What is the Social Connection Program?
The Social Connection Program (SCP) aims to increase social connection among older adults, spurred by statistics on the negative health impacts of social isolation. The lack of social connection has been shown to increase health risks as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. In 2023, one in three adults aged 50–80 (34%) reported feeling isolated from others in the past year. This represents a marked decline compared with the 56% who felt isolated in 2020, but a greater proportion than the 27% who reported feeling isolated in 2018.
The goal of the Social Connection Program is to identify, develop, and connect people to programs and events that foster social connection, both at the Greenwood Senior Center (GSC) and in the community.
The program is funded by the King County Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy.
Consultations
Are you interested in increasing your level of social connection with others in your community but aren’t sure how? Do you have a friend or relative who could benefit from increased social connection? Contact Teresa Tam, SCP Coordinator, for a free consultation.
gro.r1733171300etnec1733171300yenni1733171300hp@ta1733171300seret1733171300
206.531.0061
Programs
Backup Plan for Solo Aging Group
A growing portion of the 50+ population is composed of “solos.” These are individuals who cannot or choose not to rely on family to help them navigate life events and make health decisions. The group helps solos plan for and manage health and well-being decisions and events—both large and small—during the second half of life. Participants work on a personal ‘backup plan’ to make sure they have help and support when they need it. The Backup Plan concept was designed by Linda Camp, an independent consultant and researcher.
Next group begins January 2025 online. Free. Please contact Teresa Tam at gro.r1733171300etnec1733171300yenni1733171300hp@ta1733171300seret1733171300 or 206.531.0061.
Social Solos
Afternoon tea time and social connection with other ‘solos’ (individuals who are aging without family).
First Thursday each month beginning January 2, 2025.
2-3 pm
GSC. Free.
Registration required. Please contact Teresa Tam at gro.r1733171300etnec1733171300yenni1733171300hp@ta1733171300seret1733171300 or 206.531.0061.
Forest Therapy Guided Walks
Forest Therapy is immersion into nature that invites you to connect with the environment through all five senses. Benefits include a reduction in stress levels and blood pressure and an increase in calm and connection.
Walks are generally offered during the summer months. Check back in the spring for specific 2025 dates, cost, and locations.
The UnLonely Film Festival
The annual UnLonely Film Festival, sponsored by the Foundation for Art & Healing, celebrates the power of storytelling in film. It’s a curated series of award-winning short films that give voice to the loneliness epidemic and represents the many lived experiences with isolation. The GSC hosts viewing of some of the films each fall, followed by discussion. GSC. Free.
Connection Rx (Pilot)
A 6-week program with a ‘social fitness group’ to help increase your level of social connection. Groups will motivate each other to identify and participate in activities to increase their level of social connection and discuss ways to overcome challenges.
Next group begins January 2025. GSC. Free. Contact Teresa Tam, gro.r1733171300etnec1733171300yenni1733171300hp@ta1733171300seret1733171300 for more information.
Tech Support Group
Technology can help maintain and enhance social connections with peers, family, friends, and caregivers. But what if technology scares or frustrates you? The new GSC Tech Support Group is here to help! The group meets the third Tuesday of each month from 1-2:30 pm in person at the GSC unless otherwise specified. Bring your tech questions and your device(s) (e.g., iPhone, iPad, laptop) and we’ll research solutions together online, followed by breakout groups to implement those solutions.
GSC. Free. Please register for each session separately by contacting the GSC at 206-297-0875.
Speed Friending
Interested in meeting others in your community and making new friends? Speed Friending is a fun and fast paced way to meet new people in a way that dissolves awkward social barriers.
GSC. Free. 2025 dates TBD.
Connect2Affect Workshop
Are you recently retired and feel you’ve lost vital social connections? Perhaps you’ve had a recent life transition and have lost friends? If so, this community workshop is for you!
Created by the AARP Foundation’s Connect2Affect program, this workshop will help you craft your own ‘Friendventory’ to take stock of your social contacts and think about ways to improve your connections.
2025 dates and venue TBD. Free.
