SURREY Libraries’ Home Delivery Service successfully connects homebound residents to library services with the help of clients of local non-profits like Semiahmoo House Society, an organization assisting people with disabilities.
The Home Delivery Service has been helping members of the community who are unable to visit their local Surrey Libraries branch since 1983. Surrey Libraries staff coordinate the selection and delivery of materials to patrons who are disabled, homebound, or who live in care facilities or group homes. Library materials are then delivered with the help of local volunteers. Several non-profit organizations, such as Semiahmoo House Society, partner with Surrey Libraries to help find volunteers to support this valuable service.
Operating out of Newton and South Surrey, Semiahmoo House Society (SHS) provides services and support to a variety of clients with disabilities. One such service is helping clients contribute to their community by organizing volunteering opportunities for them, like the Home Delivery Service. Each Thursday, three or four SHS clients and their support workers pick up the requested library materials and help deliver them to homebound library patrons.
“This has been a great opportunity for us – we love doing it,” explains Jagroop Rai, support worker with SHS. “My clients come to me on delivery day and they’re excited to go out into the community and to meet with the people they’re helping.”
“We deliver the books to different houses…I like it, it’s fun getting out and it’s something new,” says Raji Jagpal, a volunteer and SHS client.
“It’s been great to have Jagroop and her group be a part of our Home Delivery Service,” explains David Kerr, Manager of Community Connections at Surrey Libraries. “They make connections with the people they deliver to, they help us to provide the home delivery service, and they develop life and work skills. Plus, our patrons are really happy to see these volunteers, too, so it’s win-win all around.”
In addition to the Home Delivery Service, Surrey Libraries’ Accessibility Services has several other services for people with print and other disabilities. For more information on the home delivery and other accessibility services, visit surreylibraries.ca/services/accessibility-services.
