Starting in November of last year, the Niles Senior Center launched its Neighborhood HEROES program that pairs people in need with able-bodied neighbors who volunteer to shovel their driveways after snow falls.
“Other municipalities have snow shoveling programs and the mayor is really looking to build that community involvement and community networking initiatives in the village,” Milcah Baraona, program coordinator, said.
As of February, the program has dispatched the volunteers only twice this year.
“We’re not really concerned with a light dusting, but we’ve had two snow events over three inches,” Baraona said. “It’s not like it’s been horrible just yet, but we’re trying to be proactive instead of reactive and getting the word out.”
To sign up for the program, volunteers can either go online to the village website or stop by the senior center to sign up and fill out a waiver. For those requesting help, they can either stop by the senior center or call 847-588-8420 to have a waiver mailed to them.
“Right now we have more people in need than we do volunteers,” Baraona said. “We have about 12 people who have requested services; about eight people who have completed the waiver process and from those eight, we need four more volunteers, but it’s all contingent on getting that waiver back.”
Once all of the paperwork has been filed, the senior center then pairs the volunteers up with those in need, trying to keep the two homes within comfortable walking distance.
“We pair a volunteer up with that person for the duration of the snow season and I’m trying to do it where the people are within walking distance so if we do truly have a blizzard, nobody will have to worry about getting in the car and driving across town,” Baraona said. “For the most part, the volunteers and neighbors are paired up within about 2-4 blocks of each other.”
For more information about the program, see www.vniles.com.
Alicia Ramirez is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
