COMPANIONS—Three locals who take part in the Senior Companion Program, sponsored by ASU, pause for a picture following an interview about the program. Pictured are (from left) Jean Blevins, Lura Brinegar and Mary Weeks. Photo by Laura Thornburg

Program helps local seniors

Several Alleghany residents are taking part in a Senior Companion Program, giving citizens 60 and older the opportunity to spend time with individuals in the area who are around their age and older.

The program currently serves citizens in Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Wilkes and Watauga counties free of charge and gives the clients an opportunity to spend their later years in the familiar settings of their home versus being placed in a nursing home.