The National Institute on Ageing released a report in December 2023 which found that approximately 41 per cent of Canadians aged 50 and over are at risk of social isolation, and nearly 60 per cent in that age group have experienced loneliness.
In fact, the World Health Organization says loneliness could soon become a global epidemic.
Those numbers are startling to me but, having just moved into a community comprised of many seniors, their validity is obvious. Loneliness leads to mental health challenges, a lack of physical well-being and substance abuse.
There are several reasons for this including age, health, widowhood, and loss of family or friends.
And there’s another cause, one that seems completely incongruous.
As we baby boomers grew up, married and raised kids who eventually grew up, married and began raising kids of their own — our grandkids — we found we had more opportunities to be around and spend time with those grandkids.
We retired. Many of us moved to where they had relocated, not knowing another soul ourselves, and so our social lives revolved around band concerts, hockey games, sleepovers and, of course, babysitting.
And then the inevitable occurred as those precious grandchildren began having lives of their own, lives that didn’t necessarily include grandparents. And this left us looking around for how to fill the hours, and with whom, at our age.
Clearly not everyone chose this lifestyle. Enough of us did, though, enough to qualify those statistics.
According to a senior’s companion who lives and practises in Airdrie, some choose their loneliness, seemingly content to live in routine and isolation. For the rest of us, though, we are fortunate to live in a community with a plethora of opportunities.
The Over 50 Club itself has a myriad of programs, no matter what you’re interested in. It is a hub of activity and enthusiasm, whether you’re into fitness, cards, music … you name it!
The Airdrie Public Library also provides all kinds of options including book clubs, a social cinema, chess, genealogy, knitting or just simply conversation.
On more serious topics, Community Links, a not-for-profit resource centre focused on family and community wellness, offers programs such as an adult grief and loss support group. And, once a month, the Over 50 Club hosts Older Adult Community presentations, such as fall prevention and coping with eyesight deterioration.
