People Program: Together while cautiously apart

By Peter Finney Jr.
Clarion Herald

If the pandemic has fostered one human virtue during the last nine months, it is ingenuity in the face of seemingly insurmountable roadblocks.

The People Program, begun nearly a half-century ago by the Congregation of St. Joseph sisters as a way of stoking seniors’ passion for lifetime learning, had to adapt on the fly last March when the COVID-19 outbreak restricted most large, in-person gatherings, especially for seniors.

As the impact of the coronavirus in the U.S. became clearer, the People Program was forced to cancel more than 150 on-campus classes at its two locations – Holy Spirit Parish in Algiers and at its lakefront headquarters near the University of New Orleans – a decision that affected nearly 500 participants.

‘Perfect storm’

People Program director Steve Lenahan characterized the pandemic as “a negative perfect storm” because it kept more seniors more confined to their homes as they took precautions against the spread of the disease.

“Our ministry was started in 1974 to address the issues of isolation and loneliness, and due to the COVID virus, many over the age of 50 found themselves not being able to do all the social things they could do before,” Lenahan said.

The cancellation of in-person learning also came a week before the People Program’s largest fundraising event of the year, which was canceled.

“That was a no-brainer because we had to protect our people,” Lenahan said. “We didn’t even know then about asymptomatic people getting it. We started hearing stories from California about how it was spreading, especially among the elderly and those in senior homes. We had to stop when we stopped.”

In the weeks that followed, the small program staff committed to making calls to every participant in its database to check on his or her health and needs. Then, in the summer and the fall, the program shifted its classes to online only through Zoom and even discounted its rates.

While the online delivery is not ideal for every class – and since some seniors don’t have ready access to technology – the decision to go to Zoom kept the program afloat and even expanded its “student body” beyond the immediate area, Lenahan said.

Zoom can handle more

“The good thing about Zoom is that we can take even more students,” he said. “What we lack for not ‘being there’ is made up for in taking  more students.”

A “technology survey” of participants had several surprising results, Lenahan said.

“We wanted to see if this was even possible to offer this, and we happened to find out that the majority of our students did have access to technology,” he said. “In our normal semesters, we always offer computer classes, and some of them had that. We did find quite a few who were very reluctant, so we helped develop information sessions where we sent out links to YouTube on how to get on Zoom and how to download Zoom and how to communicate using Zoom.”

The program, which will begin taking reservations for the spring 2021 semester on Dec. 14, now offers 75 classes. The variety includes art, exercise, yoga, strength training, dance, history, genealogy, religion, American Sign Language, French, Spanish, New Orleans culture, current events, World War II, interpreting dreams, Tai chi, book clubs, meditation and many more. 

Some challenges addressed

The biggest challenge has been accommodating classes such as exercise, where the instructor has to back up from the computer screen and might not be able to notice when a late-arriving student tries to click in.

“We also try to mute all the participants because there might be a lot of background noise,” Lenahan said. “It’s been an adventure to see people’s laughs and smiles and their connection with each other. So many of our students are returning students, but there are so many new students. It warms your heart to see people who might not have that support system or that opportunity to interact with other people doing it via Zoom.”

Participant Maureen Walsh says she misses the hands-on nature of her pottery class and the college-like atmosphere of meeting others during class and lunch breaks, but she likes the wide net and relaxed atmosphere made possible by Zoom.

“We’ve had people from outside New Orleans attending, and that’s exciting,” Walsh said. “Also, in some ways, it’s easier just to turn on your computer and you don’t have to travel. And, I can get up and get a cup of coffee and come back. I have all the comforts of home.”

She said her interests lie in “anything Sister Janine (Beniger) teaches,” referring to the Scripture classes taught by the Sister of St. Joseph.

“There’s a joke about Roman Catholics not knowing the Bible,” Walsh said. “I figured it was about time I found out what those foundational books were, especially the Old Testament and then all aspects of the Christian wisdom tradition.”

Classes resume in January

Plans call for the spring semester, which runs from Jan. 18 to April 23, to be exclusively on Zoom, but Lenahan said he is prepared to pivot if on-campus learning becomes possible during that period.

“We’re hoping that if there’s this miraculous vaccine, we can somehow get some of the classes back on campus with tremendous social distancing,” Lenahan said. “We’re still optimistic that might happen.”

All People Program classes are taught by volunteers who are experts in their field, and they teach for free. The program continues to be a ministry within the Mission Network of the Congregation of St. Joseph.

“We have doctors, nurses, lawyers, college professors – these are people who are leaders in their fields,” Lenahan said.

The cost of the spring semester, which will have off weeks during Mardi Gras and Easter, is $150. This covers unlimited classes plus all extra workshop presentations. Scholarships are available.

For registration information, go to www.peopleprogram.org or call (504) 284-7678.

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