3 minute read
i have a friend: connection
connection
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By Laurie Black
Each month I highlight a Senior Visitors Program volunteer and the senior they visit. I enjoy sharing their inspiring stories of kindness and friendship. However, two recent conversations have me thinking I should share something a little different this month.
First, I will share a conversation with a current volunteer. I reached out to see how the volunteer and senior were enjoying their visits. The volunteer shared, "We are visiting each week, and the visits are fine, but it is not what I imagined. It is not like the articles you write in the Front Porch. We just are not going to be best friends. I don't know if I am doing something wrong or if I need to do something different."
I assured the volunteer they were not doing anything wrong, and they were not alone. With over 100 volunteers and 100 seniors in our program, it would be wonderful if we could have every volunteer and senior they visit become great friends. However, that is not realistic.
Volunteers and seniors are matched based on geographic location, common interests, hobbies, or background, and environmental factors (like pet allergies). Volunteers choose the senior they want to visit. Both the volunteer and the senior can ask for a new volunteer assignment at any time if they are just not connecting.
The goal of the Senior Visitors Program is to help lonely and/or isolated older adults in our community get reconnected with their community. Loneliness and isolation are risk factors for depression which can have a profound, negative effect on an individual's health and mental health.
The connection with a volunteer who visits each week for one hour may help alleviate an individual's loneliness and isolation, but we hope it is just the beginning. The Senior Visitors Program offers at least two social events during the year to help connect seniors and volunteers in our program to others within the program. We also encourage older adults, when possible, to find additional ways to connect with others in the community.
We all need community. We all need connection. A 2010 study by HoltLunstad, Smith, and Layton, found that people with strong social relationships are 50% more likely to live longer. Mental Health America's national organization has great information about this study and other studies which provide insight into the positive impact social connection has on mental health. You can visit 4Mind4Body: Social Connections and Recreation | Mental Health America (mhanational.org) for more details.
So, even if a volunteer's service to a senior does not develop into a perfect friendship, that's okay! We are truly grateful for those volunteers who are out there visiting, listening, and offering encouragement and connection. Their time does make a difference!
If you know a senior who could benefit from having a weekly, friendly visit or if you would like to volunteer to visit a senior, call the Senior Visitors Program at (540) 371-2 2704 or visit our website at mhafred.org to download volunteer or senior applications. The Senior Visitors Program is a free community service program of Mental Health America of Fredericksburg.
Still, the majority of our volunteers and seniors do become good friends. Which brings me to another conversation I wanted to share. I recently ran into a former Senior Visitors volunteer. Though she and her senior have been out of the program for several years, and her senior friend has moved out of the area, she indicated that they still speak regularly. She said, "I am so grateful to have been a part of the Senior Visitors Program, and I'm so grateful the Senior Visitors Program is here in the community! You bring joy to many people who really need it."
I express deep gratitude to all our amazing volunteers who are giving their time and their heart to help older adults in our area. I am equally thankful for those older adults who allow us to come into their home, hear their stories, and remind them that their community is here for them!
Laurie Black is the Senior Visitors Program Coordinator at Mental Health America of Fredericksburg.
