By Victoria Almquist

There is a wide range of services available to older adults in Alexandria, and some are not well known. As colder weather approaches and people are less able to be outdoors or have socially distanced visits with friends, services that ensure seniors remain engaged are especially valuable.

NextDoor help map

If you are a member of the NextDoor neighborhood information sharing app, you can find a map that shows the names of people near you who have offered to help others during this difficult time. Services offered include grocery shopping, running errands, walking dogs, checkin calls and lawn mowing. To find the help map in your area, go to the NextDoor app, click on “more,” and below your name it will list the name of your neighborhood and the link to the help map. If you are not already signed up for NextDoor, you can do so at www.nextdoor.com.

Senior Services of Alexandria

This organization is well known in Alexandria, but it offers some services that people are not as familiar with. In addition to Meals on Wheels and transportation assistance, SSA offers Groceries to Go, a program that provides grocery shopping and delivery. They also offer Animeals on Wheels, a service that delivers free pet food to eligible participants. Pets are important sources of companionship and comfort, especially when quarantined, and this program helps older adults keep their pets. The Friendly Visitor Program carefully matches screened and trained volunteers with socially isolated seniors, ensuring that the volunteer and match have similar interests. The volunteers interact with their senior for an hour each week, providing important social time. For more information about any of these services, call 703-836- 4414 or visit www.seniorservicesalex.org.

CareRing

This is a free program for those 60 and older in Northern Virginia that provides a daily phone call to check in, chat and provide reminders for medication and other activities. The goal is to prevent minor problems from becoming major emergencies. For more information, go to www.prsinc.org/carering, call 703-516-6769 or email Laura Alexander, PRS support manager, at lalexander@prsinc.org.

Jewish Social Services Agency 

JSSA provides a range of services to seniors in Northern Virginia, including counseling and care management. Their goal is to help older adults maintain independence and dignity as they age. Services are provided by skilled professionals and trained volunteers. For information on how to access their services, go to www.jssa.org/gethelp/seniors, or call 703- 896-7918.

Snow Buddy Program

This is a service of Volunteer Alexandria that provides snow removal for eligible Alexandria residents. Volunteers are matched with low-income seniors, or the homebound or disabled, who are physically unable to do the snow removal themselves, cannot afford to pay for this service or do not have others to assist them. Once assigned, volunteers are on-call for the duration of the program season, which begins Nov. 1 and normally ends by April 30. Volunteers bring their own shovel and the city provides ice melt. To request the Snow Buddy service, or for information on eligibility, go to www.volunteeralexandria.org/snow, or call Volunteer Alexandria at 703-836- 2176.

The writer is a member of the City of Alexandria Commission on Aging.