SPONSORED CONTENT
Chat Pals:
Preventing Loneliness
Presented by Greater Cleveland Volunteers
Loneliness and isolation among older adults are on the rise, as reported recently by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly one in four adults, aged 65 and older, is considered to be socially isolated. This isolation contributes to a higher risk of health issues, including dementia.
Greater Cleveland Volunteers has a program designed specifically to combat the social isolation that some older adults suffer from. It’s called Chat Pals; it pairs volunteers with participants through weekly phone or video calls. Greater Cleveland Volunteers takes great care in matching volunteers (aged 18+) with participants (55+), based on their interests and experiences.
It’s more than a weekly wellness check-in. Chat Pals provides the foundation for a genuine friendship, which is the ultimate goal. Many participants and volunteers have developed friendships independent of the official program.
As many volunteers have discovered, it’s not only the participant who reaps the rewards of the relationship. Volunteers also benefit from making friends with the participants, who are often from an older generation. As many differences as there are between Baby Boomers and Gen X-ers, Millennials and younger generations, it’s often those differences that create genuine interest and budding friendships between people.
Chat Pals is always taking applications for new participants and volunteers. Just an hour a week is all it takes to make a brighter day for people on both sides of the phone line. For more information, visit the Greater Cleveland Volunteers website at greaterclevelandvolunteers.org, or [email protected].
