Guardianship agency seeking volunteers

 Volunteer Theresa Buchanan put it this way: "My relationship with (my senior) and the caring and dedicated staff at (the nursing home) have enhanced my life in so many positive ways that I could not have imagined when I first accepted this responsibility ".
    You can experience the rewards that Theresa describes. Even though there are more than    125 people on the roster trained and qualified through the VGP more volunteers are needed, especially in Greater Providence and north of that area.
    Volunteer guardians make health care decisions on behalf of low-income seniors who have no available family. With the orientation, training, and support of the VGP, a volunteer can ensure that someone with dementia has much needed decision making support. Volunteers from the VGP are not in charge of finances and are known as “guardians of the person.”
    To receive volunteer services, people must be at least 60 years of age, meet certain income standards and have a dementia diagnosis. However, each person’s situation is unique. For example, dementia and severe memory loss have left a 71-year-old man unable to participate in the management of a care program for his diabetes and other medical problems. The nursing home resident needs a volunteer guardian who will monitor his care because he does not comprehend what is happening to him. In another case, a 91-year-old woman has co-occurring dementia and mental illness and has no known family to participate with her nursing home staff in care planning.
    There are times when family members who are unable to take on decision making for their loved one do not have the means to hire a private guardian. That often happens when the surviving relatives such as siblings are the only known relatives and are infirm and elderly themselves.  
    Volunteer guardians are not hands-on caregivers. Rather, they represent the senior, legally referred to as the ward, as the decision maker in the areas of health care, the appropriateness of a residential setting and the appropriateness of the ward’s relationships with other people. Almost all VGP referrals are permanent residents in skilled nursing facilities, but some seniors in assisted living facilities qualify for a volunteer guardian.
    Before agreeing to become a guardian, the volunteer visits the nursing home and the senior and meets with the referring social worker or nurse. Volunteers are never required to take an assignment. The match should be a good fit for the volunteer and for the senior.
    People who are drawn to the VGP are compassionate and understanding, with a special concern for the needy elderly and a desire to make a difference for a senior with dementia. Volunteers come from many different walks of life and backgrounds. They are working and retired. Many people are inspired to volunteer because they have taken care of their own family and want to now use that experience to help those without family support. Others have helpful professional training and experience in fields such as social services or health care and find that the program is the perfect volunteer choice for them.  
    Teachers, police officers and firefighters find the VGP is a fulfilling way to put their skills and experience to wonderful use. Adult students and job seekers find this unique volunteer opportunity an impressive activity worthy of their resumes. Many volunteers simply say that they have a “soft spot” in their hearts for the elderly who are alone. Those who volunteer their services are appropriately called Good Samaritan guardians.
    Guardians are not the only people contributing services to the VGP. Volunteer lawyers play a crucial role in preparing each guardianship case and representing the volunteer. The VGP works closely with the Rhode Island Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral Service to find attorneys lawyers willing to donate their services.  
    The VGP is the only program of its kind sponsored by the Rhode Island Department of Elderly Affairs. The program is administered by Cornerstone Adult Services Inc. which is a member of the Saint Elizabeth Community. To download a guardian application, go online to www.stelizabethcommunity.com; click on the Cornerstone tab; then click on the VGP tab on the menu to the left.  
t her for more information, call (401) 739-2844, extension 36, or e-mail her at pvinci@cornerstone-ri.com.