The new senior volunteer: a bold initiative to expand the supply of independent living services to older adults

Abstract

This article presents findings of the evaluation of the Experience Corps for Independent Living (ECIL) initiative. The ECIL initiative was a two-year demonstration program designed to test innovative ways to use the experience, time, and resources of volunteers over 55 to significantly expand the size and scope of volunteer efforts on behalf of independent living services for frail elders and their caregivers in specific communities. Six demonstration sites were selected to participate in this initiative. The intensive volunteers, the critical component of the program, were more highly skilled than typical volunteers from existing senior volunteer programs. ECIL volunteers collaborated with agency partners to develop new programs, supervise direct service activities, and enhance the performance of the agencies being served. The ECIL initiative was particularly successful in meeting its goals of expanding the supply of independent living services to frail elders and their families in the communities served