Forging Friendships Forever Dublin connects teens and older adults for genuine friendships By Cameron Carr Photos courtesy of City of Dublin and Viraj Bajoria
While on a long-distance phone call with his grandmother in India, Dublin Jerome High School senior Viraj Bajoria had an idea.
The Teen Buddy participants had their first in-person meeting in August. 22 • October/November 2021
“She was telling me about how lonely she was, and she was saying that one of the things she looked forward to during the week was talking to me over the phone,” he says. “I thought about how a lot of the senior citizens are probably feeling lonely, especially because of their vulnerability to COVID.” Bajoria recognized that while his grandparents have family to talk to, many older adults may not, or may desire additional relationships outside of the family – especially as the isolating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. Already a student ambassador with Forever Dublin, part of the city’s initiative to provide resources to aging citizens, Bajoria proposed to the organization a program that pairs teens with older adults for conversation and friendship, dubbing it the Dublin Teen Buddy program. www.dublinlifemagazine.com
