Program helps Henderson seniors

      For 75-year-old Jenny Stewart, getting around Henderson is not an easy task.
      But thanks to the Artie J. Cannon Helping Hands of Henderson program, Stewart is able to keep medical appointments, do her shopping and run other errands.
      "The bottom line is, I don't know what I would do without them," Stewart said. "I depend on them for transportation to take me to the doctor and other places I have to go. If I didn't have them, I just couldn't cope."
      The program, part of St. Rose Dominican Hospital's Home Health Services, provides a variety of nonmedical services for the city's elderly, frail and disabled population so they may maintain independent lives.
      Helping Hands, established in 1995, provides transportation, runs errands and temporary relief for people who are taking care of a loved one at home, supplies handyman services, makes regular phone calls to clients and gives caregiver training. The agency also lends medical equipment, such as wheelchairs, walkers and crutches.
      The program, which receives the majority of its funding through grants, donations and fund-raisers, services more than 300 clients regularly, with a base of about 50 volunteers helping with 150 to 200 appointments each month. In the 1996-97 fiscal year, the program filled 1,296 appointments, 759 of which were for medical reasons.
      Volunteer coordinator Christine Nelson said the program is the sole reason many clients are able to receive regular medical care.
      "We have people who were just neglecting their health because they couldn't get to a doctor," she said. "They just went without."
      Besides the goods and services it supplies, Helping Hands is implementing an increasing amount of socialization programs into its agenda, such as taking small groups of clients to dinner regularly, as another way to assist clients with sustaining a complete life.
      "We found that the only times our clients were getting out was to the doctor," Nelson said. "And that's not a very fulfilling life."
      Helping Hands also has a group of about 15 junior volunteers, ranging in age from 8 to 11, who provide a number of services, including making birthday and holiday cards for clients and visiting shut-ins regularly. According to Nelson, the kids logged 200 hours of volunteer service within nine months and went Christmas caroling at some clients' homes.
      "The people in Henderson, compared to other communities, they really pull together and take care of their own," she said.
      Linda Courtney has been a Helping Hands client for more than three years after a stroke limited her activity. Courtney, 50, said the companionship the volunteers provide her with far exceeds the other services they offer.
      "It means that I can get out of the house and I'm not so lonely," she said. "Whenever I've needed help, they're there to help. It means a great deal."
      Volunteer Delwin Potter donates about 10 hours weekly to the program.
      "It makes you feel good to be able to help others," Potter said. "Most of them just can't thank you enough for helping them out."
      With a limited number of volunteers to help so many clients, Nelson said Potter's example is not a foreign occurrence. All program services are primarily dependent on volunteer availability, which makes manpower the program's primary need.
      "That's one of the drawbacks of the program," Nelson said.
      As the only full-time staff member of the program, Nelson is responsible for gathering volunteers, training them and maintaining the majority of the clients' and volunteers' schedules.
      "There's a minimum of three phone calls for every appointment," Nelson said. "And that's if everyone's home and they say yes. So there's hundreds of phone calls."
      Nelson said the Helping Hands loan closet is also in need of contributions. Besides providing wheelchairs, walkers and crutches, items such as bedside commodes and shower benches are also needed. A total of 120 items are loaned out yearly.
      Nelson, who has headed the program for 1 1/2 years, said the only requisite to become a Helping Hands client is to have a need for assistance and be a Henderson resident.
      "It's not a cure-all for everyone, but it's a little bit that helps everybody," she said. "It's very personal. They're not just a name on a list. That's why we're small, and we limit it to Henderson, because we want to be able to help everyone that signs up."
      For Stewart, help has not been something she has struggled to secure during her three years in the program.
      "I have never encountered so many wonderful volunteers who give of their time so willingly," she said. "I love every one of them."
      For more information about Helping Hands of Henderson, call 558-4808 or 564-4663.