For more information about the award program, visit www. The program is mostly staffed by volunteers, who are vetted through the Burbank Volunteer Program. Project HOPE volunteers are hand-picked and paired with senior program participants to provide essential services to local at-risk and home-bound seniors, such as in-home visitation, grocery shopping, transportation services, and more. With the onset of the COVID pandemic and the closure of park facilities, many seniors found themselves facing heightened anxiety and isolation since they could no longer safely socialize and interact with others.
In response, city staff reoriented its resources to meet the increase in demand for home-based services. To comply with public health orders, Project HOPE was forced to suspend in-home visitations and transportation services, but the city was able to continue services connecting seniors through a new program, Phone Pals, which provided much-needed companionship via telephone.
Given the remote nature of the program, volunteer recruitment was expanded to include students from the Gerontology Program at California State University, Long Beach.
Similarly, the Joslyn Adult Center, a longtime partner, worked diligently to find creative ways to connect with the community, despite being closed. Each month, the team added new free programs and activities online. However, accessing virtual classes proved to be a challenge for some senior patrons. So, staff added telephone Zoom training to their service offerings to help seniors navigate virtual classes and meetings.
This paved the way for the launch of monthly Virtual Bingo sessions, sponsored by the Regal Medical Group. At the start of the pandemic, that number jumped to nearly Staff had to find a way to provide these meals to participants, many of whom were dependent on the program for their food.
