ElderHelpers.org

I'm a registered volunteer with Elder Helpers. I was matched with an elder not long after signing up, and we've been together for a year and a half. I only gave the website four stars because when I realized there was a fee to sign up, I chose not to. Somehow I was still entered into the system. So the site was confusing. I also wish the geographical breakdown was a bit more granular. I'm in New York City which is comprised of five large boroughs. I receive calls from folks quite a distance from me looking for a volunteer yet have to turn them down, which breaks my heart. The people at Elder Helpers have always impressed me with their timely responses and their dedication to their mission. It sounds crazy, but there are actually real people at the other end of this organization. AND, they support you throughout the process. I am enrolled in other volunteer organizations to work with the elderly in New York. Elder Helpers is the only one that actually cares about both the elder AND the volunteer, at least here in New York City.

My role as a CNA' is to provide care to residents and assist them with activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, grooming, and toileting. Also help to transfer the resident in and out of bed and chairs and help position them to maintain comfort and good skin integrity. I also assist the nurse by taking vital signs, monitoring skin condition, and feeding residents. As a CNA am always expected to report any condition change or problems to the nurse or other practitioner. Many at times administer medications with additional training I have undergone.
In addition to caring for the residents' health needs and activities of daily living,by spending much time with the residents doing things like tidying their room, making sure supplies are on hand, and making the bed. This is how i get to know residents so well and why am often included in care planning and other meetings. Physicians and other practitioners often seek my assistance input when they are trying to find out why someone is agitated, upset, acting out, or experiencing some other behavior change.

I am a social worker with a social service agency in Los Angeles and arranged in early 2013 for a client to have an Elder Helper volunteer. I was told that the one-year membership could be canceled at any time and the balanced pro-rated and refunded. At that time, the service itself contacted potential volunteers, who then contacted the client. I received only two calls. Happily, one of them worked out very well, but six months later, the volunteer announced that she was moving out of the area. I contacted Elder Helpers about obtaining either a new volunteer or a refund for the remaining months of the subscription and was told that all I could was go to the website and start over--at a higher rate than what I had originally paid. After a frustrating month of back and forth e-mails with a nameless "customer service," I gave up on the refund. In December, the client died. I followed the instructions on the website for canceling the subscription (which were hard enough to find), as I certainly didn't want to pay again for another year. Our agency just received the January credit card bill--with an automatic charge for another year of Elder Helpers! I've again tried to contact "customer service" and, well, here we go again. Based on my experience, I would not recommend Elder Helpers.org to any of my clients or their families. It's a shame, too, as a viable service such as this one purports to be would be of such great value to our elders.