Social Skills Discussion Series
Are you searching for connection? Looking for ways to deepen your existing friendships? Come join us at the Wallingford Senior Center for a Social Skills 4-part series, where we will read and discuss the book “How to Know a Person- The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen” by David Brooks. The series will be facilitated by Denise Malm, Geriatric Mental Health Specialist at the Wallingford Senior Center and Teresa Tam, Social Connection Project Coordinator at the Greenwood Senior Center.
Wallingford Senior Center. Free. Third Thursday of the month from 1:15 pm to 3:30 pm in January, February, March, and April.
Registration required. Call the Wallingford Senior Center at 206.461.7825 to register.
Share the Care Kickoff Meetings
Do you or a loved one need meals delivered? A ride to treatment? House cleaning? Companionship? If so, a Share the Care group may be a good option. Share the Care kickoff meetings help provide a roadmap on how to form a team to meet your caregiving needs. A trained GSC facilitator will help you organize this team at no charge.
A Share the Care group can be helpful if:
- You or someone you love has recently been diagnosed with a serious illness.
- You’ve been taking care of someone who is ill for a long time. You’re burnt out and you can’t do it alone anymore.
A Share the Care kickoff meeting will help you:
- Create a unique care team from friends, relatives, neighbors and co-workers, turning your group into a powerful caregiving team.
- Organize the team in a way that ensures every job will get done, and no one person will have too much to do.
Receive the help you need without coordinating or asking. - Discover the hidden talents within the group, make the most of their resources, cope with group issues, and stay together in the face of adversity.
- Make caregiving a meaningful, loving experience that replaces stress, fear and loneliness with teamwork, courage and friendship.
For more information about a Share the Care kickoff meeting, contact Teresa Tam at gro.r1733171300etnec1733171300yenni1733171300hp@ta1733171300seret1733171300 or 206-531-0061. Free.
Programs and Events in the Community
Past Programs and Events
UW Social Connection Survey and Video
In partnership with a University of Washington Master of Public Health in Community-Oriented Public Health Practice class, this survey aimed to help understand older adults’ level of social connection views on connecting with others through GSC programs. Here’s a video about the survey!
Social Connection Program Conversations
Lonely No More! Story Workshop with the Center for 21st Century Studies
The GSC partnered with the Center for 21st Century Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in a storytelling workshop to reflect on C21’s Lonely No More! Program and the results of their survey on loneliness. The workshop involved C21 faculty in conversation with Social Connection Program participants about how we might illustrate and tell stories about loneliness to connect with others. C21 Director Anne Basting’s “beautiful questions” formula inspired the original Lonely No More! survey. The audio recording made at the end of the session has been included as a performance art piece for C21’s 2022-2023 Lonely No More! Exhibition and can be heard here:
Resources
Tips for Staying Connected
Commit to Connect
engAGED
The National Resource Center for Engaging Older Adults
Coalition to End Social Isolation and Loneliness
AARP Foundation Connect2Affect
Dealing with Loneliness after 50
The Sixty and Me 2020 Survey Results
Positive Aging Community
In the Press
The Social Connection Project: combating social isolation among seniors
DCHS Blog
Greenwood Senior Center Offers Programs to Increase Social Connection
ADS Seattle and King County
Greenwood Senior Center Project Offers New Programs that Increase Social Connection
Northwest Prime Time
More Senior Programs
Greenwood Senior Center
Memory Loss Program
PNA Village
Support Groups
Contact Information
For more information about the Social Connection Program or to discuss possibilities for collaboration, please contact Teresa Tam, Social Connection Program Coordinator.
About Teresa Tam
Social Connection Program Coordinator Teresa Tam began volunteering with the PNA Village in 2016 and is excited to continue working with the PNA doing community outreach and program development to increase social connection among older adults in our community. She has over a decade of experience in healthcare program evaluation and is passionate about supporting the mental, physical, and emotional health of others as they age. Outside of work, Teresa enjoys spending time with family, friends, and felines; traveling; paddle boarding; and rock hunting.
gro.r1733171300etnec1733171300yenni1733171300hp@ta1733171300seret1733171300
206.531.0061