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Reprints This copy is for your personal, noncommercial use only. To order presentationready copies for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, use the Reprints tool at the top of any article or order a reprint of this article now. Virtual Senior Center connects with athome participants April 30, 2015 by CARA S. TRAGER. Special to Newsday Anthony "Nino" Luciano's living room is filled with artifacts from his glorious life. There are brochures and blackandwhite glossies from his days as an opera singer, and framed photos of family celebrations, faraway travels and sailing trips. In the center of the room is an imposing staircase, an architectural vestige of a time when Luciano restored the Manhattan town house of Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton. But on a recent overcast morning, the Sea Cliff resident, who turns 94 this month, is focusing his attention on a 20inch, allinone computer monitor, embedded with a microphone and webcam. Through an Internet connection, the monitor displays an online interactive program called Washington This Week, produced by Selfhelp Innovations, a division of Selfhelp Community Services Inc. The notforprofit Selfhelp Innovations developed the technology and oversees it. During the hourlong broadcast that's transmitted on the Internet, Luciano shares his thoughts with the program's other participants, all of them seniors, who are mostly homebound. They appear at the bottom of his monitor; when they speak, their faces fill the entire screen. Luciano hears their voices on his snugfitting headphones, which also muffle any noise in the waterfront home he shared with his wife of 68 years, Pat, who died last month at age 94. "I'm confined to the house a great deal of time and this is a good diversion for me," said Luciano, who logs on to the computer five days a week, sometimes twice a day, to participate in programs about Shakespeare, classical music and health. "After a while, you get to know the people [who participate], and it's like an association." A retiree with a varied resume, Luciano had been a tenor with the New York City Opera, performing mostly in Italy and Germany in the late 1940s and early 1950s. With the birth of his son, Luciano left the itinerant opera world and launched New Again Construction, a landmark restoration business in Westbury. Today, Luciano is home far more than he ever anticipated. But as a participant in a free Long Island pilot program called the Virtual Senior Center, known as VSC, the outside world is, literally, at his fingertips. With its touchscreen technology for accessing realtime, interactive programs, VSC allows http://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/retirement/virtualseniorcenter connectswithathomeparticipants1.10348607
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VirtualSeniorCenterconnectswithathomeparticipantsApril30,2015byCARAS.TRAGER.SpecialtoNewsday
Anthony"Nino"Luciano'slivingroomisfilledwithartifactsfromhisgloriouslife.Therearebrochuresandblackandwhiteglossiesfromhisdaysasanoperasinger,andframedphotosoffamilycelebrations,farawaytravelsandsailingtrips.Inthecenteroftheroomisanimposingstaircase,anarchitecturalvestigeofatimewhenLucianorestoredtheManhattantownhouseofWoolworthheiressBarbaraHutton.
Butonarecentovercastmorning,theSeaCliffresident,whoturns94thismonth,isfocusinghisattentionona20inch,allinonecomputer
monitor,embeddedwithamicrophoneandwebcam.ThroughanInternetconnection,themonitordisplaysanonlineinteractiveprogramcalledWashingtonThisWeek,producedbySelfhelpInnovations,adivisionofSelfhelpCommunityServicesInc.ThenotforprofitSelfhelpInnovationsdevelopedthetechnologyandoverseesit.
Duringthehourlongbroadcastthat'stransmittedontheInternet,Lucianoshareshisthoughtswiththeprogram'sotherparticipants,allofthemseniors,whoaremostlyhomebound.Theyappearatthebottomofhismonitorwhentheyspeak,theirfacesfilltheentirescreen.Lucianohearstheirvoicesonhissnugfittingheadphones,whichalsomuffleanynoiseinthewaterfronthomehesharedwithhiswifeof68years,Pat,whodiedlastmonthatage94.
"I'mconfinedtothehouseagreatdealoftimeandthisisagooddiversionforme,"saidLuciano,whologsontothecomputerfivedaysaweek,sometimestwiceaday,toparticipateinprogramsaboutShakespeare,classicalmusicandhealth."Afterawhile,yougettoknowthepeople[whoparticipate],andit'slikeanassociation."
