Peck's Theory

A community that I was once apart of that explains Peck's theory well is the assisted living place I volunteered at called Emeritus. I volunteered there my senior year of high school, in which I had to interact with elderly people and teach them new things before their last days come to an end. My goal as a volunteer was to bring the people together and make sure that they're enjoying what time they have left. This relates to the first part of Peck's Theory which I see as forming groups and reviewing the certain dynamics they proceed. Being able to create this community and bring more elderly people together and make friendships is the main concept behind the theory. Helping older people can be difficult at times because of all the different medical conditions they have gone or are going through. My teacher encouraged me to take on the challenge and form a relationship amongst the people. I ended up creating a huge project that made the people of Emeritus interact more and gave the folks enjoyment that they don't get to see everyday.

The form of enjoyment that I provided them with was a fashion show, in which many different students from my high school came to Emeritus and dressed up in nice Dresses and Tux's. This provided entertainment for the older people and created more friendships throughout the whole place. I specifically remember seeing the main guy I normally visited weekly named Warren laughing with one of his neighbors which created a sense of joy for me on the inside because I knew he was happy.

These people did have times where they were really stressed in certain situations and didn't know how to handle it properly. This describes the second part of Peck's Theory because when these people act out, they can't control their actions and it causes many issues. In the sense that arguing over little things causes certain corruption but depending on the person or the environment you're surrounded by indicates your actions. When the elderly people would play trivia, we would always have to keep track of points so the people could get prizes. When the question is asked you had a little buzzer to click, which causes a large amount of drama. Certain people would think they got the answer first and argue about it for hours, in order to keep the peace we gave them both points. This destroys the forming part of Peck's Theory because our goal was to bring joy to the people and hopefully help them meet new people. The prices really kept the people calm but there were times where elderly people left the room very un-happy.

In my final days at Emeritus, I went around the whole place and asked all the people what they're favorite memories have been here and most of them have replied with "moments with you." This made me feel great because I was able to provide these people with a sense of care and let them know that their last moments are ones to cherish. I also helped create more relationships around the place and brought more people together. The advisor of the place said I did a great job at volunteering and she said when my friend and I would come the place would light up. She also stated that we did a lot of good for these people in their last moments and gave them something to hope for. This part is all about the third part of Peck's Theory in bring these people together and creating relationships. The third part is all about the group dynamics and how well you can form a community into one strong one. Being able to utilize Peck's Theory in many situations can be helpful, I believe the memories I made at Emeritus showed the theory well, especially in the sense of bringing people together and showing connections you can have with others.