Senior Housing a Remedy for Loneliness?
by Kimberly Blanton, Squared Away Blog
August 25, 2016
“After his wife of 36 years died from cancer, Dick St. Lawrence experienced something new: loneliness.
‘Worst feeling in the world,’ St. Lawrence, 81, said about Linda St. Lawrence’s death in the winter of 2014.
Like many widows and widowers before him, he had to build a new life for himself, despite having the comfort of a large family of four living children, six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. His first small step was accepting an invitation to play poker at Shillman House, an independent housing community for seniors. The man who called to invite St. Lawrence knew a woman who used to play Mahjongg with Linda.
Next thing he knew, he’d sold their family home in Framingham, Mass., around the corner from Shillman House, and settled into one of its 150 apartments. Now he plays two poker games a week, works out at his old gym, and socializes with Shillman’s residents every evening in the dining room. At night, his Cairn terrier, Rusty, keeps him company during Red Sox games on television.
‘I want to visit as long as I can,’ Dick St. Lawrence jokes about his plan to spend his final days there.
The vast majority of baby boomers in an AARP survey said they want to age in their homes ‘as long as possible.’ But when the rubber meets the road – in old age – the elderly often learn that isolation is bad for their psyche and their health.
There are downsides even to living in a community for independent seniors, with the constant reminders of the vulnerabilities that come with aging. When a Shillman resident suddenly becomes ill and is driven away in an ambulance, dread quickly spreads among the residents that he or she might not be coming back.
Still, they say, the positives far outweigh the negatives. All in their 80s, the seniors interviewed have visibly slowed down but are still enjoying vigorous social lives.”
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