It all began 50 years ago with Sister Marguerite O’Connor knocking on doors in downtown Lewiston. She was searching for isolated seniors to see if they needed help.

It was a solitary and unassuming start to what would become life-affirming and sometimes life-saving support for thousands of Lewiston seniors that continues to this day.

The effort O’Connor led, appropriately called SEARCH, was honored Wednesday at a 50th anniversary celebration that featured guest speakers who talked about their experiences, volunteer appreciation awards and a video of memorable volunteer-client matches.

Although no clients of the program were at the event, their spirit filled the room as speakers reminisced about the program, how it has evolved over the years, its many volunteers and its impact.

First begun locally in 1975, the initiative was inspired by a request from the state’s then-Department of Health and Welfare for a program to aid the elderly in the Lewiston-Auburn area. Catholic Charities Maine then created the program under the auspices of the Diocese of Portland, appointing O’Connor, a consultant in gerontology, as program coordinator after starting a similar program in Portland. 

Though it started Lewiston, the program has since grown to include much of central and western Maine.

Formally called “Seeking Elderly Alone and Renewing Courage and Hope,” it’s a “nonprofit program with a big heart,” said former SEARCH Director Tina Gilbert at the 50th anniversary celebration at St. Philip Church in Auburn.

“There was definitely a need to try to find isolated seniors in the downtown areas of Lewiston and Auburn,” said Wendy Russell, Volunteer and Aging Services director for Catholic Charities.

The program then and now provides home visitation, handy-person services, transportation and telephone reassurance free of charge and on a nonsectarian basis to isolated seniors.

The senior independent living assistance initiative matches volunteers with elderly clients based on location, needs, likes and dislikes. Clients fill out an intake form to determine what kind of support they need and a volunteer is chosen who will be the best fit. The program in the Lewiston and Auburn area currently serves 45 seniors. 

Many volunteers are retired seniors themselves. “We find that they build stronger bonds because of that age range,” said Russell. 

One such bond lasted 18 years between Larry Lachance and a client.

“I became a SEARCH volunteer by accident,” said the retired car salesman in his presentation at the 50th anniversary event. 

Lachance has been a volunteer since 1978, when he first took a survey offered by his church at the time, Holy Family. The survey made him eligible to be a volunteer for SEARCH and he was paired with his first client, a Lithuanian man by the name of Roko.  

Roko was “demanding but interesting,” Lachance explained. Roko was a member of a Lithuanian underground resistance against the Nazis in World War II. He was captured and placed in a concentration camp for his affiliation with the rebel group.   

Lachance, a self-proclaimed history buff, enjoyed hearing Roko’s memories.

“I would sit by his bedside and he would tell me of his stories,” he said. Lachance explained that after supporting Roko with transportation needs, the two would talk. This continued for 18 years until his client’s death.   

Following Roko’s passing, Lachance was paired again and has been working with client Bob Nadeau for about 15 years. Nadeau, who was born with a degenerative retina condition, is now blind. Fluent in braille, he worked with the blind for the Department of Labor in Augusta for several years and now takes full advantage of his computer audio system to aid his condition. “He knows the news before I do,” said Lachance with a chuckle.

Volunteers participate in running errands, socialization activities, meals and games with their clients for about three to four hours a week.  

“All you have to do is call and they’ll come right over. They were there within the day,” said Constance Beaulieu, a SEARCH client from Lisbon Falls. Constance and her husband, Roland, are both disabled and have transportation needs, leading them to be matched with Anne Skelton, a volunteer from Auburn. 

“She’s a wonderful person; you couldn’t ask for a better person,” said Beaulieu, mentioning the strong bond the couple have formed with Skelton. “It’s a wonderful program.” 

Although it is difficult to find volunteers in rural areas, the program provides a telephone reassurance service. “Every once in a while, they’ll call up and see how you’re doing if there’s anything you may need,” Beaulieu continued, referring to Skelton and the benefits of the service. 

Skelton, a former Lewiston public school elementary teacher, began working with SEARCH in 2018 after learning about the program from Russell when she would swim at the YWCA. The 64-year-old now splits her time between working at Dollar Tree and tending to nine clients.   

“I wouldn’t quit. I really enjoy doing it. … I enjoy the companionship, I enjoy listening to them and I enjoy helping,” said Skelton, who received a Governor’s Award for over 500 hours of service.  

When asked about her impact on clients, Skelton replied that it’s “the security. It’s just the security that they can get to the grocery store and they don’t have to take the bus. Just the security knowing that someone’s available to take them to doctor’s appointments or shopping.”  

What may feel like a part of the average person’s everyday routine is not always a certainty for seniors who live in remote areas and do not have transportation options. SEARCH enables seniors to care for themselves while remaining in their own homes.  

“Our main goal is to try to help our seniors stay in their homes as long as possible by providing these support services,” explained Russell.  

“The sense of community is really about volunteerism, having volunteers and people in the community giving back to their neighbors or other elderly people around them, and it’s just such strong bonds that they build. It’s just wonderful to see and then hearing their stories,” said Russell.  

While some clients use SEARCH primarily for assistance with errands and appointment transportation, others meet with volunteers for friendship and camaraderie.  

“It was really good companionship for him,” said three-year volunteer John D’Amour about one of his clients. The Minot native described that his client benefitted from “having someone to reminisce with and spend time.” The two would watch TV together and have occasional meals weekly.  

D’Amour, a retired member of the Maine Department of Labor who helped people with disabilities find work for many years, emphasized the impact of the program.

“I think it really makes a difference,” he said. “A lot of the folks are fairly isolated, (and) may not be getting a lot of people to visit or do things. So it does make a difference.”