If you are a caregiver, in need of ideas to help improve your loved one’s social calendar, you will be surprised to learn that there are many options for seniors who feel isolated.
One great place to start is your local community and/or senior centers. Many community centers offer exercise classes just for seniors. Churches are another great option. Many churches have regular social activities (such as bingo) scheduled for seniors and they may have a volunteer program with referrals to church members anxious to provide companionship to those with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Many community facilities offer organized social outings and may even provide transportation.
Signing your loved one up at a local Adult Day Center is another option for enriching daily socialization. Most Adult Day Centers offer structured social activities, outings and volunteers who drop in just to visit or to read to program participants.
If your loved one is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, and stays alone in the evenings, consider organizing a senior socialization list at a local church by providing a sign up list for other seniors who live alone to get together in the evenings to play cards, watch movies or just to socialize. Caregivers could help make arrangements for hosting social meetings at various locations in the community and then post announcements at the local community center, senior center, local hospitals and churches.
If having visitors in the home is not an option, consider setting up a SKYPE session for your loved one to talk to a distant relative, or encourage him/her to sign up for a free computer, art or healthy cooking class in the community. Many local community centers offer free classes to seniors and some even have a number of senior citizens that drop in for coffee and socialization in the mornings.
Try doing a Google search using the name of your town, for example: “Maplewood local activities for seniors.” This search should bring up a list of upcoming events for seniors as well as local senior centers and senior services directories.
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