Isolation represents such a significant health risk that the Department of Veterans Affairs is piloting an intervention to help veterans, many of them seniors, build stronger social ties. Originally designed for suicide prevention, the Connection program encourages participants to commit to simple steps, such as: “Go the local park three times a week and say hello to people,” or “Call four friends from church on Sunday afternoon and ask how they’re doing.”
Seniors can easily lapse into isolation, even without a pandemic. Socializing gets harder if you can’t get around anymore or if you no longer drive. Once you’re retired, you’re not interacting regularly with co-workers. The older you are, the more likely you are to lose a spouse or close friends to death. About a quarter of people in their 60s and 70s report feeling lonely, and loneliness affects about half of all people in their 80s.
But not Althea Hills, 82. She’s active in her church, Hamilton Park United Methodist in Dallas. Her days are packed, starting at 6:30 a.m. when she heads out to walk her dog Phoebe, usually with a few neighbors and their dogs. Every other day, she takes Phoebe to a nearby hardware store and walks her around the aisles.
Hills always wears a hat, which has become her signature. She says it helps people recognize and remember her.
“‘Lonely’ is not on my calendar,” she jokes. “I like to be out and about. It’s therapeutic.”
Original article published in full on the Dallas Morning News website.