Visiting & Advocacy Program
Pair trained volunteers with lonely and isolated older adults and provide long-term social engagement and connectedness.
TARGET POPULATION
Low income people 65 years of age and older who live independently and lack an adequate social support network
OUTCOME DETAILS
It is successful, but our measurements have just begun (we did this work for over 40 years without any meaningful measures). Originally we determined this through the stories and experiences as shared by the elder population and the volunteers. Now we are capturing 1) amount of social engagement per week, 2) perception of loneliness on a 10 point scale, and 3)observations of physical, mental and environmental health- all measured monthly. Early data shows improvement in perception of loneliness as social engagement increases.