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Hanover Alliance for the Prevention of Substance Abuse | |
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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 Program Participants
This years luncheon took place at the Hanover Council on Aging. |
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