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A SIMPLE conversation can be life changing. Just having someone to listen to you, someone outside of your family circle, can give you a different perspective. What you say—your dreams, fears, feelings—is laid on someone else’s ears, with no biases, no judgments.
The Family Service Agency of San Mateo County, a nonprofit that provides resources to children, families and older adults in need, is committed to helping out to senior citizens through their Senior Peer Counseling Program. The program has been in existence for 20 years, and is determined to reach out to its underserved population.
The Senior Peer Counseling Program is managed by Program Manager Howard Lader, LCSW, and offers free peer counseling to older adults, age 55-plus in English, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin and Tagalog. The program also serves the LGBT community. Based on principles of self-help and mutual aid, the Senior Peer Counseling Program seeks to develop a bond of trust between people of similar age, experience, values, wisdom and culture.
"We have highly trained volunteers," said Susan Houston, director of older adult services at the Family Service. "The peer counselors provide emotional support, empathy to seniors who may be going through loneliness, isolation or grief, which is usually part of the aging."
Houston shared that out of the 84 peer counselors they have now, six are Filipinos. "All volunteers go through a 54-hour training session," she said and added, "They meet with experts from the community, undergo role-playing and even after they graduate, they talk with a supervisory group and a clinician."
One Filipino volunteer is Cherry Ricafrente, who just graduated from the Senior Peer Counseling training last May. "I have always loved to do counseling," said Ricafrente, 71, who recently retired and joined the program. "I decided for myself, and doing it is very fulfilling."
Ricafrente also shared that as peer counselors, they have boundaries. "We can listen to clients, provide adult conversation. But we cannot give advice." She also explained that there are other boundaries like they cannot drive for their clients, or do errands. Still, she believes that just being there to listen to them helps a lot. "Malaking bagay na sa kanila yung ma-share nila what they feel. It takes a while for them to open up, but trust builds slowly in time."
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