Only the lonely
When Roy Orbison sang about being lonely, he doubtless wasn’t specifically referring to seniors, but increasingly, older adults are feeling the effects of loneliness and isolation.
The 2016 Census reported that there were more than 170,000 people in Saskatchewan aged 65 or older, an almost 11 per cent increase from 2011. The Saskatchewan Seniors Mechanism (SSM) believes that one of the major issues affecting seniors is isolation.
Holly Schick, SSM executive director, says loneliness is one of the greatest risk factors for older adults. “Because of increasing numbers of seniors in the population, we are seeing more isolation and that isolation can happen for all sorts of reasons,” she says.
SSM has partnered with the Alzheimer Society of Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan Population Health Evaluation and Research Unit at the University of Regina, and the Canadian Red Cross Society on projects funded by the New Horizons for Seniors Program.
One example, says Schick, involves working with the Alzheimer Society, which has identified dementia-friendly communities. “One of the neat things we’re doing is trying to work together on how dementia-friendly and age-friendly communities are related, so that we can combine those two and can work on them together, so communities understand so they are not competing things,” she says.
SSM is also working with those organizations as well as with the Lifelong Learning Centre at the University of Regina and the Féderation des aînés fransaskois as part of the Reducing Seniors in Isolation Collective. The goal is to ensure that communities are inclusive of and take into consideration all members of the community and allow ways for those people to participate and become involved. Specifically, the collective aims to increase: the proportion of seniors who have support and help when they need it, the proportion of seniors who participate regularly in activities, the proportion of seniors who feel connected to family, friends and acquaintances and the proportion of seniors who feel valued by family, friends and acquaintances.
“There are all kinds of things that can be done to help alleviate isolation if communities are prepared to just stop and think about who the people are who are isolated and why they’re isolated,” Schick says. Part of the project is finding out what has been done and how effective it has been. To that end, a survey is currently being taken of Saskatchewan seniors to set the baseline for future initiatives.
“We’re trying to do a measure of how isolated people are now, so that a couple of years down the road we might be able to say ‘did we make a difference?’,” she says. The survey is available by clicking on the link at skseniorsmechanism. ca.
The survey and formation of the Collective build on information gathered from an earlier SSM project which saw pilot projects in three Saskatchewan communities, in Hanley, Strasbourg and Lumsden. The goal was to develop programs which could be led by volunteer seniors within the local community, thus promoting volunteerism among older adults. Programming was designed by the community so it would best fit their needs.
Following the pilot projects, SSM developed a free resource on isolation. Alone or Lonely* defines isolation as the circumstance in which a person is no longer able to participate in community, civic, or social life in the way in which they would choose to do.
Isolation, the publication states, increases susceptibility to illness and depression, and may in fact lead to a shorter lifespan. Even when health is not adversely affected, quality of life is lowered in older adults who are isolated. The community is affected both in increased medical and psychiatric costs, and in the loss of the valuable contributions these people could be making to others, even with diminished health and mobility.
Schick says older adults in Saskatchewan are especially vulnerable, particularly in rural areas.
“Being in a rural community can make you feel more isolated,” she says, adding that the recent elimination of the bus service has made the problem worse, removing a way for older residents who no longer drive to access medical or other services in larger centres.
But, seniors living in the cities are not exempt. “There’s good transportation, but then winter comes along and we look at the way the snow is piled up and the ice and whether the sidewalks and bus stops are well maintained… There’s lots of opportunities to get out, but even in the city people are isolated.”
Whether large or small, SSM and its partners are working to help communities build age-friendly environments. “If communities stop and think about it, they can come up with amazing ideas. Local people have the capacity and the abilities to make a big difference within their community,” says Schick.