Webinar: Driving Yourself Lonely

• Heathy Aging
• VOYCE Webinars

Loneliness, isolation, and lack of connection have recently been reported as a public health crisis in the United States, the consequences of such potentially being an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, dementia, and premature death. This presentation by Michele Prevedel (SSM Health/Visiting Nurses Association of Greater St. Louis) and Margi Valleroy (Aging Ahead) explores the critical connections between lack of transportation and loneliness and lack of connection in older adults in the St. Louis County region. Michele dives into VNA STL’s Visit-A-Bit Program, which she has managed since 2019 and was designed to pair individual volunteers with older adults experiencing loneliness to address that and create deeper connections. She addresses the causes and signs of loneliness and leaves viewers with strategies to address loneliness through the improvement of social skills and conversational skills. Margi discusses the current barriers to transportation for older adults and how Aging Ahead and other area agencies on aging play a role in providing transportation to older adults in our community.