Vitalia Active Adult Community – Solon Understands the Importance of Socialization and Building & Maintaining Relationships

No matter our age, building relationships with others is fundamental in enriching our lives. Research has shown that people who enjoy healthy relationships, live longer and happier lives. Maintaining relationships as we age has numerous health benefits such as increasing our physical and mental health, increasing mental acuity, promoting laughter and more!

At Vitalia Active Adult Community – Solon, I, as the Resident Services Director, play a pivotal role in helping to create opportunities for our residents to build relationships with their peers as well as helping to maintain these relationships through daily events. Oftentimes, aging adults are afraid of senior living settings. They see it as an end to their independence. Most fear being isolated from family and friends. One of the stigmas associated with senior living is, “I’m too young and active to be in senior living.” Therefore, many avoid it as an option all together. Unfortunately, this means they also lose out on the abundant opportunities to create new friendships and memories that this setting provides.

In our community, we have a group of residents who are professionals at welcoming new residents and helping them to feel at home as they settle in. We also ensure that new residents are invited to join all events, based on their preferences. Once our residents take advantage of these events, they often find themselves meeting new people or even connecting with old friends or neighbors. Through our daily events and programs, we often see close friendships form that continue. Residents begin having meals together or even take trips out of the community for shopping and family get-togethers.

It is my goal to help build and foster these relationships and break the stigmas associated with senior living communities. As a Resident Services Director, I help my residents to build relationships through my events, by planning programs that are meaningful and diverse. Doing so ensures that several residents choose to participate and can experience new things and get to know other residents. I try to plan events and programs that appeal to all residents, despite their differing interests, hobbies, and skill levels. As a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, I am always making a conscious effort to plan programs that benefit the residents in more ways than one, such as improving their physical well-being, cognitive well-being, spiritual well-being, and most importantly, their psycho-social well-being. Each program, no matter what it is, is an opportunity for residents to connect with one another. You never know what you have in common with your neighbor. Human connection is vital, especially as we age. I find pride in being able to connect my residents with those around them, both in the building through daily events and in the community through outings.

I think we can break that stigma of senior living by looking at it through a different lens. Instead of senior living “taking away one’s independence,” it is an opportunity to surround yourself with new friends and like-minded people, to try new things, and to most importantly, continue to live independent lives. Working at Vitalia Solon, and a company that values their residents, has shown me how incredible senior living can be. Residents are surrounded with opportunities to live their best lives every day. They can try new things, learn new things, and to continue with their hobbies and interests. The older adults here even go beyond that by planning their own resident-led programs, such as game nights, parties, and even carpooling to church. Making the decision to go into senior living can provide aging adults with a true sense of togetherness, friendship, and possibilities.

Sources: https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316

https://www.eddyseniorliving.com/latest-news/the-importance-of-senior-friendships-for-healthy-aging/