Service Coordinator Program

Volunteers of America’s Service Coordinator programs are located within 81 senior housing communities, and enable residents to live independently and longer in their own homes and improve the quality of their lives. The Service Coordinator program empowers the residents to become more independent by linking them with supportive services within the community. For all its importance, the Service Coordinator program is relatively new, and was established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1992.

Meet a Service Coordinator: Tanya Wilborn’s official job title is Service Coordinator and she works with the elderly and disabled residents at Volunteers of America’s Lakeview Place affordable housing community in Houston, Texas. As a Service Coordinator, Wilborn helps residents with Medicare and Social Security benefits, provides access to community resources like Meals-On-Wheels, and arranges recreational and volunteer opportunities. Wilborn always makes time for the all-important personal touch. On a typical day, you might find Wilborn comforting a woman with Alzheimer’s disease or offering a steadying arm as a resident walks slowly around the apartment complex.

“Service Coordinators have a wide range of responsibilities, requiring a unique mix of people skills and professional skills,” said Janice Monks, president of the American Association of Service Coordinators. “In many housing complexes, Service Coordinators are the designated ‘go to’ folks for the people who live there. They link seniors and persons with disabilities with the support services they need to live with dignity and independence.”

Service Coordinators enhance the quality of life for residents in our communities, helping individuals to stay in independent housing for longer periods of time,” said Donna Thurmond, national director of senior services at Volunteers of America. Thurmond sees Service Coordinators as a vital part of the organization’s housing mission, complementing the work of the on-site community administrators whose primary role is professional property management.