United We Age Sees Our Seniors

Her name was Miss Mary. Confined to a wheelchair, the 89-year-old looked forward to someone from Senior Resource Association’s Meals on Wheels delivering her one hot meal per day. On Tuesdays that someone was David Lereah.

“Every time I delivered her meal, she would be watching The Price Is Right on an old tube TV. She was so happy to see me. I would sit with her for 10 to 15 minutes talking about her life in Atlanta and how she raised five children. Sadly, not one of them visited her.

“Then one day, as I was leaving,” recounts Lereah, “Miss Mary said something I’ll never forget: she said, ‘Thank you for spending time with me; it makes me feel like I exist.’” Lereah realized she wasn’t the only one, that other seniors on his route also needed more than just a nutritious meal; they needed a social connection, someone to talk to, someone to spend time with them—someone who cared.

With that in mind and on his heart, Lereah founded United We Age, a 501(c)(3) volunteer-driven nonprofit organization that works to restore dignity, joy, and connection to seniors.

Just as UWA, with its Life Stories program and Friends for Seniors initiative, was gaining momentum, Lereah was diagnosed with stage 3 esophageal cancer. After a year that involved surgery to remove half his stomach, chemotherapy, and radiation, he was 30 pounds underweight, continually coughing and gagging, and depressed.

“I went through hell,” Lereah admits. “I didn’t know how to cope with my sudden physical and mental decline, so
I embarked on a journey of discovery and found out how important it was to have a positive attitude.

“I wrote The Power of Positive Aging to tell my story and to help others cope with the hallmarks of aging. Whether it’s a life-threatening disease like cancer, or a mark of aging that lowers the quality of life like arthritis, mobility loss, or dementia—they all take a toll.”

For Lereah, the toll was almost insurmountable. As the former chief economist for both the National Association of Realtors and the Mortgage Bankers Association, he was accustomed to his expertise being sought frequently by the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Business Week, CNN, and other media outlets.

Fourteen years ago he retired, left the Washington, D.C. area, and moved to Vero Beach, where he signed up to volunteer for Meals on Wheels. It didn’t take long before he became engaged with those on his route.

“Too often we only know older people as they are today; we fail to recognize that each person is a sum of experiences that make up his or her life,” says Lereah. “One woman I met had been a Rockette at Radio City Music Hall. Another was a man whose work helped put a man on the moon. Everyone has a story, and it’s important to record it. That’s what we do with our Life Stories program. It’s a formal acknowledgement that a senior’s life was meaningful in some way.

“At United We Age, our mission is simple but powerful: to restore dignity, joy, and connection to seniors who feel forgotten. We refuse to let them feel invisible.”