Seniors Thrive in ArchCare Program Where
Time Is Money
27
WITH
its unusually high rate of
senior poverty and aging
immigrant population, New York City urgently needs
interventions to engage socially isolated elders in their
communities and help them live active, meaningful
lives as they age in place. The dearth of assistance for
those who can no longer participate in community-
based programs takes an especially heavy toll in
neighborhoods like the South Bronx and Lower East
Side, where as many as one in three seniors lives
alone. For them, social isolation and loneliness cause
more than unhappiness. Seniors who live in isolation
are at greater risk of cognitive decline, depression,
malnutrition and other health problems. They are
also more likely to delay seeking medical care,
which inevitably leads to higher rates of avoidable
hospitalizations and nursing home placements.
Since 2014, the healthcare system of the Archdiocese
of New York, known as ArchCare, has employed a
novel form of banking to draw thousands of at-risk
seniors out of isolation, connect them with needed
supports and renew their sense of dignity and purpose
– all at no monetary cost. Known as “timebanking,” the
pioneering approach has proven remarkably effective
in helping seniors feel less isolated, more connected
to their community and more comfortable seeking and
accepting the help they need.
The ArchCare TimeBank, which today has nearly
2,000 members across the city, is founded on an
innovative service exchange model that connects
people who need assistance with volunteers in their
neighborhoods who have the time, energy and skills
to help them. TimeBank is no garden-variety volunteer
program, however. It is an alternative economy in
which time replaces currency and all citizens have the
opportunity both to give and receive services. Every
hour of service a TimeBank member contributes earns
an hour of credit that can be redeemed for help at
any time from any other member. In the TimeBank
economy, all hours have equal value regardless of the
services being exchanged.
For seniors, TimeBank is a gateway to the support
they need to continue living safely in the community.
Their fellow members provide companionship; pick up
prescriptions; escort neighbors to doctor visits; help
with shopping, cooking and light housekeeping; and
share language, crafts and computer skills. Even the
frail can contribute something in return, whether it’s
knitting blankets or making crafts, writing birthday and
get-well cards or simply calling other members to let
them know that someone is thinking of them.
“Members give what they can, when they can, knowing
that their fellow members will be there for them when
they need it,” says ArchCare TimeBank Director
Mashi Blech. “We serve as a safety net for seniors
and others who are vulnerable, providing access
to services they might not otherwise be able
to afford and showing them that despite
whatever challenges they may face, they
are still needed and have much to give.”
Adviser a publication of LeadingAge New York | Fall 2018