Joy Frank-Collins, AARP, July 8, 2020
Kirstin Reed recently started the Pandemic Pen Pals program at the O’Neill Center in Marietta, Ohio. The nonprofit facility helps seniors in the southeastern part of the state to live independently by providing organized activities, services and support. It remains closed because of the pandemic and will be among the last facilities to reopen, due to older people’s vulnerability to COVID-19.
At the onset of the crisis, the center identified 130 seniors who needed to self-isolate at home due to preexisting conditions. The facility has provided regular deliveries of groceries and essentials to them, but Reed recognized that they had needs beyond the physical — namely, human contact. So she tailored to her clients the pen pal programs that nursing homes began launching during the pandemic. The goal is similar to Cochran’s, but with a twist.
“We don’t have residents in our facility, but I know [our clients are] at home right now, and since they’re not able to have that interaction with others … they’re bored at home,” Reed says. “What if they looked forward to going out and getting something in the mail?”
Reed hopes the program fosters lasting friendships for the seniors, many of whom live alone and have little family support. “They’re coming to the O’Neill Center because they want to interact with people,” she says. “I feel like this is going to really help lift their spirits right now, especially when everything is so negative.”
The pen pal service mentioned in this article is not the only one that can be found exploding in popularity currently. I have included this article in order to emphasize the importance of spreading joy through little, meaningful acts. People don’t always need expensive technology to foster and grow social connection. For some seniors, writing letters in of itself is a meditative act that brings them closer to the recipient and excited for their response.
Another attribute I appreciated about this article was that these participants have created a self-sustaining system. Other than the kickoff initiative it takes to get people involved, the pen pals themselves are left to decide how long they remain in contact and how deeply they get to know one another.
I think this article relates to the population of seniors who don’t have consistent visitors or family nearby. This pen pal system is a way to create connections with people that otherwise the senior would have no access to knowing. There is a different kind of fulfillment that people have from speaking with a friend versus bonding with a stranger. I think this pen pal service is a great way of creating meaningful bonding with two people who have a desire to get to know one another. And for the senior living in isolation, this one persons effort to get to know them could mean the world.
Source: https://www.aarp.org/disrupt-aging/stories/info-2020/pen-pal-clubs.html#:~:text=Kirstin%20Reed%20recently%20started%20the,organized%20activities%2C%20services%20and%20support.
