A Moment in the Lives of the Elderly

By: Ashley Moore

For the past 4 months, SLAM has had the great privilege of partnering with both Trevecca Towers Retirement Center and Brentwood Baptist Church in a weekly service plunge to serve the elderly here in Nashville.  Each week a small group from Brentwood meets up with a group of SLAM leaders who facilitate the time of service.  From there, the students visit the different apartments that have requested help from volunteers to assist them with cooking, cleaning, organizing, and furniture moving.  Often, in the midst of the ‘tasking’ both the students and residents find themselves in meaningful conversations that become more valuable than the initial apartment cleaning.

A coordinator at Trevecca Towers explained that many of its 515 residents are single in their old age, often struggling with bouts of loneliness and depression.  Many residents are accustomed to years of independence, caring for themselves and their spouse, only to find they can no longer do so in their old age.  Further, many of the residents’ family members live outside the Nashville area, making familial visits and personal interaction with outsiders sparse. Lastly, lack of income does not allow for many of the residents to hire help for things such as cooking and cleaning, thus making the role of the volunteer essential.  The void fulfilled through the personal interaction of the volunteers is paramount in the lives of these individuals.  The life a simple conversation can produce within one of the residents is priceless.  (I need the name of the service coordinator) She said, “Volunteers make their day, their week, or even their year because of the one-on-one time they receive.” Read more