SENIORS : Center’s Peer Counseling Project Encourages Potential for Change
Dena Beeler got sick of hearing people say, “It’ll get better in a year.”
“It doesn’t get better,” she said recently. “It only gets easier.”
Beeler, 75, was married for 50 years when her husband died and left her pondering what life would be without him. She was afraid of being a “basket case,” and although she had never thought it would happen to her, she admitted that she needed people. She needed contact, nurturing and a feeling of being productive.
Two years later, she drives an hour a day to the Senior Health and Peer Counseling Center in Santa Monica, where she holds down a part-time, paying job as an executive secretary, does additional work as a volunteer and is still a member of the group that gave her the will go to on.
She is there five days a week--25 hours or more all told. The support group helped her to start taking care of herself, although even now, she says, she has not come entirely to grips with the finality of her husband’s death.
She has an 83-year-old client whom she counsels over her loss. “She was afraid to cry and I told her it was a good healer,” Beeler said, “and now I cry with her.”
Beeler remembers calling half a dozen centers before she chose the Senior Health and Peer Counseling Center. For her, the center offered the right balance between support services and concern for promoting self-esteem and independence.
The center, which opened in 1978, offers services that vary from in-home preventive health care to money management advice.
But what brought Beeler to the center was its specialty: peer counseling. A wide variety of self-help groups are run by senior volunteers who are trained and supervised by professionals. When Beeler entered the peer-counseling program for the newly widowed, she learned that depression, loneliness and a feeling of loss of productivity were shared by others. That was an important first step toward recovering a positive self-image.
Beeler’s group still meets every week. There are also support groups for family members who are caring for an older person.
The center’s programs are open to anyone 55 or older. There is no charge, although each person is asked to make a contribution. The Senior Health and Peer Counseling Center is at 1527 4th St., Santa Monica. For appointments and information, call (213) 829-4715.
Activities and Services
* Santa Monica Emeritus College (213) 450-5150: Offers a variety of classes in practical, scholarly and entertaining topics. Classes are held at various locations every day but Sunday. * Second Careers Program (213) 380-3166: Hollywood-based program offers employment placement for people 55 and older throughout the region. It also offers career counseling and planning for retirement.
* Alzheimer’s Day-Care Center (213) 393-7488: Westside Independent Services to the Elderly in Santa Monica, known as WISE Senior Services, offers care-giver workshops, often with guest speakers, for families.
* You and Your Aging Parents is the title of a program offered during January by WISE Senior Services. For further information, contact Joanne Hayes: (213) 394-9871.
* Handyman Program (213) 936-8278: Sponsored by the United Community and Housing Development Corp., the program offers free security devices and installation for eligible seniors. The devices include deadbolts, window locks, smoke detectors, security screen doors and security lighting.
Transportation
* WISE Senior Services has obtained four new lift-equipped vans for transporting clients. New transportation schedule: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Mondays through Fridays; noon to 3 p.m. Saturdays, and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays. For reservations, call: (213) 394-9816.
* A shuttle bus service for residents of Beverly Hills 62 or older provides free transportation within the city. For information, call: (213) 275-2791.
Money Management
* WISE Series: “Women--Be in Charge of Your Life” is the theme of a series of seven workshops on money management. Call (213) 394-9871. Also, the new WISE Resource Center, at 1527 4th St., Santa Monica, offers information on a variety of matters of interest to the elderly, including legal and financial services, Medi-Cal, and Social Security.
* RSVP Tax Counseling: Trained counselors will help people 65 and older with income tax filing. The free program operates from Feb. 1 through mid-April, at 1320 Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica. For an appointment, call: (213) 394-9871.
* The State Franchise Tax Board has a toll-free phone number for questions about preparing forms for state taxes, senior renter assistance and homeowner assistance. Call (800) 852-5711. The service operates weekdays from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. from January through April 15, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. the rest of the year.
Linda Feldman, a Santa Monica free-lance writer, will write a biweekly column on Westside seniors. She will regularly use a portion of the column to provide information about coming events and continuing services. Notices concerning events and services should be addressed to her in care of The Times, 1717 4th St., Suite 200, Santa Monica 90401.