Combating isolation issues within the senior community. Pictured: Hand-written letters to cheer up a neighbor. Photos contributed by: Anita Olugbode
The COVID-19 pandemic caused a spike in the feelings of loneliness, abandonment, despair and fear among elder residents in long-term living facilities. Many of us were not able to see our older family members living in these facilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic and were left to try our best to keep in communication with them from a distance.
Two sisters, Shreya and Saffron Patel, realized that many senior citizens living in these long-term living facilities would be impacted by the feelings of loneliness and decided to spread some joy and happiness to these senior citizens by writing letters to residents of assisted living and care homes.
The demand for letters continued to grow and the two sisters started Letters Against Isolation. Letters Against Isolation is a non-profit organization that has brought joy to a total of 19,000 seniors with 375,000 letters sent out to assisted living facilities and care homes located in the U.S., Canada, the UK, Australia and Israel. There are currently 20,700 volunteers, and you too can join to help fight senior loneliness.
Human beings are social creatures and we need a connection to others to be able to thrive and survive. As we age, we tend to become more alone than we were when we were younger, leaving us more prone to the mental and physical effects of social isolation and loneliness. High blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, a weakened immune system, anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease and even death are all linked to social isolation and loneliness. Letters Against Isolation and their volunteers continue to assist in lowering the amount of seniors who have to deal with the negative effects of loneliness through their heartfelt letters.
More volunteers are needed to help fight senior loneliness through the joy of writing letters. You can sign up to become a volunteer and join the amazing community of Letters Against Isolation at www.lettersagainstisolation.com . Providing your name and an email address will allow you to gain access to their database which allows you to see their partner facilities around the world. As a volunteer, you are able to write as many cheerful letters as you want! Below are some tips for writing the letters you are sending out.
Write it by hand!
Writing by hand gives your letter a personal touch. It also shows your reader how much you care about them. This is your own unique touch since no one has the same handwriting as you.
Make it creative!
You do not have to draw pictures, but be as creative as possible and use your imagination when writing your letter. You can add some decorations around your letter to make it stand out. If you do draw pictures, have fun with it. I personally love Disney, so I made each of my letters so far a Disney movie theme with a warm Disney quote.
Try to make it as neat as possible!
It is very important that your letter is legible so that the reader can read your extremely kind words.
Start with a warm welcome!
Open up your letter by greeting your reader. Warm welcomes such as “Dear Friend,” “Dear Pal,” and more will make the reader feel special and add a personal touch as well.
Make it personal!
Introduce yourself at the start of your letter and sign your first name at the end of your letter. Let your reader know who you are and why you are writing to them. Write about your day or how you are feeling at the moment. Write about your future goals. It is best to write like you are writing to a friend. Make sure not to include any personal information such as your address, last name or phone number.
Make it heartfelt!
Make sure to include positive thoughts within your writing to brighten up your reader’s day even more.
Do not include personal beliefs!
It is best to avoid religious or political views when writing your letter because you are not sure how your reader feels about the views you are talking about and we do not want to offend them. It is best to make your letter very broad and universal.
Have fun while doing it!
Put on some music or a movie while you are writing your letter. Invite a friend over so they can write letters with you.
For more information please contact [email protected].