Lisa Dietrich was looking for a little companionship when she learned about the Atlanta Regional Commission’s One2One Telephone Reassurance Program for people over 60.
Dietrich, 65, is disabled, and she’d begun to feel isolated while her husband was at work. Even the presence of an emotional support pet wasn’t enough to offset the feelings.
“I was reading this newsletter … and it showed a program about One2One explaining how you would receive phone calls twice a week,” she told the AJC. “I thought, ‘I wonder if that would be good for me.” Then, all of a sudden, a light went off in my head. I said, ‘I could be a volunteer.’”
The Ackworth resident recalled some trepidation before she started her new gig as a volunteer caller in May 2023.
“Once we started, I had two clients.” she said “I was so excited and nervous at the same time.”
Dietrich’s feelings of loneliness and those of the clients she took on aren’t uncommon in an aging population. According to the World Health Organization, about a quarter of older people worldwide face social isolation. In response, the WHO established its Commission on Social Connection.
Locally, an emphasis on dialogue and understanding stories is helping agencies and organizations better serve older residents at risk of social isolation.
How One2One works
Credit: contributed by Isakson Living
Credit: contributed by Isakson Living
The pandemic significantly changed some of these efforts. Such was the case with the ARC, according to Tamika Brown, the organization’s volunteer engagement project supervisor. Prepandemic, she explained, the ARC, which serves as Atlanta’s Area Agency on Aging, had been educating the community on social isolation through in-person presentations.
“We were going into communities and actually doing presentations on the impacts and what it looks like when folks are lonely and socially isolated,” she said. “Once the pandemic hit, we were already well ramped up to launch the telephone reassurance project … Our clients tend to be those folks who might get missed because they don’t necessarily qualify for a service right now, but they are absolutely in need of some relationships — someone to call and to check in. That is why we implemented this project.”
Older adults can be connected with One2One through Empowerline.org, designed to guide the public to regional services. They’ll receive two phone calls a week, and conversation length varies according to clients’ needs, according to Brown.
“We don’t set a clock,” she said. “That is what makes our program different.”
Nicola Williams oversees the One2One program. Empowerline callers, she explained, go through a screening process for appropriate services. Those at a high risk of isolation, she said, get a One2One referral.
Building life stories
Tim Knight, executive director of training and organizational development for Isakson Living senior communities throughout Atlanta, voiced feelings of affirmation regarding the formation of the WHO commission.
“I really think it validated that what we’re doing is the right thing,” he said.
The “right thing” for Isakson staff means making residents’ stories part of their overall experience from the beginning as a way to limit loneliness as they transition to a new chapter of their lives.
“We start from day one before people even move in with us getting to know them,” Knight said. “Our whole model of care is based on relationships and really knowing people and knowing their stories and what they’re bringing into the community.”
Team members collect information from residents and their families to build life stories. Tangible items on display outside rooms help with these efforts, especially on memory care units.
“We had a gardener who had gardening tools and gloves and things. She was a Master Gardener,” Knight said. “Anytime she was having a really bad day and struggling with dementia, we could take her to that wall and build stories around what she had done in her past.”
In this way, he explained, Isakson team members build conversations and then solidify relationships with residents. These efforts, he said, can help ease the move to a totally new setting where social connection might look significantly different than what members have been used to.
“Transition is never easy,” he said. “It’s traumatic for people.”
Seeing changes
Credit: contributed by Isakson Living
Credit: contributed by Isakson Living
In Dietrich’s situation, the simple act of reaching out to others produced growth on both ends of the line. She speaks with each of her One2One clients two or three times a week. One is 65, and the other is 71, she said, and they tend to bring up life happenings, upcoming events and things they like to do. If Dietrich senses depression, she asks questions about good memories from childhood to leave clients in a better mood — anything to hold on to during times of sadness.
Through the process, she’s seen an uplifting in her clients, and an increase in her own self confidence.
“They’ve made a change in me as much as I’ve made a change in them,” she said. “I just can’t explain what I feel when I reach out to them. It’s a blessing.”
TIM’S TIPS FOR STAVING OFF LONELINESS
Tim Knight, executive director of training and organizational development for Isakson Living senior living communities, has the following tips for seniors looking to counteract isolation:
Stay busy: Interact with others on a daily basis through group events, games, music therapy, exercise classes, church services, adult day programs, etc.
Celebrate each day: Schedule time for celebrations in your life, like birthdays and anniversaries, and plan to spend time in person or on the phone.
Be spontaneous: Say “yes” to unplanned opportunities.
Do things together: Share coffee, meals, exercise, classes with a friend, and you’ll be more likely to want to connect with that person and do those activities more often.
Connect through conversation: Share the origins of a family recipe at meal time, look at pictures that support conversation.
Stay active: Get physical exercise through classes, walking clubs or outdoor games. Group activities provide socialization and accountability, too.
Use your brain: Stimulate cognitive function with art or music classes; pet therapy; and relaxation activities like massage, yoga or meditation.
Go outside: Fresh air, nature and exercise are good for your health and make you more likely to interact with others.
Have faith: Religious and spiritual events can provide community, interaction and purpose.
Enjoy the little things: Being with another person and supporting each other emotionally builds connection
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