Calling all seniors

HELPING SENIORS STAY SOCIALLY CONNECTED IS VITAL AT THE BEST OF TIMES

“I feel like the conversations are really genuine and they vary from person to person.”

For Michael Guerguis, 21, a Laurier student in health sciences, it’s a weekly routine. When he’s in Waterloo for classes, Guerguis regularly visits with residents at the Chartwell Bankside Retirement Residence in Kitchener as a volunteer with a program called Chatting to Wellness.

The student-run, nonprofit organization, which provides in-person chatting sessions to seniors across southern Ontario, has the mandate to combat senior isolation and loneliness to improve mental health.

Of course, the face-to-face visits have ceased since the onset of COVID-19; however, the program is now offering free phone chatting sessions to seniors across Canada. “I have grandparents that live three kilometres away and I can’t see them,” said Guerguis, who is still talking to seniors from his home in Mississauga these days.

“I thought it was imperative, at this time specifically,” he said. Mahad Shahzad, founder and president of Chatting to Wellness, said he created the organization with a small group of volunteers back in 2017 as a 19-year-old university student, due to the isolation and abandonment he learned about among the senior population – a reality only heightened by COVID-19 and social distancing measures. According to Statistics Canada data, more than 10 per cent of seniors aged 65 to 74 do not have close friends, which rises to 15 per cent for seniors aged 75 and older.

Chatting to Wellness notes that social isolation can be a particular challenge for those who are living alone, especially if they have little or no interaction with others, which can lead to various mental health issues.

“We’re very careful; we don’t proclaim to be counsellors or therapists or anything like that,” Shahzad said. But being able to talk to someone you don’t know can be helpful and therapeutic, he believes.

“If you’re feeling vulnerable and lonely, you maybe just want to talk to someone who doesn’t know you,” he said. Conversation can be about anything the senior chooses, and callers are trained to lend a non-judgmental ear. “They can be talking about anything from a favourite movie or show on Netflix to the passing of a loved one,” he said.

Guerguis said he’s a pretty outgoing guy, but was a bit nervous about volunteering at first. However, most seniors open right up, he said. Many talk about their lives or just want to talk about the news, hobbies and their families. “I feel like the conversations are really genuine and they vary from person to person.” Guerguis knows he helps – not necessarily because of the talking points and in-depth discussions, but because some people now tell him if he’s late and are surprised when he returns for followup. “They look forward to it,” he said.

Prior to COVID-19, Melina Hanna, also a health sciences student at Laurier, said she often drove to the Forest Heights Long Term Care Home in Kitchener for a few hours each Thursday, along with a friend.

While the weekly visits meetings have stopped, Hanna said it’s critical, now more than ever, that everyone tries to take a role in combating senior isolation. “Just taking an hour out of your week – and not even necessarily talking to a stranger,” she said. “Pick up the phone and say, ‘Hi, Grandma,’ or ‘Hi, Grandpa, how are you?’

A small gesture, I cannot emphasize enough, can have a tremendous effect on a person’s mood, a person’s day,” Hanna said.

More long-term-care and retirement homes have been reaching out lately to Chatting to Wellness, which has received a lot of likes and shares on social media. However, the program has been inundated with volunteer applications, even though it hasn’t been actively recruiting, Shahzad said. Right now it’s trying to connect with more seniors. The free phone conversations are led by the senior, are entirely free and are for up to 45 minutes in length.

Calls are scheduled Monday to Friday, between 6 and 9 p.m., using a mobile app to protect privacy. Seniors can either sign up directly or have a family member sign up for a call on their behalf by visiting www.chattingtowellness.ca/ phonechats.

With physical distancing measures in place to stop the spread of COVID-19, the City of Waterloo and the City of Kitchener are providing regular reassurance calls to citizens who would normally attend city programs and may be isolated at this time.

Calls are made daily or weekly depending on the need or request and can last from one minute to as long as people need, according to City of Waterloo communications director Tony Iavarone.

Staff are also aware of other services being offered from a mental health perspective as part of the psychosocial/spiritual group that has been organized by the region’s support network, Iavarone noted.