Volunteerism for Hospice of Haines is dwindling.

The group that provides care and support for critically or chronically ill patients and their families in the Chilkat Valley has 18 active volunteers serving 21 clients. That’s down from 43 volunteers, a peak that has declined over the past decade, said volunteer coordinator Shannon McPhetres. “Primarily, our volunteers are retired,” McPhetres said. “We actually have lost a lot of them through death.”

It’s no surprise that the pool of volunteers is skewed towards seniors; Haines hosts the oldest population in Alaska with a median age of 49, according to 2017 state data. None of the current volunteers are under 40 years old. Hospice staff McPhetres and grief coordinator Liz Marantz-Falvey hope to loop more young people into the program.

“We’re trying to break that pattern and let young people know that it can be a really fulfilling thing,” Marantz-Falvey said.

Hospice of Haines provides services through the Hospice Program for terminally ill patients who wish to die in their homes, the Bridge Program for chronically or acutely ill patients whose needs aren’t met through existing services, and the Bereavement Services for grief support. No medical care is administered.

Patty Kermoain, a long-time volunteer for hospice clients, said it’s important to allow people to die in their home. “A lot of people would rather be at home in Haines than in a hospital,” Kermoain said. “I feel like I wanted to be able to contribute to that.”

Kermoain said that, while not everybody is comfortable with working with terminal clients, there are other ways to support a family or person in need. The Bridge Program, which pairs volunteers with locals who need help walking a dog, getting groceries, or reading the newspaper, offers simple ways to get at an underlying need for some community members: socialization. 

Helen Tengs, a 93-year-old lifelong Haines resident who recently moved to the Juneau Pioneer home is “still in the game” despite Alzheimer’s Disease, in part because of the Bridge Program, according to her daughter Christy Tengs. 

“I think these interactions with other women who have gotten her out-and-about around town has opened up other worlds for her,” Tengs said. For more than a decade, volunteers would drive Helen Tengs to the Chilkoot River, the Saturday farmer’s market and, in once instance, to their home to watch old Gene Kelly movies.

“She does have Alzheimer’s, but she still makes connections with the heart,” Tengs said.

Studies show that men who are 65 and older face the highest rates of suicide, with seniors 85 and older the next most susceptible population, according to a 2018 report by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

One of the most prevalent reasons cited in the report is loneliness, brought on by the death of a spouse or friends, or depression caused by loss of mobility for routine daily tasks.

“One important underlying gift that each volunteer brings is to alleviate loneliness,” Marantz-Falvey said of Hospice of Haines.

Volunteer training is free, and will take place Sept. 16, 18, 23 and 25 from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Sept. 21 and 28 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Soboleff-McCrae Wellness Center conference room across from Captains Choice Motel.

If prospective volunteers can’t attend on those dates, Marantz-Falvey said she could conduct tutoring catch-up sessions. Volunteers can commit to a minimum of one hour a week.

Hospice offers the training to the public as a community service for anyone who wants to be more comfortable with loss and life transitions, and participants are not required to become volunteers.

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