DATE: Tuesday, June 24, 1997                TAG: 9706240305

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B7   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MICHELLE MIZAL, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   93 lines

AGENCY HELPING THOSE IN THEIR GOLDEN YEARS HAS SILVER ANNIVERSARY SENIOR SERVICES OFFERS BASIC FOOD, LEGAL AND TRANSPORTATION SERVICES TO THE AREA'S ELDERLY.

William Ashman, Virginia Beach coordinator for the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, will retire this month at the age of 96.

The soft-spoken widower, father, grandfather and great-grandfather still blushes with joy when he thinks of all the friends he has met since he started working for the program at the tender age of 76.

Ashman worked for Motorola as a wholesale distributor for 23 years. But after retiring, he wasn't ready to plant a small vegetable garden in his back yard or spend his days sipping glasses of lemonade on the front porch.

``I wanted to feel useful and do something for the public at large,'' Ashman said.

The volunteer program, a branch service of Senior Services of Southeastern Virginia, gave him the opportunity. For 20 years he has recruited older people to volunteer at different organizations.

It's an example of how Senior Services, formerly known as SEVAMP, brings older people in South Hampton Roads together.

The nonprofit agency began in 1972 as the Southeastern Virginia Areawide Model Program - one of 10 pilot programs nationwide - offering basic food, transportation and legal services. Now, as it celebrates its 25th year, it coordinates 23 programs serving more than 80,000 people in South Hampton Roads.

Its services, most provided on a free or sliding-fee basis, include personal care, adult day care, employment, volunteer programs, health screening and promotion, elder abuse prevention and medical case management.

The agency's growth reflects the population of South Hampton Roads, which has more nursing-home and adult-care residents than any other region in the state.

In February, the General Assembly passed a joint resolution honoring Senior Services of Southeastern Virginia's 25th anniversary. The agency's staff will also hold silver anniversary celebrations in October, and Senior Services will host the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging convention in July.

``What really strikes me is that this organization is really part of the fabric of Hampton Roads,'' said executive director John N. Skirven. ``. . . It really is an organization with tradition and heritage rooted in service to older people.''

Kathleen Blanchard, assistant director for programs at Senior Services, said the agency helps older people, who often feel isolated, stay socially active.

The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, for example, recruits people such as Ashman to help out in a wide range of community organizations.

Volunteers can find themselves doing anything from tutoring to taxes, depending on their interests and skills. Those who know how can even teach square dancing to those willing to learn.

In addition to its volunteer programs, Senior Services helps place people in paid jobs and makes sure they get the training they need to succeed.

Debi Johnston, senior community service employment program coordinator, said she receives more than 300 applications a year. Most of the applicants are between 55 and 62 - the age a person has to be to receive Social Security. They need the money and want to stay busy.

Only 63 people each year are selected for job training and possible placement, based on financial need.

They get special training at different sites around the area before being placed with a company for further training and employment. Under the federal Older Americans Act, Senior Services can pay the workers' salary for the first few weeks as a sort of training reimbursement.

Last year, 59 people received jobs such as data entry and telephone answering under the program.

Gloria Esposito, 69, senior employment program assistant for Senior Services, started in the job-training program working 20 hours a week, earning minimum wage as she learned to take incoming calls and applications. She has now been a regular staff member for three years, helping place applicants in jobs.

``I love it. . . . I absolutely love it,'' she said. ``Right now I'm waiting for a computer in my office, and they're sending me to school at the Norfolk Senior Center to learn more about it.''

Esposito said many employers want older workers.

``They say that older workers are dependable and learn with an open mind,'' she said.

Esposito said she places many job applicants with car dealerships, in clerical work and in nursing assistance. Senior Services even pays for schooling when it's needed.

The Senior Services program started 32 years ago as a senior center in Norfolk. It soon grew into a model program for senior citizens, funded by federal and state grants as well as contributions from the United Way.

By making sure those grants and contributions get channeled to the programs that directly help older residents, Senior Services gives people like Esposito and Ashman the support to keep living the way they want to.

At the end of the month, Ashman will pack up the things in his office - lots of papers, his framed awards for years of volunteer service and the plaque from Cox Communications for being the Great Citizen of Hampton Roads in 1994.

``What are you going to do now?'' he was asked.

``I'm going to see if I can volunteer in my retirement home,'' he said.

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