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December 6, 2002/Tevet 1 5763, Vol. 55, No. 15
Driven to drive
Volunteer provides transportation to homebound seniors
LEISAH NAMM
Managing Editor
Phil Pearl takes Ann Marie Stubbs, left, and Muriel Trager shopping for groceries.
Photo by Leisah Namm
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On the day before Thanksgiving, Phil Pearl, 80, drove to a doctor's office, Costco, Fry's, a beauty salon and the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center Senior Center.
He drives, on average, 30,000 miles each year - his four-month-old car already has 10,304 miles on it.
Pearl is one of more than 100 Senior Companions who will be honored at the Senior Companion Program Holiday Recognition Celebration on Dec. 13.
Through the Senior Companion Program, a service offered by the City of Phoenix for 18 years, volunteers 60 and older provide assistance and friendship to elderly individuals who are homebound and, generally, live alone. These volunteers provide a variety of services, from transportation to companionship.
"Thousands and thousands of people have no family at all," says Kathleen Toon, Senior Companion Program supervisor. The program "helps to keep people living independently as long as possible rather than being institutionalized."
Volunteers receive a stipend for up to 20 hours a week, plus a gas mileage reimbursement and a $1.50 meal allowance each day, Toon says.
Pearl, a member of Jewish War Veterans, Post 210, for 23 years, says he probably works about twice that amount.
"Why do I do it?" he asks. "I don't know - I feel obligated. I know people need transportation and (there are) so many people that can't even get out of the house. It makes me feel good to do this - you're doing something really worthwhile."
Sandy Reichsfeld, director of senior adult services at the VOSJCC senior center, says Pearl has a "tremendous impact" on the lives of the seniors he assists. "Without him, they wouldn't be able to get to the doctor," she says. "He brings a lot of people to the senior center and then takes people to the doctor (and) grocery shopping. ... Without that, I don't know how they would get there."
Many of the people Pearl assists don't have anyone else in their lives to help them, Toon says. "Phil is amazingly dedicated to his clients. He goes above and beyond what he's required to do by the program."
Pearl, who often has a joke to share, "uses humor to help people feel good," she adds. "He has a heart that reaches out and cares for other people."
For more information about the Senior Companion Program, call 602-256-3353.
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