For many seniors loneliness is a hard fact of life. No longer in the workforce they do not have the dailey interaction with people they once did, family members are busy or perhaps live far away, and medical issues may make getting out of the house challenging. Loneliness can impact health and quality of life. Often times a friendly visit not only gives seniors something to look forward to but a chance to learn new things and make new friends. In Vermont there are hundreds of seniors who would like to get Friendly Visitors. Friendly Visitors are volunteers who spend time each week visiting with seniors, playing games, doing small errands and getting to know someone in their community.

Diana Seay of Burlington has enjoyed being a Friendly visitor. She has commented that one senior whom she visited with became like a surrogate grandmother to her, “a very loving and kind grandmother.” Though many people dismiss seniors Seay finds that seniors have a lot to offer. As she said seniors have “a great perspective and a lot of insight into the ways of the world.”

Friendly Visitors can be of any age. Some Friendly Visitors are the same age as the senior they see others are still in school. Two local high school students have been Friendly Visitors since February. Kayla Walters and Jessica Novak found out about the Friendly Visitor Program from the Key Club at school. According to Walters what she and Novak were looking for was “just a companion, just someone who might need some help, and someone that might want to do this.” According to Novak the best part is “just talking and playing games and stuff.”

For Priscilla “Bobby” Smith, a senior, she was surprised that students would be interested in this program. According to Smith she thinks “Jessica and Kayla are unusual. Being a senior I don’t feel the companionship that these girls give to me they’re just so open and quite often, to tell you the truth… some of the young people today they won’t even bother to say hello they have no respect they don’t care. I just couldn’t believe that they would be interested in visiting with me. It was a whole new opening. At first, they were interested in finding out more or less what it was like for me being a teenager and the different things I did – we went through that and that was interesting to them, entirely different from today.”

According to Bev Hill, Volunteer Coordinator for the Champlain Valley Agency on Aging, at any given time there are up to 50 seniors waiting for Friendly Visitors just in the Champlain Valley. Hill states that “When I first started doing this work, most of the seniors were requesting help with grocery shopping or organizing or running errands - with occasional requests for rides to medical appointments and help with yard work. Now most of the requests that we get are for companionship. Seniors want someone to come in and visit with them. It makes me sad to think that there are so many lonely seniors in the community with no one to talk to on a regular basis. I know there are people out there who would enjoy a little friendly conversation with a senior. I'm still trying to figure out how to find those people

It’s important for the community that people look out for one another.” according to Seay.”

For more information on Friendly Visitors call Beverly Hill at CVAA - 1-800-642-5119

Sarah Lemnah writes on senior issues for the Champlain Valley Agency on Aging. This article originally appeared in the Burlington Free Press.