Wed, May 01, 2019
Unexpected Actions You Can Take to Help Seniors in Santa Cruz
When we learned about the invisible epidemic of senior loneliness in Santa Cruz County, we felt like we were in a unique place to help. After all, the MAH is all about social connection.
After a year of working with dozens of seniors, advocates, and organizations to share this story, we opened the exhibition We’re Still Here: Stories of Seniors & Social Isolation.
With a topic so heavy, it can be easy to walk away feeling disempowered and sad. That’s why We’re Still Here dedicates an entire wall to actions the public can take to help.
Drive a senior to go grocery shopping. Translate written materials into Spanish for a monolingual elder. Donate an iPod for entertainment. If you have a special skill, offer it. If you just want to give money, you could do that too. These actions were developed with the dozens of organizations participating in the Creative Community Committee (C3), the group of seniors, advocates, and organizations who created this show with us.
In the exhibition, you can explore 45 actions on a wall of business cards that contain ways to follow up and contact information. If one action resonates with you, you can take a card home to complete it.
Or, you can read this blog post for a few unexpectedly easy ways you can help a local senior feel a little less lonely.
Be A Weekly Phone Check-In Buddy
It can get lonely out there for some seniors. Of those surveyed over 75 years old in Santa Cruz County, one in five speak to just one person a week. Be their second person and give them a call. Check out the details here.
Teach Balance & Fall Prevention
An injury can be the difference between self-reliance and needing full-time support. Help seniors stay stable with easy tips. Check out the details here.
Donate an iPod for Entertainment
You know how good it feels to revisit a favorite song from 2005? Imagine if you got to revisit your most coveted tunes from sixty years ago. An iPod can be like a time machine for your ears. Scroll down to ‘Donate an iPod for Entertainment’ on this page here.
Translate Written Materials into Spanish
Simple tasks in day-to-day life can be even more isolating if you don’t speak the language. An easy way to bridge that gap for monolingual seniors is to translate English materials into Spanish. Learn how here.
Bring Your Pet to Visit a Senior
We can guarantee this will get your pup 100% more hugs than if you went to a dog park. Make the day of a senior with your favorite furry friend. Contact Forbes Ellis at fellis@hospicesantacruz.org or (831) 430-3045.
Looking for other ways to help? See the full list of opportunities with We’re Still Here online here.
Join an Online Community
Sixty and Me was created to help other women my age to live happy, healthy and financially secure lives. Margaret Manning's, the founder of Sixty and Me, desire is to help the women in the community to find profitable work, stay healthy and develop a positive mindset about this amazing period of their lives. Join here