There are many different volunteer opportunities, but for nearly a half century, Larry Lachance of Lewiston has been dedicated to the same one. The reason, he says, is simple.

“I cannot think of a better group of people to be associated with,” he says.

Lachance is a volunteer with Catholic Charities Maine’s Seek Elderly Alone, Renew Courage and Hope, more commonly known as SEARCH. The program provides companionship and some basic services, such as transportation, to older residents, allowing them to remain independent and connected with their communities for as long as possible.

“Many of the seniors we hear from, we find that they are older, in their 70s and 80s and 90s. They’ve been isolated and have lost a lot of their family and friends,” says Wendy Russell, director of SEARCH.

“We can continue to feed. We can continue to clothe, but we also have this emotional need,” says Steve Letourneau, CEO of Catholic Charities Maine. “I think SEARCH brings dignity and respect to older people.”

“It’s fulfilling that you’re doing something to help somebody else,” says Lachance. “When I’m leaving my client, I always walk away, and I thank God that I can do this.”

Lachance was among the volunteers who shared their experiences during a celebration of SEARCH’s 50th anniversary, held at St. Philip Church in Auburn. SEARCH got its start in the Lewiston-Auburn area in 1975.

Tina Gilbert, who was SEARCH’s director in the 1980s, recalled that in the early years, it was women religious who played a critical role in making connections with seniors in the community.

“In the beginning, SEARCH staff included nuns from this area who actually went into the local parishes, knocking on doors. That’s how they found clients in the beginning. They would get [information through] word of mouth, and they would go knocking on doors to find out if there was an elderly person there who needed help.”

Through the years, the SEARCH program continued to expand, and it now offers services in all or part of nine of Maine’s 16 counties. Over this past year, there have been 164 volunteers serving nearly 260 seniors. 

Christine Sirois of Auburn has been a volunteer since 2016.

“I started volunteering more for me than for them because I lost my husband in 2016, and my parish priest told me I should get out and volunteer,” she says. “I volunteered for SEARCH, and I was just telling the ladies here that I don’t know what they use in the formula to match people up, but it’s always been a great match. It’s like we were made for each other. They fall in love with you, and they appreciate you so much.”

Russell says when pairing seniors with companions, they look for shared interests, and as a result, many long-term friendships have formed along the way. That is the case with Clarissa Will and Mari Cook.

“Clarissa has become a light in my life. It’s always been very easy for us, and I get certainly as much joy from it as she does,” says Cook, a volunteer with the AmeriCorps Senior Companion Program through Opportunity Alliance, which partners with SEARCH in some areas.

“We have a lot of fun, and we’ve become very good friends. I think we’re soulmates,” says Will.

In addition to providing companions, SEARCH also offers a telephone reassurance program, for which Sarah Trites of Sabattus has been volunteering for nearly 25 years.

“It really has helped me and helped them, too,” she says.

Trites, who has some physical impairments, the result of complications following childhood surgery, says she began participating in the program to improve her communications skills but has made friends as a result. She recalls saving the life of one of them.

“I was talking to her one day, and all of a sudden, she stopped talking, and I just heard her breathing. I said her name over and over again, and when she didn’t answer, I pressed my own Lifeline button, and I said, ‘It’s not for me. It’s for a friend of mine,’” says Trites. “They sent an ambulance to her. Her blood pressure had dropped.”

Along with the volunteers who visit clients and folks like Trites, who connect on the phone, there are also knitters and crocheters who make items such as afghans for clients. Barbara Hughes has been doing that for 15 years.

“I have four or five in the bag in my car right now,” she says. “You know, some people are in wheelchairs, and your legs get cold. Your hands are cold.”

While the SEARCH program has made a difference in hundreds of lives, there are many more seniors waiting to be paired with a companion. The commitment is often no more than a couple hours a week.

“Many around the world, including myself, are very excited about Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pope. He has given us a message about making an effort to build bridges. Build bridges. That’s exactly what this SEARCH program has been doing now for 50 years,” says Phoebe Lowell, a former director of the program.