Great Stories
Montana Campus Corps:
College Students Meeting Critical Community Needs
The Aging Population by Megan Eby

I have always loved the aging population but working with them one on one has been a very positive experience. In social work is it an ideal to value the consumer and allow them to make their own decisions. As long as those decisions are well informed and the consumer is fully able to cognitively make those choices. This particular client, we'll call Bob was one of those people. He knew that being unsanitary and living in a less than par condition could affect his ability to remain in his rental and age in place. I stated that in order to keep the place he loved, certain work had to be done. I scheduled the time and got the supplies ready to work with him on this large task. Upon my next visit to his home, Bob had completed the tasks on his own. He was very proud of his accomplishments and wanted to show off his hard work. He reported that one of the jobs took him four hours! Bob ended up thanking me for "kicking his butt," into doing what he was capable of doing on his own. He had a renewed sense of pride and empowerment!

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