TRAIL helps seniors through life transitions
Jeanne Bancroft (pictured below) retired as a University of Iowa science educator in 2020 to care for her aging mother and ailing husband. She is grateful for the time she had with them before both passed away within a year of each other in 2021 and 2022.
But she had a recurring thought: “As I was helping them, I often wondered about people who might not have a son or daughter or spouse to help. What happens to them, how do they cope?," Jeanne said.
As a TRAIL member, service volunteer, and now a member of the RAIL Board of Directors, it was not long before Jeanne learned how TRAIL’s Life Transition Service offers such assistance to its Full members.
This service helps TRAIL members navigate changes in their ability to age in place. The service is provided by a group of about seven dedicated, specially trained volunteers and a social work consultant. They assist members who are experiencing the need for additional support or a change in their independence, including:
- Transition from hospital to home
- Family or personal crises
- Increase in caregiving responsibilities
- Decrease in skills needed for independent living (meals, laundry, finances, etc.)
In 2025, Life Transition volunteers helped six members with various needs, including assisting with locating new housing and preparing for a move, end of life planning, and managing daily business affairs and community support.
Guided by the motto “Plan for the worst, hope for the best,” Life Transition volunteers work one-on-one with TRAIL members and receive professional guidance from TRAIL’s social work consultant. Member choices and confidentiality are always respected.
Although she continues to volunteer as a driver and a medical advocate for TRAIL, Jeanne says being a Life Transition volunteer is rewarding in a different way. “When I am with a member as part of the Life Transition team, I spend more time with them and really get to know them. It’s a very personal relationship when you can help relieve many of their worries.”
