Ideas in Action: Helping fight loneliness, writing one letter at a time.

It’s hard to believe that since 2020, COVID-19 has so profoundly affected all our lives and still it is finding ways to redefine our lives in significant ways. At the beginning of the pandemic, life as we knew it was brought to a halt. There were daily reminders of the dangers illness posed to daily life. Confined to our houses and unable to see friends and family for extended periods of time, we were lonely. We all were. Loneliness has been a problem in many communities for a long time. The pandemic made it worse.

As humans, we crave social interactions not just for socio-emotional reasons but it turns out our brains have evolved to seek safety in numbers and as a result, loneliness is registered as a threat, triggering the “fight or flight” response resulting in raised heart rate, increase in blood pressure and blood sugar levels, extra inflammatory response and often resulting in fewer antibodies to fight other infections such as those caused by viral or bacterial pathogens. 

A recent report suggests that 36% of all Americans reported serious loneliness—feeling lonely “frequently” or “almost all the time or all the time”.  In particular, the elderly were much more susceptible to loneliness. They were stuck in their care facilities and were not allowed visitors.

Searching for solutions to the problems loneliness poses for our communities must involve raising awareness and increasing access to mental health resources for people. One thing that the COVID pandemic has made clear is that both physical and virtual social connections are an important part of community care that can help fight loneliness. 

Many organizations have approached this challenge in various ways - writing letters and making virtual visits- and there are still many more ways we can continue to reach out to each other. One such organization is Love for Our Elders. I initially came across this organization when I was looking to find meaningful volunteer opportunities to help while being stuck at home during COVID. For the past two years, I have organized monthly letter writing with my family and friends to help further their mission of fighting loneliness in the elderly, one letter at a time.  

Their website is relatively easy to follow and makes it easier to be part of the solution to the loneliness problem. Briefly, every month there is a letter request featuring a few individuals who are open to receiving letters. From there it’s quite simple, I usually find an afternoon, gather my friends and family with some pens and paper and we write letters! The letters are usually about a short page, perhaps a story, joke, or simply some good wishes. I usually collect the letters, provide appropriate stamps and post them in the next day's mail. It’s an excellent way to spend an afternoon and hopefully adds a small yet significant piece to the fight against the problem of loneliness in America. If this feels like something that you might like to be part of, please visit their website: https://loveforourelders.org/letters 

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog post.