Volunteer Serves Milwaukee Residents Experiencing Homelessness

Jan Wilberg believes that volunteer groups and older people need each other — and she is as good an example as anyone.

Wilberg, 77, worked for decades in social service agencies and as a nonprofit consultant before retiring in 2018 to spend more time as a volunteer with various Milwaukee organizations.

“Older adults are often marginalized but sometimes [they marginalize] themselves,” she says.

AARP Wisconsin

They retire from a job and start thinking they don’t have a role in the community anymore, Wilberg notes. But having recruited many volunteers herself, she says that older citizens “are just golden. They don’t get unnerved by things. They have a lot of wisdom. They’re sure of themselves.”

Wilberg — who received the 2024 AARP Andrus Award for Community Service, the state’s top volunteer honor — is former board president of Street Angels, an organization that offers services to people experiencing homelessness in Milwaukee County. The group’s two outreach buses and a shower trailer make regular circuits to offer hot meals, clothing and toiletries to those in need.

In 2018, Wilberg started at Street Angels by volunteering for a 4 a.m. shift in a warming room. It was bitter cold — often below zero — and her job was to wake people up so they could be out of the church by 7 a.m. Wilberg describes it as a “pivotal moment” that propelled her to get deeply involved in the work.

Eva Welch, cofounder and codirector of Street Angels, says, “When Jan came along, we were barely an organization.... We’re extremely blessed that Jan took us under her wing.”

Wilberg says that their volunteers experience a great sense of belonging and feel valued. Research shows that volunteering can boost social engagement, physical activity and brain health. It makes people happier to help someone else, while also benefiting the community, Wilberg says.

Wilberg also chairs the Milwaukee County Commission on Aging. Under her leadership, Milwaukee County received the AARP age-friendly designation. The commission is also working to reimagine five county-owned senior centers.

“What the community can gain from older adults is immeasurable,” Wilberg says. “They need to stay front and center. There’s room for everybody.”

Interested in volunteering with AARP? Go to aarp.org/Iwant2Volunteer to apply.