ST. LOUIS – With temperatures heading into single digits for the night, North County Police Cooperative Officer Shardae Dupree spent part of her shift knocking on the doors of senior citizens, checking to see if they are staying warm and are okay.
“I love it,” Lucille Price, a senior citizen living in Vinita Park, said.
Community engagement helps officers identify any trouble before it’s too late, according to Det. Bejamin Santoyo with NCPC.
“As a first responder, I do not want to pull up on anyone who could have had a severe cold weather injury or worse,” he said.
Santoyo encourages residents in need of a warm place to stay to call 211 for help.
One local agency that’s been engaging seniors with a host of programs for decades is LifeWise STL.
“Our program is possible because of the St. Louis Area Agency on Aging as well as Aging Ahead and the St. Louis City senior tax fund,” LifeWiseSTL Director of Senior Programming Samantha Ferguson Knight said.
The agency provides a host of services through relationship-based programs. The senior companion program pairs volunteers with seniors for weekly visits. Volunteers are retirees, at least 55 years old, who dedicate five hours each week to visiting with seniors.
When in-person visits are not possible, phone calls are made.
“I want them to be aware that I am there for them,” Darlene Elliott, a LifeWise STL volunteer, said.
She believes the weekly visits benefit both the clients and volunteers, calling the interactions “invaluable,” and hopes others will consider volunteering.
Ferguson Knight said there’s currently a waiting list of clients. She’s hopeful anyone wanting to volunteer will call 314-627-1243 or visit www.lifewisestl.org for more information.
“They make living in the community possible,” Ferguson Knight said. “We have some folks that have been together, volunteer and client, for more than 10 years…that’s 10 years that the person had someone that they could call on, and it makes a world of difference.”
Visits are a crucial component to helping seniors throughout the year, not just when there’s a snowstorm, Ferguson Knight added.