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In 2000,
The Hanover Alliance for the
Prevention of Substance Abuse
created and piloted the first 10
Weeks Between Generations
program. Their idea was to
connect a student and town elder
for conversation by phone during
the Winter, when some senior
citizens might be isolated more
because of the weather. The
major premise behind the idea
for the program was that
connectedness is a protective
factor preventing depression, a
common condition for elderly
people as well as teenagers.
Volunteers for the program came
from the Hanover Council on
Aging, Hanover High School,
Saint Mary's CCD classes and the
Congregational Church Youth
Group. Student Volunteers were
trained by the COA on how to
converse by phone with an
elderly person and were offered
a set of interview questions to
aid them in their conversations.
The calling then begins and
continues for ten weeks. Teens
find a friend in someone who they
discover they have a lot in
common with, someone who has a
lifetime of experiences and
history to share. Seniors are
refreshed to meet a teen who is
engaged and responsible; not at
all like the reputation that
teenagers have among some of the
elderly. Student elder matches
meet each other for the first
time at a luncheon after the ten
weeks of conversations are over.
At that time students present
their elder fiend with a story
about their life gleaned from
their conversations over the
telephone. Stories and snippets
are read at the luncheon. It is
a real community event!
Photos: Stephen T. Ryerson
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Program Participants
Paul Hayes, Hanover chief of
Police - President HAPSA
Mary Stagno, Vice President
HAPSA
Janice Comeau, Hanover High
School, Program Coordinator
Joyce Wilson, Hanover COA
Outreach Coordinator
Christine Fay, Hanover High
School - Student Coordinator
Lt. Walter Sweeney, HPD - Master
of Ceremonies
This years luncheon took
place at the Hanover Council on
Aging. |
