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Every Thursday and Friday morning, Joseph Dennis drives to the Olney neighborhood in North Philadelphia to visit James Henry, who is 61 and has trouble seeing due to a visual impairment.
During a recent visit, Dennis sat on the living room couch on the far end closest to Henry, who was set up in his own chair.
“Just sitting back, just relaxing, just kicking it,” Dennis said with a big smile.
The two men often talk about music, movies and the news.
“Mr. Henry, he loves to listen to the radio, music. And his favorite music is Gospel music,” Dennis said.
Henry also likes to sing.
“I got something today, you all can hear it,” he said, rolling right into the chorus of one of his favorite Gospel songs, “I Got Love.”
“I got love, love, love, in my heart,” Henry sang as Dennis nodded to the beat. “I got peace, I got joy, I got love, love, love in my heart, in my heart.”
James Henry (left) plays the harmonica while Joseph Dennis listens. Dennis is a volunteer with Philadelphia’s Senior Companion Program, which pairs volunteers with homebound residents. (Emma Lee/WHYY)
This has been their routine for a couple years now, ever since Dennis, 63, became Henry’s senior companion through a program at the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging that aims to support residents aging at home through friendship and social connection.
The Senior Companion Program has become a way to combat loneliness and isolation, which can be pervasive. Research shows it can contribute to cognitive decline, depression and heart disease.
“When people get older, if they don’t have a family that really looks after them, they can feel isolated and lonely and everything,” Dennis said. “This program helps me help people feel as though they still count, they’re still important, they’re still relevant.”
Joseph Dennis (right), a volunteer with Philadelphia’s Senior Companion Program, chats with James Henry at Henry’s home in North Philadelphia. (Emma Lee/WHYY)
Senior companions must be 55 or older and dedicate at least 20 hours a week to visiting aging residents who are still independent, but may have disabilities or other health conditions.
Volunteers go through background checks, special training and get a cash stipend and reimbursements for travel.
The program is federally funded through AmeriCorps Seniors and served about 63 seniors in fiscal year 2024, program officials said. Currently, there are about 43 active companion volunteers.
After retiring in 2016 from his job at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, Dennis said he suddenly had a lot of free time on his hands. He then read about the senior companion program looking for volunteers in a local paper.
“You get tired just sitting around the house watching TV every day,” Dennis said. “Being in the program, it gives me something to look forward to every day.”