Our Reassurance Phone Friends program started on June 1, 1998. This program matches a senior with a phone friend volunteer who will keep the promise to call daily or less frequently as requested. Our Reassurance phone friends place 5-10 minute calls from their homes, offices, or cell phones at a mutually agreed upon time. In 2005, phone friends made over 30,000 calls to clients age 55 to 111!

These phone calls:

Staff members provide a "safety net" by following up on unanswered calls to see if the client needs immediate help due to a fall, sudden illness, or other reason.

In addition to phone calls, clients receive handwritten cards on a regular basis, including holidays, birthdays, during illness, for encouragement, and in sympathy.

Janet Johnson

Director of Programs

(925) 284-6699

On September 1, 2005, Senior Helpline Services began offering to our ambulatory Reassurance Phone Friends program clients & senior phone friend volunteers, free one-on-one, door-through-door rides provided by volunteer drivers. These rides are primarily for the purpose of obtaining medical care, groceries, and other basic necessities. Training for volunteer drivers includes learning & practicing safety techniques.

The Rides for Seniors program was added because the most frequent request we receive from seniors, who no longer drive or have someone to transport them, is for rides. Unless they are able to use public transportation, paratransit, vans, or cabs that provide only curb-to-curb service, seniors often have difficulty in accessing medical care and obtaining basic necessities. In our society, mobility = independence, so without a safe and available alternative to driving, the end result for seniors is often institutionalization or even premature death.

In order to ensure the safety of our Rides for Seniors clients, these clients must also participate in the Reassurance Phone Friends program.

Janet Johnson

Director of Programs

(925) 284-6699