3 minute read
i have a friend: picture perfect
picture perfect
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By Laurie Black
Life is not always picture perfect. However, having a friend you can rely on can certainly make life's picture brighter and happier.
Meet Darlene Ackerman and her friend, Jean. If Jean seems familiar to you, it is because I have written about her before. Jean has been participating in the Senior Visitors Program for about 10 years. She previously had a volunteer, Niki, who visited with her for many, many years. Naturally, Jean and Niki became close friends. So, when Niki moved out of the area, Jean was understandably sad and concerned about having a new volunteer visit.
However, Jean quickly found that instead of losing a friend, she was gaining a new friend. Darlene and Jean have been visiting for a year now. Jean says of Darlene, "She's the greatest. I enjoy our visits so much. I don't get visitors, so Darlene's visits give me something to look forward to in the week and something fun to do." In addition to simply visiting and sharing stories, Darlene and Jean sometimes enjoy an outing. Jean mentioned that she and Darlene recently went for a drive to look at Halloween decorations and fall colors. Jean's favorite outing, however, is going out for ice cream.
"She's so good to me," says Jean. Darlene explains, "She really loves ice cream, especially flavors that may be sweet like cotton candy." Sometimes when they cannot get out, Darlene brings ice cream in to Jean. "She finds any flavor I bring her "really good"."
I often ask volunteers if there has been anything about volunteering with the Senior Visitors Program that was unexpected or surprising and what they would tell someone who is considering volunteering with the Senior Visitors Program. In response to these questions Darlene responded, "I find myself looking forward to our chats. It can be a very relaxing time to sit and talk with someone that enjoys the company and makes you feel very good about your visit. One finds self-wanting to do more for the person especially when [they] have little contact from [others]."
Laurie Black is the Senior Visitors Program Coordinator at Mental Health America of Fredericksburg.
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Darlene read about the Senior Visitors Program and decided to try volunteering. After volunteer training, she began visiting Jean.
Darlene says of Jean, "She always greets me with a smile. She is always glad to see me. We talk about the past, her growing up with her sister, and what a great cook her mother was. She talks of where she grew up and neighbors with whom she played. She loved to play in a barn near her home with neighbors. She loved the outdoors. She talks of her church in Fredericksburg that her parents helped organize."
Darlene goes on to say, "Jean is a very talented photographer. She loves nature. In the past she has taken many pictures of areas around Fredericksburg. She has had members of her former church print some of her pictures on cards in the past. She loves to color and has stacks of pages that she colors with pencils and has a great eye for colors. When she colors, she will ask me to pick out a page and she will give it to me the next time we meet."
If you know a senior who could benefit from having a weekly, friendly visit or if you would like to volunteer to visit a senior, call the Senior Visitors Program at (540) 371-2 2704 or visit our website at mhafred.org to download volunteer or senior applications. The Senior Visitors Program is a free community service program of Mental Health America of Fredericksburg.