Aretireewithavariedresume,LucianohadbeenatenorwiththeNewYorkCityOpera,performingmostlyinItalyandGermanyinthelate1940sandearly1950s.Withthebirthofhisson,LucianolefttheitinerantoperaworldandlaunchedNewAgainConstruction,alandmarkrestorationbusinessinWestbury.
Today,Lucianoishomefarmorethanheeveranticipated.ButasaparticipantinafreeLongIslandpilotprogramcalledtheVirtualSeniorCenter,knownasVSC,theoutsideworldis,literally,athisfingertips.
Withitstouchscreentechnologyforaccessingrealtime,interactiveprograms,VSCallows
http://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/retirement/virtualseniorcenterconnectswithathomeparticipants1.10348607
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homeboundseniorstotuneintoasmanyas35programsaweek,including"PopularMusicfortheViolin,""ShareYourMemoirs(orMemories)"and"WeightTraining."ProgramsemanatefromdiversesitestheJewishMuseum,TheNewSchoolinManhattan,andcommunitycentersonLongIslandaswellasinBaltimore,ChicagoandSanDiego.Programfacilitatorshostbroadcastsfromparticipatingsitesor,iftheyhaveacomputerwithawebcamandamicrophone,theycanopttodosofromtheirhomes.Intotal,140peopleserveasfacilitators,withaboutadozenbasedonLongIsland,andtheyareallvolunteers.
Thebroadcasts,running45minutesoranhour,areopentoamaximumof15participantswhohavethespecialcomputer.Aftereachsession,seniorscanlingeronlinetochatwithoneanother,thankstoSelfhelp'sproprietaryinteractivetechnology.
"It'sgreat,especiallywhenit'sdifficultforeverybodytogetoutandespeciallyifyou'reinyour90s,"saidLuciano'sson,Nino,59,aninsurancelawyerwhoalsolivesinSeaCliff.
VirtualSeniorCenterwascreatedforisolatedseniorstoprovideparticipantswithstimulatingsubjectsthatconnectthemtoeachother.VSCdovetailswiththefindingsofrecentstudiesthatcreditsocialinteractionswithstavingoffdementiaandpossiblyevendeath.
AnarticlelastyearintheHarvardBusinessReviewcitedresearchbytheUniversityofMichiganthatdeterminedsocializingtobeasimportantasbraingamesandpuzzlesinbuilding"cognitivestrength"amongtheelderly.Andina34yearstudythatendedlastyear,BrighamYoungUniversityresearchersinUtahconcludedthatpeoplewhowerelonely,feltsociallyisolatedorlivedalonehada30percenthigherprobabilityofdeath.
VSCwaslaunchedfiveyearsagoinQueensasaninitiativeofSelfhelpCommunityServices,whichhasalargeportfolioofseniorcentricservices,includingaffordablehousing,communitycentersandhomecare.Today,morethan100seniorsparticipateintheprogramthroughoutthecity,accordingtoDavidDring,executivedirectorofSelfhelpInnovations.Anadditional100participantsresideinBaltimore,ChicagoandSanDiego,wheretheorganizationhaspartneredwithothernonprofitstoofferthetechnology.
InOctober,VSCexpandedintoNassauCountythankstofundingsupport,including$100,000inseedmoneyfromtheUnitarianUniversalistCongregationatShelterRockinManhasset,$20,000fromtheLongIslandCommunityFoundationand$12,000fromtheManhassetCommunityFund.Currently,15seniorsareintheprogram,butwitheachinstallationcosting$1,680,includingthetechnology,Internetconnectionandtraining,presentfundingprovidesforonly25seniorsonLongIsland.TheWestburybasedKimmelHousingDevelopmentFoundationhaspartneredwithSelfhelptodrumupmoresupporttosustainandexpandVSC,accordingtoEllenKelly,sitedevelopmentexecutivevicepresidentatKimmel.
AttheUnitarianchurch,wheretheLucianoshavebeenmembersformorethanahalfcentury,presidentNancyChenBaldwinsaidVSCalignswithmembers'interestingrassrootsmentalhealthprojectsandtheirconcernsforanaging,isolatedpopulation.
