Guest Opinion | For Older Adults During COVID-19 Crisis, Immunity to Loneliness Requires Strong Community

I have never seen such a need for services critical to the health and survival of so many older adults in Pasadena and surrounding communities as I have the past few weeks at the Pasadena Senior Center.

Because the center has been deemed an essential service for older adults, our doors remain open during this crisis for the primary purpose of social services, most of which we are providing differently under the circumstances.

For our members, one of the most obvious downsides of the COVID-19 crisis is that so many who come to the Pasadena Senior Center every day for activities and camaraderie are now isolated at home.

According to former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and other experts, loneliness has been estimated to shorten lifespans by 15 years, equivalent to the impacts of obesity or smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Effects of loneliness and social isolation can be so dire that they are linked to cancer, heart disease, arthritis, type 2 diabetes, dementia and even suicide attempts.

The Pasadena Senior Center’s Telephone Reassurance Program has seen a 30 percent increase – nearly 400 calls a day – to members ages 63 to 100+ who are isolated as a result of the pandemic. The calls serve as wellness checks and loneliness-reducing conversation lifelines. Anyone may call 626-685-6732 to place themselves or loved ones on the list for the calls. Recipients must be 50 or older.

I want to encourage everyone reading this, no matter what your age, to reach out to older adults in your family and your neighborhood, especially those who live alone or are frail. Ask how they are doing, what their needs are and how you can help during this challenging time of isolation.

To help you begin the conversation, consider this advice to older adults from experts in geropsychology, a new specialty that combines gerontology and psychology:

• Don’t stay in bed and don’t oversleep.
• Reach out to loved ones and other people you know.
• Express gratitude and pay attention to small joys and pleasures.
• Limit your exposure to national news about coronavirus.
• Eat healthy foods and stay as physically active as you can.

Several years ago, we conducted a survey of members about our free weekday lunch program at the center. Surprisingly, results showed people didn’t come solely for the food; they came so they wouldn’t have to eat alone at home. We are not able to offer these meals in a group setting now because of policies for social distancing. Instead, members or their approved proxies come to the center every Tuesday to pick up five lunches to take home, where many of them most likely eat the meals alone.

Coming together as a community is what will help everyone get through these trying times and keep people’s feelings of loneliness in check. Let us all stay safe and take care of one another.

I worry lately about the financial health of the Pasadena Senior Center, a donor-supported, independent nonprofit organization that is not affiliated with any government agency. Sixty years ago, members of the Junior League of Pasadena led the effort to establish the center and planted the seeds for a place that now serves 10,000 people a year. I can’t bear to think of a future without this vital community asset, and I’m hoping everyone reading this will, through their donations, plant new seeds for us to grow and prosper over the next 60 years.

I look forward to inviting you later this year, possibly in the fall, to our 60^th anniversary celebration. It will be one joyous affair!

Akila Gibbs is the executive director of the Pasadena Senior Center.