Various Efforts Reach Out to Seniors in Isolation

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/02/2021 (1876 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Social isolation, loneliness and depression are ongoing concerns when it comes to seniors, but they’re of much greater prominence lately.

“They’re not doing well,” Prairie Oasis Senior Centre executive director Steve Todd said.

“They are less engaged when you talk to them — they’re more withdrawn, and I think that’s because of long-term isolation.”

Just about everything has been shuttered during level red restrictions, Todd said, and Prairie Oasis is no exception.

They were able to operate at limited capacity during level orange, but he’d be reluctant to reopen any time soon, even if the government OK’d it.

“With that new (COVID-19) variant … I really think it’s going to take off again, which is unfortunate,” Todd said. “Rather than open and close again, I’m going to keep motoring through with limited contact.”

This limited contact has resulted in many seniors’ only connection with people being through the Meals on Wheels program, which Prairie Oasis continues to operate.

Volunteer delivery person Eleanor McCallum said this is unfortunate, since she delivers seven to 14 meals in a single hour, so contact is limited.

“You’re on such a short timeframe that you don’t have a lot of time to chat, but I try to access how well they’re doing.”

These visits have become even shorter and less personal during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, adding they’re currently limited to brief contact at their front door while wearing a mask.

To help stay in contact with seniors, Prairie Oasis has also been running the Seniors’ Engagement and Referral Program, which offers seniors someone to talk to by email, phone, FaceTime or limited in-person limits at the centre or a public place.

Funded by United Way Brandon & District and the federal government, the program can be accessed through SEARCordinator@prairieoasis.ca or 204-596-1176.

Funding for the line runs out at the end of March, at which point Todd points seniors to the Age Friendly Brandon Telephone Information Line at 204-729-2525, which is currently staffed weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Age Friendly Brandon board member Susan Boyachek said the line was originally created to offer an easy-to-access database of activities and resources for seniors.

But with very little going on as a result of ongoing health restrictions, it has served a very different purpose since it launched a few months ago.

“With activities being very limited, especially in-person, the telephone line in itself is a way to connect with people,” she said.

So far, they’ve only been getting between 10 and 20 calls per month, but she said it’s still 10 to 20 more people who got linked with resources and a social contact, which she considers an early success.

The friendly voice on the other side of the line is Seniors for Seniors executive director Margaret Schonewille.

Between these conversations and those with Seniors for Seniors regulars, she said it’s safe to say seniors, in general, are struggling.

Like Prairie Oasis, Seniors for Seniors is closed to the public due to health restrictions.

Seniors are at the high-risk end of the spectrum when it comes to pandemic health effects, and most of them are taking the lockdown seriously as a result.

“The main (call) I get is, ‘When can I get a vaccination?’ That seems to be a real concern, so I just share with them what’s in the papers or what’s on the radio that morning,” Schonewille said.

Others just want to chat, which typically lasts around the 15-minute mark.

“We do have a nice talk and I tell them to call back anytime,” she said.

Efforts such as this are important, she said, as she has noticed many seniors’ health deteriorate over the course of the past year.

“When you’re down, you just don’t feel like doing anything, and then you’re more apt to sleep and just haven’t got that energy, and we’re all like that regardless of whatever our age is,” she said.

Being around other people and socializing — which they can’t do right now — typically gives people the lift they need.

Schonewille said they’re trying out a number of ways to reach out.

A curbside lending library for books and puzzles has been active, they’ve put together gift baskets for seniors and host a weekly meal program called Dinner is Served.

“We were concerned that seniors weren’t going to eat or couldn’t go to the store and things with everything happening so suddenly,” Schonewille said.

Last week saw 330 meals go out, which cost seniors $10 and are delivered free of charge by Royal LePage staff, who have been at it since the pandemic started in March 2020.

In addition to receiving the meal, she said the delivery offers recipients the opportunity to chat with the delivery person and something to look forward to each week.

Seniors for Seniors is also in the process of starting up a walking buddy program so they have someone to walk with, alongside other efforts.

Schonewille encourages anyone interested in these programs, or in receiving a dose of soul-enriching human contact, to call the Age Friendly Brandon Telephone Information Line at 204-729-2525.

» tclarke@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB