News from engAGED

January 2022

News

Parks and Recreation Partnerships for Social Engagement

Join us for a webinar on February 22 at 1:00 pm ET focused on partnering with parks and recreation agencies on social engagement. Attendees will learn how organizations in the Aging Network can work with parks and recreation to offer social engagement opportunities for older adults, people with disabilities and caregivers. Speakers include the National Recreation and Park Association and the County of San Diego Health & Human Services Agency, Aging & Independence Services who will share their experiences and insight.

Engagement Through the Arts: Key Takeaways

Multidisciplinary, participatory arts experiences can have a positive impact on older adults. Our December webinar focused on the value and benefit of promoting social engagement through arts and creative expression. Speakers included Arts for the Aging, Opening Minds through Art at Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University and Central Vermont Council on Aging. Read our blog post for key takeaways, including activities, approaches and strategies for incorporating more arts into your social engagement programming.

Reflecting on 2021: Resources to Support Your Social Engagement Work in 2022

2021 was quite a year for engAGED! We continued and expanded our work of supporting the Aging Network and other partner organizations as they develop programs that help consumers get and stay connected to their communities. As your organization sets its 2022 goals, we want to share a few highlights of resources we developed this year that can help you enhance, expand or implement social engagement programs in the new year. Read our blog post for the full list of resources.

Psychological Impacts of Social Isolation and Online Interventions

Recent research published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing examines the psychological impacts of social isolation among older adults during the pandemic and explores the possible benefits and limitations of online interventions used to lessen its effects. Common barriers of online interventions include lack of technology access and proficiency as well as attitudes toward receiving virtual support. Read the full study for strategies to overcome these barriers to better support older adults, particularly those who are in long-term care settings.

Rural and Urban Experiences of Social Isolation and Loneliness

A recent study from the University of Montana Rural Institute found that people with disabilities aged 50-64 were more than twice as likely as people without disabilities to report social isolation and loneliness. Researchers posit that structural barriers to employment and transportation may be significant predictors of this trend. Read the full study.

Loneliness and Social Isolation Scales

Increased social isolation and loneliness due to the pandemic has reinforced the need for validated rating scales. Psychiatry Research recently published an article about user characteristics of the three most commonly used social isolation and loneliness scales. The study found that the UCLA Three-Item Loneliness Scale is preferred and most widely used because it is quick and easy to use, requires minimal training and can be administered online, by phone or by mail. Read the full article to learn more about reliable, well-validated tools that your organization can use to measure social isolation and loneliness.

engAGED is Hiring!

USAging is hiring for a Program Associate/Senior Program Associate to support the work of engAGED: The National Resource Center for Engaging Older Adults and our role with the National Technical Assistance Center on Grandfamilies and Kinship Families. Application deadline is February 11. Read more here!

In Case You Missed It

Developing Volunteer Opportunities To Help Older Adults Stay Engaged

Our January webinar focused on volunteerism as a form of social engagement. During the webinar, AmeriCorps Seniors highlighted the social and health benefits of volunteerism and ways to foster civic engagement through volunteer service. Erie County Department of Senior Services and Area Agency on Aging, Region One then shared how they developed and sustained volunteer opportunities for older adults that help older adults remain engaged and connected.

Innovations Hub Spotlight

To respond to increased social isolation resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services Caregiver Support Program launched the Engage@HOME YouTube channel. Through video-based content, Engage@HOME provides trusted information, caregiver resources and social engagement opportunities—including health and wellness programs and arts and cultural activities—to help community members stay socially engaged from home. The program partners with various internal and external partners to develop a wide variety of original content. Visit the engAGED Innovations Hub to read more about this program and other replicable social engagement innovations from across the country.

Resources

USAging and the Eldercare Locator produced a consumer brochure to help inform the general public and key stakeholders about the 2021 Home for the Holidays Campaign. Healthy Aging in a Pandemic World: What Older Adults and Caregivers Need to Know Now contains important content to educate older adults, caregivers, families and professionals on how to check in with themselves and older loved ones and how to access Aging Network services to empower older adults to age well in their homes and communities. The brochure can be customized with your organization’s contact information to help you share it with the older adults and caregivers in your community.
The National Endowment for the Arts has published various funding opportunities:
Grants for Arts Projects support public engagement with, and access to, various forms of art and the integration of arts into community life.
Challenge America offers support to small organizations for projects that extend the arts to underserved populations.
Big Read grant program supports community reading programs with the goal of inspiring meaningful conversations and connections.

Articles

To fight loneliness, Tampa Bay seniors to give ‘cohousing’ a try (Tampa Bay Times, November 26, 2021)
Intergenerational housing bringing vulnerable youth and seniors together spreads to Nevada (The Nevada Independent, November 27, 2021)
LGBTQ elders face 'caregiving crisis': Meet 2 women hoping to bring change (Today, November 29, 2021)
How technology can help seniors beat loneliness and isolation (The Washington Post, December 3, 2021)
‘All the Lonely People’ documents worldwide isolation and its cures (The Boston Globe, December 9, 2021)
ARPA Grants Help Austin Public Library Bridge Digital Divide (The Austin Chronicle, December 10, 2021)
In a Time of Crisis, a City Fights Isolation (The New York Times, December 15, 2021)

Events

engAGED Webinar: Partners in Social Engagement: Collaborating with Parks and Recreation Agencies (engAGED, February 22, 2022 at 1:00 pm ET)
engAGED Webinar: Partners In Social Engagement: Collaborating With Faith Communities (engAGED, March 17, 2022 at 1:00 pm ET)

This project #90EECC0002 is supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $300,000 (or 74 percent) funded by ACL/HHS and $106,740 (or 26 percent) funded by non-government sources. The contents are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government.