This coming Saturday, August 21, 2021, is National Senior Citizen’s Day. Senior Citizens Day was first declared by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to recognize older adults who have spent their lives contributing to society. The Proclamation stated: “For all they have achieved throughout life and for all they continue to accomplish, we owe older citizens our thanks and a heartfelt salute. We can best demonstrate our gratitude and esteem by making sure that our communities are good places in which to mature and grow older — places in which older people can participate to the fullest and can find the encouragement, acceptance, assistance, and services they need to continue to lead lives of independence and dignity.”
Buncombe County is certainly one of those places, and yet, many older adults in our community are socially isolated. In 2019, prior to the pandemic, 28.7% of adults age 65+ in Buncombe County lived alone. This is higher than the estimated national average of 25%. Nationally, approximately 43% of those age 60+ report feeling lonely, more than have diabetes or use tobacco. North Carolina ranks higher than the national average on four of the six most common risk factors for social isolation in older adults: disability, divorced/separated/widowed, independent living difficulty and living below poverty level.
Social isolation has been found to negatively affect physical and mental health. It is a major driver of depression, anxiety, and substance use or addiction, and is equivalent, health wise, to smoking 15 cigarettes per day! Older adults who are lonely have a higher risk for early death, dementia, and functional decline.
Pandemic-related shelter-in-place and stay-at-home orders and related public health measures that were adopted to slow the spread of the virus have further exacerbated social isolation and loneliness in older adults. Although smartphone and internet use among older adults have increased significantly over the past decade, the widespread use of technology to remain virtually connected during the pandemic was not as easily adopted by older adults.
One of Age-Friendly Buncombe’s affiliated initiatives is the Social Bridging Project, a collaboration between UNC-Asheville, the North Carolina Center for Health and Wellness, MAHEC, and Healthy Aging NC. The project’s aim is to reduce the impact of social isolation and loneliness on older adults. Volunteers, who are often UNC-A students, make social wellness check-in calls to isolated individuals and offer conversations, training on the use of technology, and referrals to resources such as transportation and home-delivered meals.
The project has successfully helped numerous people with computer, tablet, or cellphone troubleshooting, and has connected people to video chat programs and social media outlets. This is enabling older adults to connect socially with friends and loved ones, to remotely access online fitness classes and faith communities, and to use tele-health to connect with medical providers.
The Social Bridging Project’s reach extends beyond just Buncombe County, but it sure contributes mightily to Age-Friendly Buncombe’s vision that our older adults are safe, well and engaged. To learn more about the Social Bridging Project, or to request a phone call, please leave a message at (828)771-3445 or send an email to Tasha.Woodall@mahec.net with your phone number and preferred day and time for a phone call.
P.S. In case you missed our last blog post, plans are also underway to provide in-person social bridging opportunities at the future one-stop-shop Active Aging Center, which we hope will open in January 2024. Click here to learn more about it.
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