Central Oregon Combats Health Impacts of Loneliness Among Seniors

The Central Oregon Health Council is teaming up with the Institute of Aging in San Francisco to open a friendship line for seniors and disabled individuals in Central Oregon, reports The Bulletin . It will allow participants to call for free and speak to trained volunteers 24-7. The line was originally founded in 1973 by Patrick Arbore, director of the institute's Center for Elderly Suicide Prevention, and it currently manages about 13,000 calls a month. "It was really to try to introduce another way of engaging older people and younger disabled individuals," Arbore says. "We've talked to thousands and thousands of people, many of whom are lonely, and that's why they call us, because it's safe for them." In addition to being an accredited suicide prevention hotline, the line features a call-out service, where doctors or other health professionals can, with permission of care recipients, have the volunteers call those recipients. A friendship line client can get as many as seven calls weekly, and each call can last about 10 minutes. "It's very hard for older people to say, 'I need you. I'm lonely,'" Arbore notes. "Referring someone to the friendship line is a way that feels comfortable to them. What we're doing is creating a conversation, not a confrontation."