Young Volunteers 'Adopt' Local Seniors Vulnerable To Coronavirus

WILMETTE, IL — Dozens of young parishioners at a local Catholic parish have volunteered to support vulnerable members of their community through the outbreak of the new coronavirus. This week, children and young adults in Saints Joseph and Francis Xavier Parish began making hundreds of phone calls to seniors in the community to offer help, share a prayer or just chat.

Last weekend, the Archdiocese of Chicago suspended all liturgical services in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus strain first identified last year in China. Public health officials warn older adults and those with compromised immune systems or preexisting chronic health conditions are most threatened by serious illness from the virus.

In response, Fr. Wayne Watts, pastor of St. Joseph and Francis Xavier, began sending out a daily email with a video mass and links to resources to the parish's roughly 2,800 households, including about 1,000 older community members who are within the most at-risk demographic group.

"But I thought that a lot of these elderly folks don't do email and don't have computers to watch the Mass, and they need companionship," Watts said.

Watts said he partnered with 17-year-old Kate Vallace, who had contacted him earlier in the year in an effort to form a service club of high school students, and Noreen Russo, a volunteer and Wilmette native. They prepared a spreadsheet with contact information for nearly 800 parishioner and a script to make it easy for volunteers to get started.

"They ask if they need anything, they ask how they're doing, they end with a prayer, and then they say, 'Is it OK if I call you again?'" Watts said. "So I've said to the callers that they're going to be kind of adopting these homebound folks so their job during the duration of the pandemic is to check in on them."

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Vallace, a Loyola Academy student, said the undertaking aims to ensure seniors have easy access to groceries and pharmacies and other challenges caused by the threat of COVID-19.

"We started right away, because we realized we have a future ahead of us that's completely unpredictable and no one really knows how bad this could get," Vallace said. "We wanted to let all of our senior parishioners know that there's someone here to help them."

Some older parishioners said they had sufficient supplies and help for the moment, so Vallace and the other volunteers leave their phone numbers for when they have unmet needs.

"I really think it's important for me to protect the elderly right now, because they're obviously very susceptible to this virus," Vallace said.

As of Friday, Vallace said the most common request has been toilet paper. She said planned to go hunting for some Friday at less-traveled stores in response to several calls.

"I think this is a good time to take advantage of my youth and my age, because obviously I'm not as vulnerable in this situation, so I think it's most important for me to reach out to people who are," she said.

The effort has grown to include 38 more volunteer callers.

"We know this is a challenging time for a lot of people in so many different ways, so we might as well — we who are able, but stuck at home, so to speak — this provides an opportunity for us to go out and make a difference," volunteer Luke Philips said.

Philips, 20, a Wilmette native, Loyola Academy grad and Notre Dame University sophomore, said he had already made contact with dozens of seniors in the first couple days of the effort.

"They're really, really grateful for our offering to help. They may not need something at the moment, but they may know someone who does or they will keep us in mind for the future," he said.

"Some of these folks just need someone to talk to. They may not need anything materially, but I had some great conversation with some of our parishioners yesterday — conversations I would never have the chance to get unless I called them," Phillips said. "So I think during this time, it's about easing fear and making people feel heard and listened to. If I can provide that, that may be just as important as any material goods that they would need."

Watts said the church is working on more ways to support those in need during the COVID-19 outbreak. He said he helped arrange a conference call for a regular prayer group unable to meet in person to pray the rosary together over the phone. His parish partners with St. Thomas of Canterbury in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood to donate money and supplies to keep its food pantry stocked, he said.

For others looking to find ways to meet emerging needs in their local communities, the pastor said the key was to build on existing connections.

"Focus on your relationships, the relationships that you have already established in your communities." Watts said. "Get the leaders of individual organizations to help within your community. If you have a women's club or a men's club or a home and school organization, connect with the leaders and focus on those relationships, and then we build from there. When you focus on relationships, great things happen."

With an uncertain future ahead, Vallace said the present moment is the perfect time for people to reach out to those who may be in need and let them know help is available.

"I don't think people realize that this virus, it can spread like wildfire, and soon enough it will be in your town," she said. "So I think it's best to be prepared right now, and we can start that by telling people that we're here to support them and we're here to look after them — and that once it does hit our town, or hit our city, then it will be easy to find help."