‘Helping Hands’ extends support to NLV seniors

Diana Sahagun

Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2000 | 10:01 a.m.

Reaching out with helping hands -- that's the personal touch, says North Las Vegas resident Mary Rodriquez.

Along with volunteers at the James Seastrand Helping Hands of North Las Vegas, Rodriquez spends hours with the elderly -- sitting, talking and helping them maintain their lives so they are not sent to senior citizens homes.

Now with new office space and more volunteers, the group hopes to reach out to even more seniors in the city who are in desperate need.

The organization began in 1998, when Rosel Seastrand was approached by the Nevada Division of Aging Services to form an organization in the memory of her husband, who died in November 1997.

James Seastrand, who served 16 years as mayor and six more as a councilman, helped open the vast northern valley to development in the 1980s by pushing for Pardee's Eldorado master-planned community in North Las Vegas.

"I'm sure he would be more than pleased to have his name attached," Rosel said of her husband, who served on the Nevada Division of Aging Services board for several years.

The James Seastrand Helping Hands program took in its first client in 1998 with only a handful of volunteers and a small office space at Lake Mead Hospital. Now the organization has more than 36 trained volunteers, has assessed 68 clients, and has a brand new office in the Civic Center Business Park across from City Hall.

At its open house last week the center was packed with city employees, volunteers and others seeking more information about the organization. A number of pictures and plaques adorned the wall, remembering the life of Seastrand.

"He probably would be a bit shy because of all the fuss," Rosel said of her husband, "but he would be happy the organization was established."

The organization brings together volunteers who assist North Las Vegas seniors so they may remain independent in their homes. Volunteers, who visit 30-35 clients a month, do everything from minor home repairs to providing transportation. The organization loans medical equipment such as wheelchairs and walkers to clients, as well as delivers donated goods to clients at no cost.

The James Seastrand Helping Hands of North Las Vegas is affiliated with Helping Hands of Henderson and Las Vegas, which provide similar services. Clients are asked to contribute an amount affordable to them, from $1 to $5 an hour, but it is not required, Rodriquez said.

Rodriquez, who is the only paid part-time employee, said she began working for the center in 1998 after moving to Las Vegas from Florida.

When she called the Nevada Division for Aging Services and was told about the organization, she said it brought her to tears, thinking about her father who suffered from strokes.

"I knew this is what I wanted to do," she said.

For more information or to become a volunteer, call the Helping Hands office at 649-7853.