This week, my peers and I visited the Jewish Family Center. I’ve gotten used to going out with my cohort and car group, it feels like weekly field trips. As always, I was enriched by the experience of going to this beautiful complex. However, as well constructed and welcoming the Family Center was, it could not match the vivaciousness of Aviva- to say that her passion for helping out the elderly and people in need is inspiring is an absolute understatement. “To serve with dignity!” she said repeatedly as she led us around the facility, showing off the wall art and the different open space offices. Her enthusiasm and compassion remind me that despite the complexity of the world, connections between all of our fellow human beings is needed to build a strong community.
That is certainly the case for how many services are available at the Center. The fresh food pantry stocked high with free produce, bread, and other essentials serve as a necessary access point for families who perhaps cannot afford healthy food. They pack and deliver completely kosher, healthy warm meals to people. They have a parking lot for people, no FAMILIES, living out of their car- it is an amazing and terrible thing that we rely on these centers to provide the bare essentials of secure shelter to this incredibly vulnerable population. The most wonderful thing I heard was their partnership with Lyft, who drive these seniors to socialize and run errands. I thought that was such an interesting idea- even though public transportation exists, elders (especially those who may have Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia) may not feel safe or comfortable going out.
We ended by playing intergenerational bingo with our elder friends. Even though the signs of dementia were clear in some individuals, our table was having such a blast. I made friends with a lovely woman named Angela. We sang some nursery rhymes together, and she told me that bubble gum used to cost 5 cents when she was a child in Mississippi. The center was such a lovely place, I think I might go back to volunteer there one day.
That is certainly the case for how many services are available at the Center. The fresh food pantry stocked high with free produce, bread, and other essentials serve as a necessary access point for families who perhaps cannot afford healthy food. They pack and deliver completely kosher, healthy warm meals to people. They have a parking lot for people, no FAMILIES, living out of their car- it is an amazing and terrible thing that we rely on these centers to provide the bare essentials of secure shelter to this incredibly vulnerable population. The most wonderful thing I heard was their partnership with Lyft, who drive these seniors to socialize and run errands. I thought that was such an interesting idea- even though public transportation exists, elders (especially those who may have Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia) may not feel safe or comfortable going out.
We ended by playing intergenerational bingo with our elder friends. Even though the signs of dementia were clear in some individuals, our table was having such a blast. I made friends with a lovely woman named Angela. We sang some nursery rhymes together, and she told me that bubble gum used to cost 5 cents when she was a child in Mississippi. The center was such a lovely place, I think I might go back to volunteer there one day.