© 2024 WYPR
WYPR 88.1 FM Baltimore WYPF 88.1 FM Frederick WYPO 106.9 FM Ocean City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Help To Soothe Senior Loneliness

Neil Moralee https://www.flickr.com/photos/neilmoralee/

Stay-at-home measures help ward off COVID-19, but they take a toll. Some people are experiencing side effects --like depression--after weeks of self-isolation. The Mental Health Association of Maryland launched ‘The Connections Project’ to pair vulnerable seniors with volunteers who provide conversation and care, virtually. Kim Burton, director of the Association’s Older Adult programs, explains how it works. And we hear from volunteer Sharyn Doyle, and Barbara Feldman, who receives calls from her three times a week.

The Connections Project information can be found here. For Baltimore Neighbors Network, visit this link. For the Pro Bono Counseling Project/United Way of Maryland Warmline, call 211 or 443-608-9182.

Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.
Melissa Gerr is a Senior Producer for On the Record. She started in public media at Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, Minn., where she is from, and then worked as a field producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland. She made the jump to audio-lover in Baltimore as a digital media editor at Mid-Atlantic Media and Laureate Education, Inc. and as a field producer for "Out of the Blocks." Her beat is typically the off-beat with an emphasis on science, culture and things that make you say, 'Wait, what?'