SEARCH (Seek Elderly Alone, Renew Courage & Hope), Greater Bath

SEARCH is a volunteer based effort to locate and contact older adults in our community who are isolated and/or who live alone, to create socialization opportunities, and to link them to any needed resources. Our mission is to enable vulnerable seniors to remain independent and create a long-term support system to meet their needs. SEARCH stands for Seek Elderly Alone, Renew Courage & Hope. Begun as the Greater Bath Elder Outreach Network, our program was developed based on the needs of elder residents as identified in a survey conducted by the United Way of Mid-Coast Maine's Task Force on Community Solutions for the Elderly in the Spring of 2003. In this survey, service providers and seniors in the Greater Bath area reported that older residents in their community faced significant physical, mental, financial and social problems that were not being addressed. Issues related to loss, loneliness, isolation and concerns about children and spouses were reported with feelings of sadness, worry, discouragement, or fear, and a need for help with safety issues. It was reasoned that by matching vulnerable elders with volunteers in their own communities, we would help lessen their feelings of isolation and help them secure the resources needed in order to remain independent in their own homes. The Greater Bath Elder Outreach Network signed up its first clients in the Fall of 2004, with an advisory committee and volunteers coming from the greater Bath and Brunswick communities. Many of these dedicated community members are still active in the program today. The program is run under the direction of Catholic Charities Maine with support from the greater Bath and Brunswick communities. Its name was changed to SEARCH in 2013 to better reflect its ties to the other Catholic Charities SEARCH Programs in Lewiston/Auburn and the Kennebec Valley. We are currently expanding the program into select areas of Lincoln County.

The SEARCH Program provides FREE services to the elderly homebound individuals living in Sagadahoc county and the Brunswick area, as well as select areas of Lincoln County to help them remain independent in their homes. There are no income qualifications for the program. Screened and trained volunteers, depending on their individual availability, donate two to five hours of service to elderly people every week or every other week. After receiving and assessing a referral the SEARCH Program staff matches the client with a volunteer. Matches are based on the client's need for service and the volunteer's availability for the service he/she has elected to provide. Volunteers provide socialization opportunities, transportation to medical appointments, help with errands and grocery shopping, completion of paperwork, or just spend time visiting the senior. A few of our seniors and volunteers have been matched together for as long as six years and have developed strong lasting relationships. Take a look at our agency brochure and video https://www.ccmaine.org/search-program-elderly-services.