Friendly Calls Program helps older adults with isolation and loneliness

There’s a program that can help people who are struggling with isolation in Saskatchewan.

The Canadian Red Cross Friendly Calls Program connects trained volunteers with older adults who are experiencing feelings of loneliness.

Shawna Green, manager of the program in Saskatchewan, said its purpose is to provide a social connection through a friendly phone call that takes place once or twice a week. She said many of those using the program experience loneliness because of mobility issues, health issues, or distance from family members.

“The connections that they’ve made are real friendships,” Green explained.

Conversation topics range from canning and gardening to farming and the weather, she said. She added that the program is also a useful way for callers to find resources and ways for them to take part in community events or to help them be resilient in their own homes.

“Lots of times they get to share stuff about their families. They talk about what their grandkid was doing, or what their daughter or son were up to,” Green said.

“We had one volunteer and participant that came from different cultural backgrounds,” she said, explaining that they shared recipes with each other. “They got to where they quite liked that connection between them.”

She said the feedback they’ve received has been “amazing,” and she’s heard comments from callers who wish they knew about the program sooner.

“They just get to share,” she said.

Green explained that the program was not created because of the pandemic; loneliness and isolation have always been issues for older adults.

“COVID has just brought out the real issues behind it, and it’s not going to get better post-pandemic,” she said.

The program started in 2016 as a face-to-face resource in the Yorkton area. In 2019, the program became a hybrid of phone calls and face-to-face visits.

Today, the program has grown into a national one, and more than 5,000 calls were made last year.

There are around 150 volunteers involved in the program, Green explained. Some of them are university students in nursing or social work programs. Others are volunteers who are older adults themselves, and are looking for a social connection but want to participate in the program as volunteers.

Green said the program is always looking for extra volunteers, and anyone interested can apply through the Red Cross website or by calling the organization’s office.

Green said they want to ensure there are extra volunteers who are ready and trained to be paired with new participants.

“That pairing happens right away, and that person wanting a phone call doesn’t have to wait,” she said.

“We have so many amazing people that want to be a part (of the program) and want to help,” she said.