Unificationist Creates Senior and Youth Mutual Support Platform

SHY, which stands for Seniors Helping Youth, is the brainchild of Unificationist Catriona Valenta of Giessen, Germany. The idea is to match seniors with youth as a way to support each other in different capacities, from foreign mission work to babysitting. “It’s not a new idea, matching ‘senior wisdom’ with unmet needs,” she states on her website, “but offering such a service within the Unification community can tap into our tremendous resources as a worldwide movement with a well-developed idea of ‘one family under God.’”

The website will act as a matching service: Participants will register with their needs or skills and then be matched accordingly. Catriona believes that many seniors are eager and willing to lend a hand to young people. “Many older Unificationists have reached an age where they no longer are tied to jobs or household, have maintained a reasonable level of health and a pioneer spirit, and are looking for an outlet for their creativity and energy,” she says. She also sees the possibility of youth lending a hand to seniors in many different capacities.

Catriona grew up in Glasgow, Scotland, and qualified as a medical practitioner from Glasgow University in 1974. She joined the Unification Church in San Francisco in 1979 and, after six years as a missionary in the United States, relocated to Germany in 1985 to join her Austrian husband, Peter, with whom she has three adult children. She continued to practice medicine as a primary care physician with the U.S. Army in Europe until her retirement in 2010. Now she looks forward to bringing this project to life and hopes for a chance to do some traveling and lend a hand herself! The project is in the early phases of development, but Catriona encourages anyone who is interested to register.

To find out more and to register, visit seniorshelpingyouth.org or click on the link below.

Participate