Reaching Older Adults Who are Isolated and Lonely.
Support volunteer recruitment, training, and the continuous relationship-building Mental Health America of Fredericksburg provides to make Senior Visitors successful.
Post-pandemic, over 40 older adults are waiting to be matched with a volunteer. Meeting this need is constrained, in part, because a significant grantor pulled funding to all of their grantees for FY24. We are counting on supporters like you to help fund the resources needed to increase the number of MHAfred volunteers.
The Senior Visitors program started over twenty years ago in response to the high rates of suicide among our local older adults by addressing the leading risk factors for depression - loneliness and isolation. Volunteer visitors meet with seniors weekly, fostering friendships - some lasting more than a decade. These visits are primarily in person; however, post-pandemic, we continue to offer connections through Facetime, phone calls, video conferencing, and other electronic means.
You can be that person who helps start someone's journey with a new friend, reconnecting with our community.
This Giving Tuesday, consider donating or volunteering with the Seniors Visitors Program. Your time is invaluable to an isolated, lonely person. For information about volunteering, please email CarolCambell@mhafred.org, or check out our website.
Please donate today - the year's Giving Tuesday Campaign runs through December 31, 2023. 100% of Your Donation Supports the Senior Visitors Program - unless you designate another purpose.