Volunteer Spotlight: Shirley Laussade

Published on April 15, 2016

Shirley Laussade has been volunteering at the Greenwalt Adult Day Healthcare Center for 26 years! She first started going to Greenwalt in 1990 to pick up her mother, who was a client at the time.  One day when Laussade came to get her mother, she had a few dogs in the back seat of her car.  She immediately noticed how much the clients enjoyed seeing and interacting with her dogs.  She began bringing dogs to Greenwalt to perform tricks and “love on” the clients, who greatly appreciated the entertainment and companionship.

Once Laussade retired from her job in teaching, she began to go to Greenwalt more regularly to set up obstacle courses for her dogs to perform for the clients.  On a few special occasions, she even brought horses to Greenwalt for the clients to pet and brush!

IMG_0762Laussade has been a member of Therapy Dogs International for 17 years, and brings her dogs to many different locations around New Orleans to bring comfort to everyone from shy children to hospital patients.  She still visits Greenwalt on the second Monday of every month.  According to Laussade, the best part of her work is seeing the joy that people get out of being around animals.

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Thank you to Mrs. Laussade (and four-legged company!) for bringing a smile to the faces of our seniors and so many others around New Orleans!

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Greenwalt Adult Day Healthcare Center is a non-residential program that can serve as an alternative to nursing home care for people who do not need 24-hour care 7 days a week. Through health and social services, Greenwalt provides supervised care to adults in a supportive and safe setting during part of a day. Client’s needs are met through medical/nursing services, medication supervision/administration, social services, personal care, and dietary services.

Interested in volunteering with Catholic Charities? Visit our Volunteer Opportunities page to learn how!