Volunteers with the Sheriff Department spread some Christmas cheer this week when they gave holiday gift baskets to the seniors they watch over. The seniors are part of the free outreach program You Are Not Alone, or YANA. Members of the Sheriff’s Senior Volunteer Patrol check in on them on a regular basis to make sure they’re all right.
At 94 years old, Herb lives alone in Poway and uses a walker to get around. He doesn’t get out much so he looks forward to the visits he gets three times a week. Herb, who doesn’t want his last name used, has become friends with those who come by for the “well” checks. Last week, he was surprised by several volunteers who dropped by with a holiday gift basket. Inside he was thrilled to find two different kinds of cookies, low-sugar candy, a plush throw blanket, postage stamps and a Christmas card. For a festive splash of color, Herb also got a Poinsettia plant.
Private donations paid for the holiday baskets. The Senior Patrol members who staff the Poway YANA program shopped for the holiday goodies and put the baskets together. The Poway program director, Marie Allin, says her volunteers check in on 16 clients who live alone in that area.
“We have some that want to be visited every day, and some who just want to be called, so we give them the choice,” said Allin. “They pick the days, they pick the hours and we set it up.”
If volunteers call and no one picks up the phone, they make a welfare check. If a regular visit reveals anything out of the ordinary then Allin makes sure the appropriate agency is contacted for help; whether it’s a family member, a social worker or County Aging and Independence Services.
YANA allows those who can’t afford outside care to continue living on their own.
“We check to see if they’re doing all right, eating all right and that their living quarters are not in too bad of shape, and to make sure they’re doing OK for themselves,” said Allin.
Volunteers have run into incidents where their clients had fallen and they wouldn’t have been discovered for days if not for the YANA program.
Herb says the volunteers are like members of his family, a family he calls “my gang.” After getting his holiday gift basket, he told the visitors, “My gang makes my days bearable.”
The Sheriff’s Department offers the YANA program to disabled people and seniors who live alone in unincorporated areas of the County. To find out more about the free YANA program, call 858-565-5200.
