and resolving 108 more requests for volunteer assistance than in the previous year.  In the first 6 months of Open Your Heart to a Senior, more than 200 volunteer inquiries have been received and 575 care-giving matches have been made.

The Program Applies a Sound Approach:   Faith in Action programs (outgrowths of a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation initiative)are proven to address effectively the physical, mental and spiritual needs of vulnerable individuals.  The proposing agencies have more than 25 years combined experience utilizing volunteers to address seniors’ challenges in Allegheny County.

Alignment with Preferred Outcomes and Likelihood of Community Change:

• Remain safely in home/least restrictive community setting (120 of 150 tracked, or 80%)
• Caregivers able to keep loved one at home (100 of 250 tracked, or 40%)
• Adequate/improved nutritional, health, and/or functional status (100 of 150, or 67%)
• Necessary safety checks, home modifications, immunizations, and preventative health screenings (120 of 150, or 80%)

Community Outcomes:  The program’s goal is to increase and facilitate high quality volunteerism for seniors in their homes.  The agencies function as information clearinghouses to link seniors with public and private resources.  In addition, the agencies are working with local government officials to develop and initiate a community-wide referral system for snow shoveling assistance for frail seniors.