CENTERVILLE — Isolation is a real issue for thousands of Ohio seniors. Now, there’s a national effort hoping to change that one Valentine’s Day card at a time.
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John and Jeanne Nunner have been living at The Courtyard at Centerville for nearly two years in independent housing.
They say they enjoy interacting with other residents, but admit some don’t get out as much.
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“We do know people that don’t get out of their apartment much, and we try and tell them, ‘All you got to do is come down here and get into an activity, and you’ll meet people, and you’ll enjoy it much more,’” John said.
A study done by the life insurance agency Choice Mutual found that nearly 40 percent of seniors in Ohio have gone more than a month without meaningful interaction. That’s why a nationwide Facebook initiative pushing for seniors to send each other Valentine’s Day cards from all over the country is quickly making a huge difference.
“Just to kind of create a nationwide sense of we hear you, we see you. They’re still seniors, they’re still active, they still enjoy the engagement of talking to other residents, whether it be locally, nationwide, statewide,” Kiley Dodd, Director of Sales and Marketing at The Courtyard at Centerville, said. “So for us, it was really just to kind of connect the seniors and to give them something to focus on at this time of year.”
John and Jeanne agree that seeing a simple postmark and card from Louisiana or Tennessee can leave a big impact.
“I think it would mean a lot, because they would feel more connected, and it would get them more involved, and I think it would definitely make their day special,” John said.
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