Communication key to beating senior holiday isolation, say advocates

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – As Christmas celebrations with friends and family get underway, seniors’ advocates don’t want people to lose the elderly among the festivities.

Whether it’s a grandparent, a friend or a neighbour, the holidays can be a hard time for seniors. “A lot of their friends have passed on or they’re way out of their way from their families and one of the hardest things I think to think of is someone sitting alone over the holidays with no personal contact from anybody,” Council of Senior Citizen’s Organizations of BC President Lorraine Logan says.

The simple gift the younger generations can give is contact and communication, Logan adds, whether that’s a visit, a phone call, a text or a card and letter.

If a senior in your family has mobility challenges, there are solutions including HandyDART, and one-fifth of Vancouver taxis have wheelchair access. “The more you can get people out of an isolated situation, the more they’re part of our community,” explains Logan. “It’s the people we don’t find or we don’t reach that I really worry about a lot.”

As many as 44 per cent of seniors living in residential care in Canada have been diagnosed with depression or show symptoms of depression without diagnosis, according to a federal report on the social isolation of seniors. Men over the age of 80 have some of the highest suicide rates.

A 2012 Statistics Canada report found nearly one-in-four seniors reported they would like to participate more in social activities and another earlier study found one-fifth of seniors feel left out.

Logan says even a wave or greeting someone in the hallway can go a long way, and language doesn’t need to stop you. “You don’t need to know the full language to nod, to smile, give somebody a pat on the back, a handshake [or] give somebody a hug. Non-verbal communication tells a heck of a lot more,” she says.

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