Young and Old in Palisades
Our community has a number of older residents, some of whom several years ago created an informal organization called the Palis-Agers. We have been meeting several times a year, sometimes with an informational agenda, sometimes just to get together and talk. During these discussions it has become apparent that some of us have need of help from time to time, and donʼt like to ask for it.
When we asked two years ago in 10964 if there were older folks who needed help and younger ones who might be willing to give assistance with problems, we had three volunteers who were willing to give help and no one who was willing to ask for help. This is a problem. I suspect there are younger people as well in Palisades who could use a bit of help sometimes and donʼt want to ask for it.
I recently read something in a book called Life Gets Better that addresses the issue. “In a city neighborhood not too far from the White House, a group of elders banded together to organize Capitol Hill Village. The idea was to foster a system of exchange in which needs would be matched with abilities across generations: a retired seamstress in her eighties might be connected to a businessman in his thirties who occasionally needs someone to hem his slacks. He might be happy to run errands for a housebound elder.
In the beginning of the project the founders worried that there would be a shortage of younger volunteers and a surplus of elders hoping to get some help. To their delight, they ended up with more people wanting to give than to receive. Their list of services just kept on growing.”
Volunteering turned out to be rewarding and led to new friendships. Help could be accepted without forfeiting dignity; everyone did better as a consequence of generations relying on each other.
I donʼt know whether this idea could have any application in Palisades. We will discuss it at the next Palis-Agersʼ meeting, at 1:30 pm on December 15, as usual in the community room of the Palisades Presbyterian Church. And if anyone reading this has comments or ideas, please send them to: Alice Gerard, at PO Box 225 in Palisades, or to gerard55@verizon.net. We will follow up on this idea in the next 10964.