government with remote and unresponsive programs are the problem. It is us who need to be reformed. Having talked broadly about the problem of ageism, let me turn to the role of ACTION in acting as an advocate for the elderly. Although many Federal programs are open to all on an equal basis in theory, in practice these same programs discriminate against the elderly. The elderly have a set of unique problems, including limited mobility, which can block their full participation in programs. Consequently, without outreach and advocacy, standard operating procedure will mean that many elderly will continue to live in isolation and fear. They will remain cut off from an American society to which they have contributed so richly but which shuns them now in favor of the young; a society which locks them away in institutions supposedly for their own good. Although exclusion by age has become a characteristic of modern American life, we have found that volunteers help break down this barrier through advocacy and outreach. They link the isolated and elderly with programs that benefit them in their own communities. Personal contact also helps the older person to overcome fear, loneliness, or misinformation, and gives them renewed interest in themselves. In New York City, for example, a volunteer in ACTION'S Senior Companion Program helped a depressed and withdrawn elderly man avoid going into a nursing home. The volunteer helped him obtain homemaker health aid assistance, supported him through his troubles and introduced him to a Title VII nutrition center where he now receives balanced meals and is able to socialize with others. As a member of the local community in which they both live and through special training, the volunteer is familiar with its social service programs, and knows where to go and who to talk with. Volunteer participation like this benefits the community as well as the individual. Our programs have shown that volunteering fosters both individual and community self-esteem and reliance. It brings out the best in people and contributes to a climate of positive community cooperation. As an example of what I mean, I would like to describe in detail a few of ACTION's domestic outreach projects. Since 1974 in Colorado, 70 VISTA volunteers, two-thirds of whom are over 60, recruited more than 2,000 local volunteers across the State in a program primarily designed to reach out to isolated older people, especially those living in rural areas. The project, which is sponsored by the Colorado Congress of Senior Organizations and funded by ACTION, has been very successful: more than 100,000 of Colorado's 325,000 residents aged 60 and over have been reached. More importantly, 90 percent of the elderly residents in rural communities have been contacted. The outreach has involved a great deal of knocking on doors, visiting and talking. Volunteers have informed the elderly about federal programs available to them and they have followed up their initial contacts to determine the progress individuals have made in receiving benefits. When necessary, project volunteers have become advocates for their clients, making sure that the bureaucracy responds directly to them. In cases where existing needs have not been provided for, volunteers have helped develop new programs to meet them. Throughout the program's tenure, cooperation among federal, State, and local agencies has been excellent. Volunteers have been trained through the auspices of Area Agencies of Aging. The State Social Security Administration has arranged regular information and exchange meetings for the volunteers and it has sent its representatives to training projects. The project has been so successful that its director feels it has reached most of the elderly citizens of Colorado. Necessary systems for helping people have been established and seem to be working effectively. Both Utah and Wyoming are studying the Colorado project and may set up similar ones. In a new approach to solving social problems through the use of volunteers, ACTION has sponsored a demonstration project for the purposes of counseling and helping people who live on fixed or restricted incomes. For the last two years, this program has provided bilingual aid and counseling to 10,000 individuals including senior citizens, displaced homemakers, welfare recipients, and the unemployed. Three hundred professionals or persons with unique skills and training assist the program voluntarily on a part-time basis. They hold counseling seminars, advise individuals, compile and distribute information and write manuals and guides. These counselors possess expertise in a broad range of areas including nutrition, health care, financial advice, food stamps, credit, legal aid, and tax law. Elderly persons comprise the largest single segment served by volunteers, who have worked individually with about 5,000 of them. Indirectly, through appearance on television talk shows, radio programs and in newspaper columns, the project volunteers have reached another estimated 10,000 low and fixed income elderly residents. Based on the success of this pilot program, we plan three additional projects located in different geographic areas of the country. However, ACTION's largest volunteer outreach effort in behalf of older Americans has been achieved through its three major programs servicing the elderly: Foster Grandparent Program, Senior Companion Program, and Retired Senior Volunteer Program. The thrust of the Foster Grandparent and Senior Companion programs has been to make community service possible for people over 60, whose retirement income is below the poverty line and who possess the desire and the physical and emotional ability to help others in dire need. These programs have been designed to provide personal assistance to handicapped children and to the bedridden frail elderly who have become isolated. Since their program's inception in 1965, Foster Grandparents have successfully provided outreach assistance to children with special needs and have acted as their advocates. In effect, they have demonstrated what older volunteers can do in outreach and advocacy in any age group. Under the Senior Companion Program, established in 1974, 2,600 volunteers currently serve in 48 locally sponsored projects in the United States and Puerto Rico. More than 60 percent of their clients are frail elderly persons living in their own homes. For 20 hours a week the companions are frequently the only source of continuing care available to isolated and lonely older persons limited by physical and financial burdens. Senior Companions effectively coordinate their efforts with the Administration on Aging, Title VII, and other supportive programs for older Americans at the local level. In fact, they serve as advocates for older persons, providing care and friendship and orgainizing services such as home health care nutrition for them. The timely involvement of Senior Companions has meant for many the opportunity to remain in their own homes and communities. ACTION is deeply committed to this program because it helps to provide an alternative solution to institutionalization of older Americans. The RSVP program is the largest of all ACTION efforts with more than 255,000 older volunteers who serve in a large and varied number of assignments at the community level throughout the country. Their service includes many forms of outreach activity. For example, in St. Paul, Minnesota, RSVP volunteers serve as advocates with the Legal Assistance attorneys to help solve problems about federal, State and community lawrelated social programs. They plead the cause of other elderly persons. RSVP Volunteers also serve as patient advocates at the county hospital and they deal with problems |