What if doctors could prescribe something to treat social isolation in seniors? It's happening now in Silicon Valley.

A program run by Hungary’s largest phone company pairs high school students with seniors to teach them how to use smartphones, computers, and the internet. These after-school sessions allow students to fulfill their community-service graduation requirements.

In Korca, Albania, the Community Safety Net program supports elderly people who live alone in a variety of ways. Volunteers provide essentials like medication, food, and firewood. But they also organize social activities for groups of seniors to help combat loneliness.

How does one Albuquerque organization address social isolation among senior citizens? It recruits teens to teach technologies 101. Teeniors creates intergenerational relationships by encouraging teens to spend time with seniors and teach them how to adequately use technology like smart phones or computer applications.

The Donetsk Regional Children and Youth Center runs the Technology of Good Volunteering School, a program designed to help teenagers build social and civic skills and learn how to contribute to their communities. Graduates have spearheaded projects such as creating a children's room for a local hospital and sewing baby clothes for new mothers.

Having seen first-hand the impact of colonial-era laws and lack of access to professional help on her struggle with depression, Elizabeth Ita founded the non-profit Stilt NG. Since 2019, it has trained 25 young volunteers familiar with mental health struggles themselves to create awareness on mental illness, reduce stigma, and encourage help-seeking behavior for other youth in the community.

Taking Ownership PDX helps Black homeowners to age in place by helping with maintenance to keep their homes livable, like making long-needed repairs and renovations. Since launching in 2020, the group has helped over 50 Black homeowners, raised over half a million dollars and maintains a database of 250 local volunteers who are eager to pitch in on the projects whenever they arise.

The city of York trained volunteers to help identify causes and solutions to loneliness and social isolation, an issue with public health consequences. Volunteers conducted research and spoke to 1,000 fellow residents and 100 other stakeholders to identify community knowledge and priorities. Working closely with local partners, volunteers helped design and implement solutions, including pairing young runners with isolated older citizens to serve as coaches and provide motivation. Participants reported positive outcomes, like feeling less lonely and experiencing improved well-being.

Intergenerational home sharing is a mutually beneficial option for seniors and young people. There are about 60 programs, run by cities, nonprofits, and platforms in the style of Airbnb, that connect seniors and young people for cohabitation. Seniors benefit by being able to stay in their homes, collect income, and have someone to help with social isolation and household chores. Young people benefit from access to affordable housing options in high-cost areas and engaging in rich relationship building. Home sharing services are facing legal challenges and the Covid-19 pandemic made cohabiting more risky.

Team Rubicon, a non-profit organization of military veterans that provides disaster relief, has provided relief after flooding in Detroit, tornadoes in Oklahoma, a typhoon in the Philippines and an earthquake in Nepal, among dozens of other communities across the globe.

Under a structured parole system, since March 2024, Nepal's Federal Probation and Parole Board has released 2,993 prisoners early, successfully reintegrating offenders into society and easing prison overcrowding, with a violation rate of just 2.98%.