Gail Shima needed help getting around because she’s no longer able to drive and found the services offered through Kupuna Concierge to be a perfect solution.

The new initiative of Child & Family Service provides personal assistants who can help with such varied needs as technology education, transportation, home maintenance and repair, health and wellness activities, and arts and crafts classes.

"I needed transportation to get to my appointments, do my banking," said Shima, a 62-year-old Kailua resident who has been using the service for a month. "Now I don’t need to depend on other people all of the time."

During her weekly sessions, Shima also takes walks with her assistant, both on the beach and in malls, to maintain an exercise program while she is on medical leave after 30 years as a Department of Education resource teacher.

The Kupuna Concierge program was launched in September to promote independence and quality of life for seniors, according to Patti Bates, chief operating officer of Child & Family Service.

"The goal of Kupuna Concierge is to help the seniors stay in a home setting for a longer period of time," she said. "Some of the seniors live alone, and others live with family. Most family members in Hawaii have work and other life demands, so having that extra help for their parent is invaluable."

To promote the new program, Kupuna Concierge is offering gift certificates that can be redeemed for a personal assistant’s help with holiday shopping and decorating, gift wrapping and addressing cards. The gift certificates, which are also good for other services, can be purchased in multiples of $100 per three hours of service. The regular rate for services is $38 per hour with a three-hour minimum.

THE STATE’S 60-and-older population is projected to grow to 35 percent of the total population by 2030, she noted. "Hawaii also has the largest oldest population (of individuals 85 and older) in the United States. With the increase in the elderly population, the need for services to assist seniors in living independently in their homes will continue to grow," Bates said.

CFS has been serving seniors for more than 30 years, providing case management, health and wellness and caregiver support. Six programs serve about 16,000 people on Oahu each year.

For the past 12 years, the agency has run a similar program that helps low-income seniors with housekeeping, laundry, shopping and meal preparation. The Kupuna Concierge now makes those services available to folks who can afford to pay for them.

"We saw the need for this type of service for those seniors who were not low-income and had the ability to pay," Bates said.

Working with seniors is one of CFS’ core components, and Bates said the organization wanted to reach out to seniors they were not serving. The funds generated by Kupuna Concierge may be used to support other programs so CFS becomes less dependent on government funding, she explained.

The type of services offered by Kupuna Concierge are even appealing to younger family members, according to Valerie Takahashi, who manages the program. "Now their kids are looking for services. They need help preparing food for a tailgate party or rides to the UH games," she said. "Everyone wants a personal assistant."