In 1985 five sponsoring congregations in Austin, Texas formed a volunteer service called West Austin Caregivers. The purpose was to respond to needs of the increasing number of elderly living alone in Austin. West Austin was targeted as the location for this pilot program based on 1980 census tracks reflecting a high concentration of the over-60 population in this area. Modeled after a national volunteer caregiver project, programming was developed to meet the needs of the elderly in the neighborhoods served. The number of congregations has grown through the years and the volunteer services such as providing transportation, running errands, performing minor home repair and proving social contact help older adults maintain and improve their quality of life. With assistance from the West Austin Caregivers recipients can continue to live independently.
Seven more caregivers programs followed the model of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation interfaith volunteer programs and the programs are networked locally under the umbrella organization Faith in Action Caregivers. The name of the West Austin Caregivers was changed to Faith in Action - West Austin. Currently, there are 10 Faith in Action Caregiver programs with the addition of Elgin and Southwest Austin in January 2009.
The small collection (1 folder) contains the administrative records for the years 1996 and 1997. Included are bylaws, meeting minutes, agendas and memoranda.
Arranged by date.
A 362.63 WE
A 362.163 WE West Austin Caregivers,
This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
Open to all users.
None.
West Austin Caregivers Records (AR.2007.004). Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, Texas.
Donor #: unknown
Donation Date: 2007
Finding aid created and encoded by Molly Hults/2010