Sacramento’s Asian Community Center launches Senior Safety Escort Program
The program was made for seniors in the community to feel safer going about their daily lives and for volunteers to help them re-integrate into the community.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento’s Asian Community Center has partnered with the Sacramento Senior Safety Collaborative to create the Senior Escort Program.
The program was made for seniors in the community to feel safer going about their daily lives and for volunteers to help them re-integrate into the community.
After the rise in Asian American Pacific Islander hate incidents during the COVID-19 pandemic, many seniors in the AAPI community felt unsafe.
The ACC quickly took action, partnering with local organizations such as the Buddhist Church of Sacramento Adult Buddhist Association, the City of Sacramento Police Department, Sacramento and Florin Chapters of the Japanese American Citizens League, and many more to create this program.
“Studies have shown that after the pandemic, we’ve seen a 28% increase in anxiety and fear in seniors, along with 19% of seniors feeling more lonely and sad,” said Dani Lee, Lifelong Learning and Wellness Program Manager at ACC Senior Services and Program Manager for the Senior Safety Escort Program.
The ACC has “soft launched” the program and so far, the volunteers have accompanied the seniors on walks, helped with grocery shopping trips, taken tai chi classes together, and more.
“I get so much out of this program,” said Jessie Lee, a participant of the Senior Safety Escort Program. “If it wasn’t for it, I wouldn’t be able to leave the house as much as I do. I’m able to get around, I can go shopping and things like that, but sometimes I kind of worry in case anything happens. You read all these things in the newspaper and you can’t help but mentally think that maybe something could happen. But with an escort, I feel so safe all the time.”
Jessie Lee is consistent about her Tai Chi classes and makes sure she has an escort that can walk her there and back. She told ABC10 that if she doesn’t have an escort scheduled for the day, she won’t go to Tai Chi on her own.
The focus of the program is to help these seniors be comfortable with others and encourage physical activity after being in isolation for so long. This program also plans to help seniors maintain their independence and their health.