Because older adults are among the vulnerable to COVID-19, cut off from the world as their social connections dramatically decrease, The Community Living Campaign’s (sfcommunityliving.org) Community Connector program quickly adjusted their varied in-person activities to a robust and diverse online offering of classes, resources and overall support. Organized with eight SF neighborhood partners, we provide weekly activities, including exercise, writing, art, cooking, history, health information, social hours, and more. And the benefit of this networked communication is wider participation from other counties and cities, including a model that can be adapted to fit other communities’ needs.
The Wednesday WAVE with the Cayuga Community Connectors has been most beneficial to both the Wavers and the Wavees. A small squad of neighbors( www.facebook.com/cayugaconnectors/)—masked and given yardsticks to ensure 6’ social distancing—walk safely through the neighborhood, engaging isolated elderly residents through their windows with a warm wave of compassionate acknowledgement. Wednesday WAVES recently visited a retired neighbor and someone returning from hospital stay. The squad makes home-made signs, and delivers food, masks and gloves, with flowers left on doorsteps.
10 Ideas to support isolated:
- Decorate a yard stick with a friend: Keep the 3+3 = 6 feet
- Pen Pal letter program with nearby schools
- Project kits sent to homes: memoir prompts, puzzles, crayons and pencils
- Comfort check-in calls
- Paint rocks + drop off as gifts
- Online classes: cooking, history of rock and roll, pet socials, etc.
- Online socializing
- Help one another with grocery, doc visits, etc.
- Send greeting & birthday cards
- Signs “I’m OK” or pictures of rainbows, teddy bears
PHOTO AND FEATURE OPPORTUNITY
About
The Community Living Campaign’s Community Connector program is a SF based grass roots initiative focused on aging populations and working within “under-served” residential neighborhoods of San Francisco. Our network fosters the power and potential of friendship to strengthen communities and transform lives by encouraging multigenerational communication, therefore increasing neighborhood vitality and quality of life.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200528005177/en/
Contacts:
Director of Community Networks, The Community Living Campaign
cell: (646) 409-7775 / patti@sfcommunityliving.org
