Staying Connected from a Distance
These days it is impossible to turn on the TV, radio, or go online without receiving dire news about the widening spread of COVID 19 (Coronavirus) and the resulting restrictions and precautions mandated for our safety. We now have a new phrase in our common language called “social distancing,” which refers to limiting our contact with other people in order to remain healthy.
However, the phrase “social distancing” is a misnomer; the correct term should be “physical distancing.” During these challenging times, while physical distancing is a necessity, social distancing is the last thing any of us need. At CJE SeniorLife, we make it our business to keep older adults in our community connected and help them to avoid isolation. In our Preventing Isolation LifeNOTES, we focus on ways to combat the growing epidemic of social isolation, which is more dangerous to our health than obesity or smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
Knowing the risk that social isolation has to our emotional and physical health, it is imperative that we find innovative ways to stay connected during the Coronavirus quarantine. To that end, we have created the CJE SeniorLife Cyber Club to bring programming straight into the homes of our community members. At the CJE SeniorLife Cyber Club website you will find videos on a variety of topics, activities to do at home, and a schedule of live Community Tuesdays My Go-To Place Zoom meetings so that we can all stay socially connected during this unprecedented time of physical isolation.
Remember, physical distancing doesn’t have to mean social distancing. We look forward to virtually connecting with you and getting through this together!
Support for Community Tuesdays presents My Go-To Place, by CJE SeniorLife, has been graciously provided by The Albert and Lucille Delighter and Marcella Winston Foundation, a Supporting Foundation of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.
By Tamara Kushnir Groman, SeniorLife Educator at CJE SeniorLife and Sharon Shapiro, Program Support Specialist at CJE SeniorLife