Marie, an older adult in Westmoreland County with limited mobility, has lived in her split-level brick house for more than 60 years. She and her late husband bought the home when they moved to be closer to her parents. Marie eventually installed a cathedral ceiling in the dining room to resemble the saltbox houses of Massachusetts and Vermont, where she lived during the early years of her marriage.
The 89-year-old’s rambling subdivision looks nothing like historic New England. It lacks sidewalks and bus lines, so getting around isn’t easy for someone who uses a walker and doesn’t drive. That makes it tricky for Marie, whose full name Spotlight PA is withholding because she lives alone, to get to her many medical appointments.
“My calendar looks like a Bingo card,” said Marie wryly.
The joke gets a chuckle from Polly Leipold, a volunteer with Wesley Family Services’ Open Your Heart to a Senior program, which provides free in-home, nonmedical care to older adults in Westmoreland County. Neighboring Allegheny County has a similar initiative called In Service of Seniors: Pittsburgh.
Volunteers help with daily tasks like reading mail, transportation to the grocery store and medical appointments. Leipold lives nearby and has driven Marie to many doctor’s offices.