Grounded in grassroots senior leadership, We Are Family mobilizes a committed corps of volunteers to reach out to isolated inner-city seniors with free services, advocacy, and companionship, building a network of caring eyes and ears that enables at-risk seniors to age in place. More than simply a social service provider, We Are Family is a bold experiment in building a caring, just and inclusive community.

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Their ongoing services currently include:

 

• Free monthly grocery delivery

• Friendly visits to seniors in their homes

• Regular telephone reassurance calls to isolated seniors

• Referrals to other agencies or services

• Advocacy with landlords and government agencies

• Transportation to shopping or social gatherings.

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We Are Family also provides organizing and leadership training, bringing seniors to participate in community meetings, protests, and city council hearings.  Their model is grounded in the power of volunteers – especially their senior leaders – in their work. They rely on volunteers to provide services, advocacy and beyond. They also purposefully draw on a diverse range of such workers to achieve their deeper aim of building a caring, just, and inclusive community, to help them get to know one another past boundaries like race, class, religion, sexual orientation and language. 

 

Volunteer opportunities (in Shaw, Columbia Heights, Petworth and Adams- Morgan) include Saturday morning grocery deliveries as well as friendly visiting and other assistance throughout the month.  Help is welcome anytime with these activities! You can sign up to help with the Saturday morning grocery deliveries at www.wearefamilydc.org/get-involved/volunteer/ or call Mark at 202-487-8698 for more information.

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Interested in volunteering? Please visit the website or contact GT Liaison Harriet Shugerman (hshugerman08@gmail.com)

[updated June 2023]

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