Not every senior citizen gets to enjoy a prosperous social life. If anything, they become more lonely as they age. Friends and family members pass away. Children become busy with their own personal lives. Health conditions may come about and prevent seniors from going out and about like they once were able to. And in the middle of the current pandemic, many seniors are prone to loneliness more than ever before, especially with them being told to shelter in place.
For seniors residing in a nursing home, the shelter-in-place guidelines are even more strict. Many facilities are disallowing visitors completely. In some cases, residents aren’t able to even be in close proximity to one another. CHD Living, which runs and operates 13 different nursing homes in London, recently came up with a great idea to help residents remain social during the outbreak through their “Adopt a Grandparent” campaign.
How the campaign works is that the facility connects English-speaking individuals with one of their nursing home residents. After applying online, the virtual volunteers will be able to connect with the “grandparent” the facility has assigned them via video calls.
CHD Living released a statement regarding the importance of “Adopt a Grandparent” and what it means to them.
“The nature of care means that we’re looking after some of the most vulnerable members of society at the moment. We are however keen to keep spirits in the homes high and so have been thinking of ways that we can continue to enrich the lives of our residents whilst providing them with stimulation and companionship. It made sense at this time to digitize the Adopt a Grandparent campaign and to recruit further volunteers who might like to help keep our residents company over the coming weeks,” they said.
Volunteers and grandparents are paired up based on common interests. In addition, staff at the facility will be trained to help the residents connect digitally with their assigned volunteer to make the process as smooth as possible.
Also to help keep senior residents occupied during this time, CHD Living is also accepting letters, poetry, drawings, and other creations children may be producing during online school or homeschool. It’s little things like these that keep residents’ spirits up during this time.
It’s so sweet that CHD Living is doing everything they can to enrich the lives of their residents. I hope they continue to allow residents to keep in digital contact with volunteers and to connect with the rest of the community, even after the outbreak ends.
Find out more about Adopt a Grandparent below.
