#JamesDonaldson on #MentalHealth – Besides The #Virus, #Loneliness Poses Dangers For #Seniors

#LONELINESS IS MORE DANGEROUS for one’s health than obesity, and is equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, according to a 2010 analysis cited by the #U.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices. 

Because of the negative effects of #isolation, organizations such as local nonprofit Silver Key Senior Services normally focus their attention on getting #seniors — especially those who are retired and live alone — out of the house and engaged in their communities. Many regular attendees at donation-based #senior lunches, for example, say they come to the events for social connection and not necessarily for food assistance. 

Now, though, there’s a bigger threat to #seniors than isolation. According to medical experts, people older than 65 are among the most at risk of experiencing serious symptoms from #COVID-19, the novel #coronavirus. 

“Because of the far greater risk that #coronavirus presents, we are doing everything we can to keep [#seniors] still connected,” while they are physically isolated, says Derek Wilson, director of development and donor relations for Silver Key, which serves people 60 and older. 

As part of that strategy, Silver Key’s volunteers are conducting regular check-ins by phone through the Calls of Reassurance program to make sure seniors are safe and have basic needs taken care of, Wilson says. 

And the nonprofit has been inundated with requests over the last several weeks. On March 24 alone, Wilson says, Silver Key got 14 calls from #seniors who didn’t have food in their homes and didn’t know where to turn. 

“We got them food, but it’s definitely straining our system, because it’s more than normal,” he says. 

#JamesDonaldson notes:

Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes.

Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use.

Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space.  #http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticle

MOST OF THE NONPROFIT’S NORMAL SERVICES — such as free lunches, home-delivered meals and transportation — are still operating, just in different ways. 

#Seniors can no longer congregate at Connections Café, Silver Key’s donation-based lunches held at sites across the city. Instead, they can pick up five or seven frozen meals for the week to minimize chances of exposure to the #virus. 

Silver Key continues to offer home-delivered hot meals for #seniors. Through the Meals on Wheels program, Silver Key can currently deliver meals to homebound #seniors for a subsidized cost. “I’m really missing seeing my friends in person, having lunch with people.”click to tweet

The food pantry is still operating, with changes: “Instead of the client choice model that we normally do where [#seniors] can come in and shop for items … they can just pick up and go,” Wilson says. 

Silver Key recently received a $50,000 grant from the Pikes Peak Community Foundation’s #COVID19 Emergency Relief Fund. Wilson says that while the money will help, it will only cover about one month’s worth of meals and rides. 

 That means Roxanne Eflin, Silver Key’s grants and projects manager, and a “younger senior” herself, has her work cut out for her. She’s been working from home full-time since around March 23. 

Eflin’s mother, 88-year-old Joanne Garrison, has been cautious about leaving their shared house for a while. 

“She had a heart attack about a year and a half ago, and so ever since word of the #virus came down, we all started paying attention, like a month ago or more,” Eflin explains. 

 Even though they have each other — and Roxanne’s husband — for company, it can be difficult. 

 “I’m really missing seeing my friends in person, having lunch with people,” Garrison says. “I’m a people person… so I’m missing all of that, and trying to just not get too sad and actually being prayerful, because I am acquainted with some personal folks who are fighting this #virus right now as we speak.” 

Eflin and Garrison have kept busy by taking walks, cleaning, cooking and chatting with grandchildren with the help of technology. On Sundays, they attend church virtually. 

 When talking with grandchildren, Garrison says they all try to think of “things to laugh about” to stay happy. 

 “The children are having trouble with it as well,” she says. “… I can relate to that, because when I was 8 years old, we were quarantined with scarlet fever. And our daddy couldn’t come home to hug us, because he wouldn’t be allowed to go back to work if he came inside the house. … It sticks in my head, how lonely that felt, and sad.” 

Maintaining a sense of connection with the #seniors in your life — even if you can’t be in the same room — is critical during this time, Eflin says: “If it’s to make a phone call, to write a letter, a card, to wave to them from across the street — to acknowledge them is very, very important.” 

To enroll in the Calls of Reassurance program or request other services, seniors can contact Silver Key at 719-884-2300.