Family Service: Prevention, Education & Counseling NFP - Community Outreach

Seniors Helping Seniors
Sometimes a little help can go a long way.

And when Lake Forest High School seniors offer to lend a hand to older adults from the Lake Forest Senior Center , that little bit of help is recognized and nurtured – and relationships between young and old are born.

So far, 30 National Honor's Society teens have offered to help Lake Forest seniors with almost whatever they need and are unable to do in or out of their homes. For the second year in a row, “Seniors Helping Seniors,” has assisted the elderly with odd jobs such as cleaning closets, organizing photos, or simply just supplying a friendly face and some decent conversation.

“I need help changing light bulbs, hanging pictures and cleaning closets,” said Gene Rodley, a senior participating in the program. “If I put a light bulb in and it burns out, I'm afraid it just stays there.”

Seniors Helping Seniors is organized by Janet Fryer of Family Service of South Lake County, a non-profit that provides counseling headquartered in Highland Park, and Dr. Jim Gantt, Lake Forest High School's advisor for the National Honor's Society.

Last year, students helped someone recycle on an ongoing basis; another assisted in organizing records for a senior with bad eyesight, and one teen cleaned patio furniture. This year, the requests are a little more complicated, some of which include: two Mac computer experts, research for the best ground cover to serve as greenery (instead of grass) and someone to brush snow off a car on winter mornings. But the high school seniors took it all in stride and happily accepted the tasks.

Tiana O'Neil explained, “My great-grandmother is 95 and lives alone. I like helping people who need help, especially seniors who have been around forever and given so much back to the community. I love listening to their stories and wisdom and enjoy the feeling of giving something back to them,” said the Lake Forest high schooler.

Janet Fryer, Social Service Coordinator for the Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Senior Center, was pleased with the turnout among seniors. “Sometimes older adults have trouble admitting they need help. They think of themselves as self-sufficient, and many of them are. So I'm glad that we had plenty of requests for help. Now that the requests are out, I like to treat teens and older adults like grown-ups and let them handle the details of scheduling. They will build their own independent relationships outside of me and the center.”