It
wasn’t until I became involved in area age-friendly communities, that I was
made aware of the very serious issue of social isolation and loneliness among
the older population. But I had no idea the extent of this problem until I
attended last Friday’s Institute for Integrative Aging program launch at Saint
Joseph’s College (on front page).
“It
[loneliness] is proven to be worse for health than smoking 15
cigarettes a day,” stated Mark Robinson in a January 17, 2018 New York Times
Article. Robinson is the chief officer of Age UK, Britain’s largest charity
working with older people.
Social
isolation and loneliness are so critical in Britain, that the Prime Minster
recently appointed a Minster of Loneliness to their cabinet. Although it is
true that social isolation and loneliness are challenges faced in the United
Kingdom does not negate the fact that we are experiencing the same issues right
here in the Lakes Region.
We
are a rural area and, adding in the long cold winter months, it is easy for all
us to retreat - especially the aging population. These individuals frequently
live alone and, if they do have family, they often live in other states.
So,
what steps can we take as a community to alleviate this problem? We’ll –
luckily – Windham and Raymond areas are hosts to amazing people and
organizations who strive to be there for one another. As such, below are
organizations that provide activities for individuals who desire more social
connections:
Lakes
Region Senior Center at Little Falls Activity Center, 40 Acorn Street in Gorham
Age-friendly
Raymond, Raymond Arts Alliance, Raymond Village Library and Raymond Village
Community Church collaborate on a multitude of events. Call the library at:
207-655-4283
Windham
Parks and Recreation. Phone: Call 892-1905
Saint
Joseph’s College SilverSneakers®. Call 893-6627
Windham
Public Library. Call 892-1908
There are also free
weekly Monday Meals provided by area churches and organizations which can be found in our events calendar every week.
But
what about those individuals who are physically, or otherwise, unable to leave
their home to join in on the above mention activities.
Easily
accessible transportation is a problem here in the Lakes Region and it is an
issue we need to address. Much like the U.K.’s Minster of Loneliness whose
directive is to confront the challenge and take action – we, too, can act as
ministers of the Lakes Region, working together to find a way to solve this
transportation challenge. In a recent interview with Peter Nielsen who heads
the Institute of Integrative Aging at Saint Joseph’s, he mentioned this is a
situation they are working diligently on.
Perhaps we can join in and
collaborate with them to help solve this problem.
Although
the term “minister” is often associated with religion and clergy – to minister
can also mean to “care”, to “comfort”, and to “support”. Let’s all be ministers
of loneliness to our community in the best ways we know how.
We
each can visit someone we know who is home bound – or better yet, give them a
ride. As I write and encourage you to do this, I often tell myself that I’m
“too busy” to do this very thing. So, if you are “too busy”, too – let’s make a
pact and do our best to be one of the many minsters of loneliness in the Lakes
Region.
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