"TheVirtualSeniorCenterisingrainedinwhoweareinwantingtohelpthosewhoarehomebound,andasweseeourmembersage,weunderstandtheimportanceofconnectingto
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theoutsideworld,"shesaid.
MarcieLivingstonsignedupforVSCafterhearingabouttheprogramduringavisittothe
MagnoliaSeniorCommunityCenterinLongBeach.SincejoininginMarch,the86yearoldLido
Beachresidenthasbecomeadevoteeofaprogramonfilmnoiranda"Jeopardy!"liketrivia
broadcast.
"Iliketousemyhead,"saidLivingston,awidowwholiveswithanaideandusesacane
becauseofbalanceissues.Inasparebedroominherhome,herpersonalcomputerandVSC
designatedunitsitnexttoeachotheronalongdesk.(VSC'stechnologyallowsforSkype,Web
surfingandemail,butnotwordprocessing.)
AlthoughsheleavesherhouseforacreativewritingprogramandaHebrewinstructionclass,
Livingston,aformersixthgradeteacheratayeshivainLongBeach,saidsheis"homemostof
thetime,"whichmakesVSCaplusinherlife.Shelamented,though,thatsomeVSCfacilitators
aren'tsophisticatedorchallengingenoughforher.
Awarethatgoodfacilitatorsarecritical,SusanBerman,acommunityorganizerforUJA
FederationofNewYork'sEngageJewishServiceCorpsattheSidJacobsonJCCinRoslyn,
saidshefindsfacilitatorsinherdatabaseofpeoplelooking"togiveback"andthenvetsthem.
"WegetthemintoaGooglechatroomtoseehowtheymanage,"shesaid."Theyneedtobe
interactiveandhavegoodcontent."Typically,theyareretireesoremptynesterswithtimeto
researchtheirtopicandputtogetheracurriculum,shesaid.
Whilemanyfacilitatorsleadweekly,biweeklyormonthlycoursesdependingontheirpersonal
schedules,Selfhelpencouragesthemtohostatleastthreeprograms.Generally,classesare
notweeklycliffhangersbuttheydohaveanoverarchingtheme,suchasthehistoryofa
particulararea,currenteventsorcomputers.
Retiredafterservingasalawyer,socialstudiesteacherandonetimemayoralcandidateinhis
hometown,JoeMargolin,70,ofValleyStreamsaidhejoinedVSCasafacilitatoraftersomeone
atJCCoftheGreaterFiveTownsinCedarhurst,wherehesingsinthechoir,approachedhim
abouttheprogram.Sincelastfall,Margolinhasledanhourlongcurrenteventsprogramon
Wednesdaysfromhisdiningroom.
Becauseparticipantsarehomebound,Margolinsaidhestrivesto"keepthetopicsabitonthe
lightsideandrelevantasintheTop10mostsignificantpeople"and"ifIcanthrowinajoke
ortwo,Iwill."Healsotriestogetthemtosharetheirviews,addingthat,bytheendofthe
session,"everyonefeelstheyhadagoodday."
MargolinhasalsobenefittedfromVSC.Theparticipantsinhisbroadcast"havetaughtmejust
aboutasmuchasIhavetaughtthem,"Margolinsaid,"andwearenowabunchoffriends."
Howtobecomeaparticipant
SeniorswhowouldliketoparticipateinVSCmustbemostlyhomeboundandsociablehave
spaceintheirhomesforacomputerandbemotivatedtouseit,accordingtoEllenKelly,site
developmentexecutivevicepresidentattheKimmelHousingFoundation.
SeveralnonprofitsserveasreferralagenciesforVSC,includingSelfhelpCommunityServices
Inc.,whichoperatestheprogram,theGlenCoveSeniorCenterSidJacobsonJCCinRoslyn
theMagnoliaSeniorCommunityCenterinLongBeachandNorthHempsteadsProject
Independence.AsocialworkerfromoneoftheseagenciesoraVSCrepresentativemakesa
homevisittoassesstheseniorssuitabilityfortheprogram.
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Toapplyfortheprogram,callKellyat5169973420,[email protected]
