The pandemic was rough on seniors. These students started a pen pal program to keep them company

It's no surprise that the pandemic and its restrictions took a tough toll on seniors in long-term care (LTC) and retirement homes. Many had to live in isolation due to lockdown measures, unable to have visits from their friends and family members. 

That was the case for 76-year-old Gail Wilson, who moved into the Chelsey Park Retirement home in London, Ont., a few days before a pandemic was declared and everything shut down.

"I came on the Tuesday and the virus hit on the weekend, so I couldn't see my family, my son couldn't visit me and I was locked in my room for three months. It was pretty nasty," she said, adding that she also got COVID in its first wave.

Western University student Samantha Keow wanted to do something to support the elderly population during these tough times. She started the Across Generations pen pal program, in which students and residents in long-term care and retirement homes get paired up with one another and exchange handwritten letters once a month. 

"Our main goal was just to put these groups, our older adult population, back in the minds of people, especially at a time when they were really disadvantaged by the pandemic," Keow said.

"Just asking how we can help and what we can do as future leaders to make sure that we're taking care of the people around us, even if we can't see them." 

Inspiration and mutual interests

Keow got the idea while volunteering at a retirement home when she was in high school, where her main role was talking to the residents and keeping them company. Keow realized how much residents rely on social interactions and something simple as someone asking how their day has been, she said.

Keow's pen pal, 72-year-old Carol Burke, also lives at Chelsey Park. She says she always looks forward to Keow's letters and is so inspired by her. 

"Oh, I love it, she's very interesting," Burke said. "One thing about it is we don't get them often enough, but when I do, I really enjoy it. I read it over and over."

"It's been super sweet talking to Carol because I never really had a grandmother figure in my life since there was a language barrier between me and my grandparents," Keow said. "Having someone who treated me like her grandchild was really sweet and something I've never experienced before, so that bond is definitely a novel experience, and one that stole my heart."

The pandemic really infuriated Burke because she's a people person who loves talking to other people, but couldn't do that for about three months, she said. 

Burke and Keow discovered that they shared a mutual love for arts and crafts and plan to have their first in-person meeting in September for a cup of coffee. 

"She's [Keow] a very good artist, which is something I'm not but it would be something nice to get into, she just likes to have fun and that's me," Burke said.

Wilson also learned a great deal from her pen pal, Rose, who tells Wilson all about her Chinese culture. Rose plays the guitar and even sends her songs dedicated to Wilson. The two also share a passion for travelling, which Wilson said she used to do a lot before she had a stroke a few years ago.

Student volunteer Mariam Park has been exchanging letters with her pen pal for about two years now, and she's glad that she can be a pillar of emotional support, while finding a new friend for herself, too. 

"I believe that small happiness in life is what makes life worth living and being isolated in a small space is not easy and can be difficult mentally. I thought, if I can provide that to the seniors with a simple letter, it would brighten up their day and it would give us both something to look forward to every month, and I love putting a smile on my pen pal's face," she said.

She's always struggled opening up to strangers but the bond with her pen pal came so easily, Park said. Her pen pal gives her lots of travel and life advice as well and the two plan on arranging an in-person meet soon, she said. 

"We created a very special friendship even though the age gap is so big. She just feels like a really good friend I could talk to about my life problems," she said.

"I was also isolated in my room and it was online school, so it was difficult fo me to make friends. Exchanging letters with my pen pal also helped me with my loneliness and helped me overcome some obstacles knowing that I could talk to her."

Keow plans to grow the organization to homes in other parts of Ontario and even expanding Across Generations' services to facilities other than LTC and retirement homes because she says it's not only seniors who need that emotional support.