EVEN CAREGIVERS NEED A BREAK
Volunteers Needed for the REST Program
Jewish Family Services and The Ulster County Office for the Aging are extending an invitation to you to become involved with your community in a very meaningful way – as volunteer companions for the REST Program (Respite Education & Support Tools).
Respite is defined as a short period of rest or relief from something difficult or unpleasant. Caregivers are often the sole support for a loved one providing both physical and emotional assistance. Caregivers often neglect themselves to ensure that their loved one is OK, and they need a few hours for themselves to catch up on things that they cannot normally do when providing care – including going to a doctor’s appointment or shopping or going for a walk … or just to de-stress. and decompress. Becoming a REST Volunteer allows you to provide some much needed respite time for caregivers in your community.
Simple Requirements: The program requires all volunteers to provide proof of vaccination and a background check for in-home volunteers. Volunteers fill out an application and are then interviewed by the REST Program Coordinator. Then they are trained in the role.
The Coordinator will match a family with a volunteer that seems best suited to that family. It is this careful matching of a volunteer with a family that needs them that really makes the program work. Volunteers are accompanied on their first visit and mentored throughout their work. Monthly meetings of the volunteers allow people to exchange ideas and present their challenges in a supportive environment.
Volunteers need to be prepared to give up only four hours a month. However, we are flexible and have lots of ideas about how you can help. The Office of Aging reimburses mileage at 0.39 cents a mile. Companions are just that: Companions! They are there to reminisce, share stories or play cards or take a walk if allowable. They are not responsible for the physical care of the care recipient.
Contact: Judith Bromley MS, Dn REST Program Project Manager
1-845-559-5656
