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The reason why most people join the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UMass Boston is simple: It looks like fun. What many members get out of it, however, is more substantial: a boost to mental health and well-being.
For Mental Health Awareness Month, we look at OLLI, a community of lifelong learning that offers programs to people over 50 in a variety of disciplines: history, the arts, science, wellness. Each year, the UMass Boston chapter, which is part of the Gerontology Institute, provides more than 200 learning opportunities, from Zoom lectures to in-person classes to international trips.
“One certain way of connecting people together is to engage them in a shared experience. That is what OLLI does,” says Caitlin Coyle, PhD, director of Center for Social & Demographic Research on Aging at the Gerontology Institute, who has researched the effects of isolation and loneliness on older adults. “Whether members are learning, traveling or dining—-they are learning about one another, creating memories together, and building a sense of belonging to a group. Feelings of loneliness thrive in isolation, but shared experiences break that isolation with mutual presence and meaning.”
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