Phone calls provide seniors with safety net

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Tony Logan, 90, said the onset of dizzy spells more than a year ago prompted him to sign up for Catholic Charities' Telephone Reassurance Program.

"My wife died about five years ago, so I'm all alone here," he said. "I thought this way, at least I'll have someone to look after me. I'll have that reassurance that I'll be taken care of."

Erica Dermer, Retired & Senior Volunteer Program manager for Catholic Charities, said Logan is a perfect example of the reason for the Telephone Reassurance Program.

"The service is for individuals 60 and older who live alone," Dermer said. "We provide a daily check-up call at the same time each day, and we provide this service to reassure people that if something happens, someone will find out."

Dermer said the program is staffed by volunteers, and the service is provided by Catholic Charities free of charge.

If volunteers call clients and receive no answer, they begin contacting friends and family. If the client hasn't been located within three hours, Catholic Charities will notify the Metropolitan Police Department.

"They'll send police officers or an ambulance to check on the client," Dermer said.

Currently, the program is looking for both volunteers and clients in all areas of the Las Vegas Valley. Dermer said volunteer callers must be age 55 or older.

She also said clients are not required to be home-bound, and can stay with the service for as long as they want or need to.

Though Logan is legally blind, he gets around using his golf cart, speaks four languages, plays violin, and often listens to books on tape and attends movies. He continues to live independently, and said he has struck up a bit of a friendship with his volunteer caller.

"They call and say hello and we talk about the weather," he said. "Sometimes they'll tell me their complaints. Sometimes I'll tell them mine. I don't ask the callers to do anything else for me -- It's a good program. It's nice to know I'll get my call each day."

Dermer said reassuring the elderly in the Las Vegas community who live independently is the program's goal.

"The program is aimed to keep clients living independently, in their own homes, for as long as possible."

Dermer also said upon signing up for the Telephone Reassurance Program, Catholic Charities sends a representative to meet with each client to identify any other needs the client may have.

"If they need medicine or food or anything else, while they are our client, we will act as advocates for them and help them get what they need."

For more information about the program or to volunteer, call 382-0721.