As coronavirus restrictions loosen, congregations grapple with including older adults

In New Hampshire, nursing homes and veteran's homes are turning to online video conferencing and outdoor socially-distanced activities to manage the patients' feelings of isolation during the coronavirus pandemic. Although it does not replace in-person contact, residents have expressed that it has helped and the facilities say that they plan to keep some of the technologies in place post-pandemic so out-of-state family can "visit" more often.

In Battle Creek, Michigan, a church has turned to holding online Sunday service during the pandemic, and in doing so, has gained a larger congregation. While there are limitations to attending online services, and some don't feel like "Internet-based connections" are real, around 200 people still attend each online service, including some individuals from overseas.

A hotline staffed by teenagers for teenagers has been providing peer-to-peer support and counseling services in Arizona for years but has played an even bigger role during the coronavirus pandemic. The group quickly pivoted to reduced staffing shifts to limit exposure to the virus and implemented longer hours for texting services. Not only have calls to the hotline increased, so has the number of those who want to volunteer.

An online forum focused on providing an outlet for those who are seeking a way "to share their experiences with COVID-19" has gained a global community with participants from five countries engaging in discussions. Although the forum does not require users to identify themselves and could pose a risk for the spread of misinformation, the main purpose of the site is for anecdotal storytelling that helps users feel a sense of connection and companionship.

Robot pet therapy, which uses a social robot designed to look like a small animal, weigh the same as an infant, and communicate in a socially comforting way, is helping isolated seniors find a sense of companionship during the Covid-19 pandemic. Although some have raised ethical concerns about "the role of robots in caretaking," others point to evidence indicating success such as "reduced reliance on psychotropic drugs, improved blood pressure and oxygenation levels, and stirred the emotions of patients who otherwise often appeared disconnected."

When the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in widespread lockdowns, a Washington, D.C. Episcopal day school partnered with a retirement home to help students and seniors provide companionship to one another and decrease loneliness. To help alleviate nerves about talking with someone they've never met, the program trained the students in skills such as cold-calling and offered an introductory script for the initial conversation. The students have reported valuing the conversations while the seniors have said "the connection has been a lifeline."

To manage isolation and the lockdown provisions during the coronavirus, many people are turning to fostering or adopting a new pet. Rescue organizations are implementing social distancing protocols for these adoptions and transfers, as cats, dogs, and rabbits make their way to their new homes to comfort individuals and families during the pandemic.

Across the world, many senior citizens have been cut off from access to normal routines and ways of community due to the coronavirus pandemic, but communities and organizations are working to fill the void. In Belgium, robots are being used in retirement homes to combat isolation, while in Germany, employees of a soccer club are shopping for the elderly.

The Joy For All Companion provides lifelike robot pets to lonely seniors. These robotic pets provide much-needed company to a group of people most at risk of being impacted by the loneliness epidemic that was exacerbated by COVID-19.

A program started in Hamilton, Ontario that allows paramedics to "hold routine drop-in sessions at social-housing buildings, at no cost to residents" has expanded throughout the entire country after reporting notable success as a health benefit. Although funding for the program isn't certain, the program thus far has helped keep seniors and low-income residents out of emergency rooms and long-term care facilities and has further helped reduce feelings of isolation during the pandemic.