[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 115 (Tuesday, July 31, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1355-E1356]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 IN RECOGNITION OF THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF PENINSULA FAMILY SERVICE'S 
                     SENIOR PEER COUNSELING PROGRAM

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 31, 2012

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the 25th Anniversary of a 
program in San Mateo County that has eliminated loneliness and provided 
support, guidance and joy for thousands of seniors.
   Peninsula Family Service's Senior Peer Counseling is an outstanding 
example of how to best help seniors with transitions and life changes, 
health concerns, mobility issue, care provider questions and grief. A 
senior in need is paired up with a trained volunteer of a similar age, 
experience, values, wisdom and culture. In all of its work, Peninsula 
Family Service empowers families and individuals to become or remain 
self-sufficient and to be contributing members of our community.
   Senior Peer Counseling was started in 1987 by Delia McGrath as part 
of the San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Program. The 
county recognized a need to provide an integrated and coherent set of 
services for older adults that would ensure they could live in the 
community as long as possible while maintaining their independence, 
connection and high quality of life. Delia McGrath was quickly joined 
by Carol Blomberger, a skilled art therapist, and the two set the 
groundwork for Senior Peer Counseling. They taught future counselors 
life skills that prepared them to help seniors in very difficult 
situations. Delia McGrath pointed out that the most important skill was 
listening; it built the foundation for trust and a peer relationship.

[[Page E1356]]

   Today, all peer counselors must be at least 55 years old and are 
required to receive 60 hours of training to provide one-on-one and 
group counseling to older adults that covers social and family 
relationships, self awareness, listening skills, understanding 
depression, substance abuse and other challenges of aging.
   Initially the Senior Peer Counseling served English speakers, but in 
1989 it was expanded to Spanish speakers with the La Esperanza Vive 
component which Teresa Hurtado coordinated for over twenty years.
   In 2008, the county put Peninsula Family Service in charge of Senior 
Peer Counseling which expanded the services to additional underserved 
seniors in the Chinese, Filipino and LGBT communities. Now a total of 
80 peer counselors support over 300 seniors under the leadership of 
Susan Houston and Howard Lader and their dedicated staff.
   Peer counseling deeply touches the lives of the people involved. One 
senior who was dependent on his electric wheel chair rarely left his 
home and became increasingly isolated. His social worker requested a 
senior peer counselor hoping it would help his social life and get him 
involved in a senior center close to his home. After six visits the 
senior asked the counselor to assist him in arranging transportation 
with Redi-Wheels and to join him at the senior center for the first 
couple of visits. The senior now happily goes to the center twice a 
week.
   Patti Garber began volunteering as a counselor a few years ago. As a 
cancer patient herself, she says the work gives her a sense of purpose. 
``I get more back than I put in,'' she says. ``I like solving problems 
and providing a web of connections.'' And that she does whether she 
helps a senior find food, apply for Social Security online, find a pet 
or get a wheel chair.
   Arleen Henriksen who passed away last year at age 92, credited her 
long live in part to her volunteer counseling. Arleen, whom I had the 
privilege of knowing when she volunteered in my legislative offices, 
dedicated over 20 years and much of her energy to the program. In 2009, 
she told the San Mateo Daily Journal, ``It's more rewarding for the 
counselor than the people you help.'' She added, ``People get scared 
thinking that, to do this, they have to be psychologists. That's not 
the case; you don't have to be anything more than a caring person.''
   Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to rise with me to 
honor the caring people at Senior Peer Counseling who for 25 years have 
provided a remarkable service that has brightened the lives of 
thousands of seniors in San Mateo county. May it thrive for the next 25 
years and serve as a model for other communities.

                          ____________________