The latest move of Boulder County to red on the statewide COVID dial that went into effect on Nov. 20 only means further social distancing restrictions limiting personal gatherings to members of the same household.
While this is challenging for all, for many older adults in Longmont it means they are staying home by themselves.
“Isolation impacts people not just because they are missing normal social connections but also because older adults live alone and many times don't have anybody seeing them on a daily basis for hugs, just basic human connection,” said Brandy Queen, seniors counselors and resource coordinator at Longmont Senior Services.
The pandemic has posed a big challenge for everyone’s health and well-being, however, it is doubly concerning for older adults who are among the groups at higher risk for serious illness from COVID-19.
Local groups and organizations have responded by ramping up efforts to ensure Longmont’s aging population is receiving necessary basic and emotional health services.
Ensuring the basics
Longmont Meals on Wheels, a nonprofit delivering hot, healthy meals and providing wellness check-ins to older adults and people with disabilities in Longmont and Niwot, has continued its efforts despite the ebbs and flows of the pandemic.
“Depending where we are with orders, things have changed throughout the year … we’ve made heavy modifications but are still serving our clients,” said Katie Wiser, Meals on Wheels development and communications director, adding given COVID-related restrictions it is only doing deliveries Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and conducting once-weekly wellness check-ins.
The in-person check-ins have been among the most important elements of Meals on Wheels’ services, according to Wiser. After a brief pause during the lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic, socially distanced in-person visits have become an important way to relieve isolation for many clients.
“It’s been very clear that wellness checks work, they help people feel seen,” Wiser said. “When we’re calling on the phone, (people) will say they are fine even if they’re not fine. This way they have eyes on them, volunteers to report on them.”
Barbara Noakes, an 80-year old Longmont resident, has relied on Meals on Wheels for her meals since the beginning of the pandemic.
“Right now they are coming to my house three times a week, bringing me enough meals for the week,” Noakes said. “It’s a very good program, the meals are great … they’re very nice people. When she hands me the food she always asks if I’m doing OK.”
Noakes lives by herself and has adhered to public health guidelines for the past few months.
“It’s hard because I really miss going out but I realize it’s not a good thing for me to be out. I have got a nice house to take care of me and have meals,” she said. “I feel very fortunate.”
Aware that the colder weather creates additional concerns for some clients with mobility issues, Meals on Wheels has started an essential items drive.
“Because clients stay home as much as possible and rely on others for groceries, and with shortages and supply chain issues we have seen during the pandemic, we are doing (this) drive,” Wiser said. “We are also collecting items to help them (the clients) pass the time.”
Drive items can be mailed to Longmont Meals on Wheels, 910 Longs Peak Ave., or dropped off at Valley Subaru, 1800 Industrial Circle, or a secure drop box on the west side of the Longmont Senior Center.
Drivers pick up their Longmont Meals on Wheels deliveries on Monday, Dec. 7, 2020.(Photo by Matt Maenpaa)Spreading the cheer
Beyond providing the basics, Meals on Wheels has worked on other ways to bring some cheer to older adults across the community during the holidays.
“We try to provide a gift to clients every year for the holidays,” Wiser said. “We’ll make homemade gifts for the clients, which will come from people working on them as far away as Thornton.”
Meals on Wheels also will deliver a special meal on the week of Christmas, she said.
Earlier in the year, the nonprofit partnered with Silver Creek Youth Service to write letters to 320 Longmont residents, said Gracie Zhang, co-founder and co-president of Silver Creek Youth Service, a club of Silver Creek High School students working on service projects to help people struggling during the pandemic.
“We thought it was perfect to help senior citizens along with other isolated residents feel more connected during this quarantine,” Zhang said. “Many of them may be stuck at home with no visitors due to COVID regulations (and) we wanted to spread Thanksgiving appreciation and holiday cheer by engaging with them through a pen-pal type project.”
The letters project took place in October and November, and it did more than just benefit the recipients, said Silver Creek Youth Service co-founder and co-president Monica Snyder. “Especially this year, everyone has become so disconnected and it feels fulfilling to reach out and make a connection with others in this isolated atmosphere.”
A letter sent to a local senior citizen as part of the Silver Creek Youth Service letters project.(Courtesy photo)Opening lines of communication
Studies have shown the pandemic will have a long-term and profound impact on older adults’ well-being, with loneliness and isolation likely to be among the most prevalent outcomes.
Senior Services’ Queen has seen first-hand the ways in which older community members across the city are suffering from isolation and anxiety, and how their chronic medical issues are worsening as a result of the pandemic.
Senior Services has offered emotional support over the phone and continued to do one-on-one counseling throughout the pandemic.
“The pandemic has drawn out the recognition that there are ways to socialize that are not in person,” Queen said “People are taking exercise classes online, joining discussion groups, and it all has been pretty effective.”
So far remote groups, such as the caregiver support group and Circulo de Apoyo, a group for Spanish speakers, have created necessary spaces for people to come together around a common topic, Queen said.
Given the recently added restrictions, Senior Services has launched a new Surviving Winter support group to help older adults endure the upcoming few months, Queen said. “We really foresee the winter being problematic,” she said. “We had a lot of customers during the summer and fall having socially distanced picnics or outings, now it’s so cold people are not even doing that anymore.”
The Surviving Winter support group was scheduled to begin last week, but there has not yet been enough interest to get it off the ground, Queen said.
“The group is really focused on what is causing difficulties through the winter and what people are doing about it, for them to connect together,” she said. “Every group I’ve ever run has people connect outside of the group, someone they may have a lot of common with … this is always one of my goals, to help them find connections to take out into the rest of their lives.”
For more information about the Surviving Winter group, call Zan Otto at 303-774-4743. For general information about mental health resources available through Senior Services, call 303-651-8414.
