Volunteers Involved for the Emotional Well-being of Seniors (VIEWS)
The VIEWS program promotes the emotional well-being of seniors through support and social engagement. Weekly peer support groups, Conversations on Aging and Life Stories Writing Workshop, provide emotional support, unconditional listening, and sharing of experiences at no cost to the participants.
Services
Peer Support Groups are small closed groups that allow the participants to freely discuss topics that meet their needs. Peer Support Groups help to reduce isolation and while building community for the participants.
- Peer Support Groups are held weekly at the same location
- 5-8 screened participants *
- Meetings are confidential and occur in a safe and supportive environment where members can talk about life’s challenges, changes, losses and successes.
- Include our Gay and Grey group, a mixed gender support group for LGBT older adults.
- Sessions facilitated by trained VIEWS senior peer counseling volunteers that are older adults (age 55+)
*Prospective members are interviewed to ensure a good fit and are asked to make a weekly commitment to the support groups.
Conversations on Aging provide an opportunity for older adults to come together and discuss their feelings and experiences on specific topics of aging. VIEWS’ Conversation on Aging discussion groups are:
- A place for participants to share their feelings and listen to others.
- Confidential discussions that are held in a private room or virtually.
- Facilitated by trained VIEWS Conversation Facilitator volunteers that are older adults (age 55+).
- 90-minute sessions that are most effective for groups of 8-10 participants. Conversations on Aging groups are hosted at various venues and are advertised in local and senior-focused publications, Senior Center newsletters, and in the “Upcoming Events” section at the bottom of this page.
Life Stories Sharing
- The group meets for 8 sessions, generally weekly, for 2 hours.
- Facilitated by two trained senior peer support volunteers.
- Giving participants the opportunity to explore their life experiences and to share written and verbal memories from various portions of their lives.
Friendly Caller
- Connecting older adults with a trained Senior Peer Support volunteer by phone.
- One on One contact could be a one time phone call or a positive text message.
- Contact OAPeerCallers@multco.us or Aging Disability Resource Connection 503-988-3646
Volunteer
VIEWS volunteers are a vital force in the community, assisting other older adults and providing a model for healthy aging. VIEWS provides its services in Multnomah and Clackamas Counties.
We have two volunteer opportunities (age 55 and better):