MONTEREY — On any given day, homebound seniors along the Monterey Peninsula want to know anything from when their stimulus checks will arrive to how they can get help with their taxes. But often what they miss most is the human connections they’ve lost since the COVID-19 pandemic drove them even deeper into isolation.
Some area cities and nonprofit groups have created special outreach programs to ensure seniors — often shut-ins with no ability to shop or cook for themselves — are having their basic needs met during shelter-in-place orders.
The city of Monterey is working with seniors via telephones to determine what needs they have and then refer them to agencies such as The United Way’s 211, Monterey County Social Services, Alliance on Aging, The Gathering for Women and Meals on Wheels.
Shannon Leon, the interim recreation and community service manager in Monterey’s Parks and Recreation Department, heads up its Operation Outreach program, created within days of the original shelter-in-place order on March 16 to check in on area seniors.
The program is the brainchild of Monterey City Manager Hans Uslar who said it was important for the city to recognize the unintended consequences or the need to shut down facilities like the senior center.
“We wanted to make sure that they would not be forgotten,” Uslar said. “If they asked for help, the directive is to go find the help and make sure that the connection to the provider is made.”
To date, Leon and her staff of a little over a dozen employees have made close to 5,000 phone calls. Between March 16 and April 24 they spent over 900 hours making calls.
“Many seniors living alone face isolation and with the shelter-in-place order it can become worse,” said Monterey Mayor Clyde Roberson. “Socialization is so important in preventing depression, anxieties and worry. This outreach program is stepping up to fill the void.”
Sara Ziel, the recreation coordinator at the Scholze Park Center in Monterey said on Monday that many of the seniors don’t have family in the area and perhaps have lost spouses and friends and depended on coming to the senior center to socialize with others there.
“We might call and someone tells us they are putting a garden in so the next time we call we ask about the garden, or someone might tell us they are baking a pie so the next time we ask how the baking is going,” Ziel said. “Many are missing their friends and just want to talk.”
Operation Outreach’s staff are assembled for closed operations such as Scholze Park, Monterey Sports Center and the Monterey Public Library.
Leon said her staff have called seniors just to check in and end up on the phone for an hour. Jacob Shafer, the development director for Meals on Wheels for the Monterey Peninsula, echoed much of the same experiences. The volunteers that were out delivering meals are now staffing phones to call and check in on their clients.
Based out of the Sally Griffin Senior Center in Pacific Grove, Meals on Wheels volunteers have been hearing the same effects of isolation for the some 500 clients it serves, Shafer said.
“Many are homebound and are unable to shop or cook for themselves,” he said. “Sometimes our volunteer is the only person they see the entire day.”
Just this week Meals on Wheels is partnering with York School in a project where students will contact seniors and record oral histories, much like National Public Radio’s Story Corps.
“It’s really neat for these students to connect with the seniors,” Shafer said. “It’s a critical need.”
