25598897
Television commercials incessantly remind us that this is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year. But for hundreds of the city’s older residents, the holiday season can be one of the loneliest times of the year.
For those folks, there are people like Roquetta Poindexter, a dedicated member of Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly.
The organization, which was started in France just after World War II, teams volunteers with elderly people who are in need of some company and the occasional smiling face.
Since opening a Philadelphia branch in 1990, Little Brothers has sent more than 2,000 volunteers to homes and neighborhoods throughout the City of Brotherly Love, touching the minds and hearts of many, says Poindexter, of 18th and Wharton.
"You just get such a good feeling taking the time to meet some of these people who have no one else to talk to," chirps the 74-year-old volunteer.
After holding a job as a state caseworker for 18 years, Poindexter retired in 1993, but quickly found she could not get used to sitting still all the time. She spotted a Little Brothers ad in the newspaper, gave the agency a call and officially began doing field work in 1994.
Poindexter’s field work involved going to homes throughout the city, allowing her to meet a number of interesting people.
"It was a diverse mix. There were some really nice people and some not-so-nice ones every now and again," Poindexter says with a laugh.
Among the nice ones was Ms. Price, a 90-year-old woman now living in a nursing home at 61st and Walnut. Poindexter has been visiting Price for close to eight years, often shopping for the elderly woman and helping her with household chores.
"She’s a feisty lady whose only living relative — her grandson — lives all the way out in California, so I try to see her at least a few times a month," says the volunteer.
Although Poindexter is retired from field work, she still helps out in the Little Brothers office two days a week.
Christmas tends to be the busiest time of the year for the agency, as it is inundated with extra requests from elderly folks who normally aren’t involved with the organization, yet reach out due to the holiday blues.
"The Christmas season is really, really intense," says Little Brothers assistant executive director Gingie Eagan.
Little Brothers adds volunteers during the holidays to help with the new requests and with the organization’s seasonal events, like the citywide special deliveries that were made Dec. 20, Eagan says.
Volunteers gathered at the Little Brothers office at 642 N. Broad St. to distribute gifts, flowers and fruit baskets to more than 500 isolated elderly residents, echoing the organization’s mantra that friendship and kindness are as important as food and shelter.
"For a lot of these people, [the visits] are the only thing they look forward to," says Poindexter.
Certainly Poindexter and a majority of the Little Brothers’ friends will be looking forward to the annual Christmas Eve party that’s held at the Holiday Inn, 13th and Race streets.
"The Holiday Inn provides the dinner and gives all of our clients a chance to mingle," Eagan explains. "The employees there are always terrific — they really enjoy seeing everyone eating and enjoying the festivities."
The goal, Eagan says, is to get the older folks to socialize and make new connections and friendships — in effect, furthering the idea of Little Brothers’ founder Armand Marquiset, who once said, "Above all, people need love." He was inspired to start the agency after witnessing the isolation and suffering of the elderly in post-war France.
And with an ever-growing army of volunteers, Poindexter believes those who need love will find it.
"I would say for anyone who is thinking about joining up that it’s a wonderful opportunity to reach isolated people who need a little happiness in their lives."
And a little reminder that this is, after all, the most wonderful time of the year.
�
For information on volunteering for Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly, call 215-765-8118 or log onto www.littlebrothers.org.
A blue Christmas
By Lorraine Gennaro
The holiday season is supposed to be a time of happiness, celebration and good cheer. Bask in the glow of loving family and friends. A true Hallmark moment.
But for many people, the holiday season is a time for feeling sad, lonely and isolated. Death, divorce, separation and other issues can cause a person to feel especially disconnected at this time of year, psychologists note.
According to USA Today, 40 percent of Americans suffer from the blues during or after the holiday season.
"The struggle is to recreate a Christmas that never existed for any of us. Sure, there were little things that were nice in the old days, but the commercial factor today makes us want more. It’s almost an addiction," says local psychologist Joe McRory.
McRory grew up at 26th and Tasker and is on the faculty of Community College of Philadelphia’s Behavioral Sciences Department.
There are more than a few reasons to feel down during the holidays, McRory notes. After all, the season is fraught with all kinds of stressors and pressure — buying gifts when one has little money to spend, dealing with family members one doesn’t like but is forced to spend time with, and attending an array of social and work-related functions.
Holiday foods compound the problem, according to McRory. Carbohydrates are the main culprit, especially during the holiday season when people up their intake of candy and desserts.
"The excess starts with Halloween and escalates through Christmas. Celebrating can bring you down just from eating all the carbs," the psychologist says.
One might be suffering from the blues without even knowing it.
"A lot of times it’s not identifiable. It doesn’t have to be feeling sad or depressed. Sleepliness, fatigue, denial and avoidance are other signs," McRory says. Appetite might also be off, causing a person to eat more or less, the psychologist adds.
Dr. David Miller, director of Older Adult Services at Friends Hospital in the Northeast, offers the following tips for coping with holiday stress:
* Organize and plan all your holiday activities ahead of time, and try to stick to the schedule.
* Prioritize your needs and simply do things.
* Shop by mail-order or do all your shopping at one place to avoid running around.
* Establish a spending limit for gifts and stick to it.
* Try not to overindulge in eating, drinking or sleep.
* Make time to exercise. It will reduce the holiday stress.
* Make plans for the new year so that you have tasks and activities to look forward to.
