A senior’s advocate

Under the care of Carol Augustine, an Alexandria senior center can provide the elderly with food, services and, most of all, an antidote to loneliness.

With a bachelor’s in sociology, a master’s in gerontology and three decades of experience working with seniors, Carol Augustine undeniably has a passion for the elderly.

“I’ve always loved working with older people,” said Augustine, the program director at St. Martin de Porres Senior Center in Alexandria. “They feel alone and I like to listen to their stories.”

The senior center, operated by Catholic Charities, welcomes participants 60 years or older from all walks of life — 39 nations are represented — and all faiths. Augustine’s position at St. Martin affords her the opportunity not only to interact with the elderly, but to advocate for them. She spends her days developing programs to meet their needs, including social, health and legal services.

The center, however, is more than a bureaucracy. It’s a place where seniors can go to feel welcome, meet friends and develop a renewed sense of purpose.

“It’s a very warm, loving, accepting atmosphere — kind of close-knit,” Augustine said.

It has to be, considering the 50 to 60 seniors who participate in the programs Monday through Friday are gathered in one large room. On a recent Friday morning, an exercise class, a podiatric examination and an English as a Second Language lesson were underway simultaneously in the antechambers of the larger activity room, which itself was bustling with seniors playing Scrabble and working on word searches.

“There’s something for everyone,” said Maryanne McMillan, activities and volunteer coordinator. “It’s easy to make new friends.”

The daily free lunches and programming ensure the center is a welcome place for the seniors who participate in its programs — 70 percent of whom live at or below the poverty level. In addition to being supported by Catholic Charities, St. Martin is funded in part by the City of Alexandria, the federal Older Americans Act, the United Way, and private and participant donations.

When she began traveling the road of a career in elder care in the 1970s, Augustine wished that she could make a difference in the lives of the people she met. She served as an intern at Burke Lake Gardens, a low-income housing facility for seniors, and worked with both the Fairfax and Alexandria Agencies on Aging. She took over as program director at St. Martin in 1989. Having participated in both her grandmother’s and her mother’s elder care, Augustine is no stranger to the effect of seniors on family life.

“People are so busy with their careers, their families,” she said. “It’s hard to be having problems with your children, then maybe financial problems with your job and a senior parent who is demanding time and attention.”

St. Martin counters that reality by offering the elderly a network of people who will call each other on the phone or check in on one another if they’re sick.

“It’s amazing the support system that they make here,” Augustine said. “They get to know each other and they’re like family.”

Its impact is so great that when St. Martin closes its doors on the weekends, seniors feel its absence, Augustine said.

“It never ceases to amaze me how much this program means to them.”

For Augustine, herself, the impact of the program has been great.

“I have observed firsthand how center programs have changed the lives of hundreds of elderly people,” she said. “What began as a career in aging has now become much more. It’s gratifying to know that you’ve made a difference in the lives of so many lonely people.”