A gift-giving project that originated in one of the Diocese’s housing developments is expanding in its second year and brightening the lives of the older residents. The “Adopt a Senior for the Holidays” project began at Haven House at Saint John of God Church, North Cape May. It was created last fall to spread awareness of social isolation among seniors, explained the facility’s service coordinator, Alisa Erdman.
“Social isolation among seniors keeps increasing over the years,” said Erdman, noting that a recent study by the National Institute of Health estimates a 43% loneliness rate for older adults. Research has linked social isolation and loneliness to higher risks for a variety of physical and mental conditions: high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, a weakened immune system, anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease and even death.
“I want to combat that. I want to address the harsh reality that as we age, family, friends and society tend to forget about their older adults, and it is simply not fair,” Erdman said. “It almost makes you not want to get older. But if we keep talking about older adults and educating society and the community about the social isolation that they face, maybe that loneliness rate will begin to decrease.”
For Erdman, the Advent and Christmas seasons provided the perfect opportunity for showing seniors a little extra love. In fall 2021, with the help of co-worker Alexandra Street, she put the project into motion at Haven House, a 75-unit, one-bedroom senior affordable housing project that falls under the auspices of the Diocesan Housing Services Corporation of the Diocese of Camden.
“I gave all the residents a ‘wish list’ that they had to fill out that consisted of one ‘want’ and one ‘need,’” she explained. The seniors’ lists included simple, inexpensive yet essential items such as a floor mop, a pillow, pots and pans, Christmas decorations, a cat blanket and a box of saltwater taffy. “They were all things the rest of us take for granted,” Erdman said.
The creation of a private Facebook group called “Adopt a Senior for the Holidays” attracted enough volunteers from the community that the wishes and needs of all 75 Haven House residents were fulfilled. Erdman slipped a card into each wrapped gift that proclaimed, “Wish lists were made and presents were bought, our little county of Cape May loves their seniors a lot!”
Even illness didn’t stop these Santas from their appointed rounds last year. Said Erdman, “It was terrible: both Alexandra and I came down with COVID two days before the gifts were supposed to be delivered, but property managers Rose Emmel and Jessica Barbieri delivered them.”
The Haven House seniors were overwhelmed with gratitude, Erdman reported; a video was created that showed pictures of smiling gift recipients and thank you notes and a soundtrack of Judy Garland singing a Christmas song.
“With the success of the project, I knew I wanted to expand it,” said Erdman, “so this year we are adopting the 100 residents of Victorian Towers in Cape May and 50 in Sandman Tower, an independent senior facility managed by the Wildwood Housing Authority. We posted it on the Facebook page, and this year we have more volunteers than seniors!”
Erdman is also enlisting the aid of more elves to make the Dec. 23 gift-giving easier and make the seniors feel a little less lonely. She said, “I partnered with the local elementary schools in Lower Township and the City of Wildwood to have the students make holiday cards to give with the gifts. I also asked Krista Fitzsimons [Cape May County Department of Aging and Disability Services coordinator] to help.
“I hope this program continues to grow and we can adopt seniors out in the community who are not as fortunate to live in affordable housing where service coordinators are there to check on them,” Erdman said. “When you get to a certain age, people forget about you. Some people back away; it is scary for them. Just don’t forget to call your mother.”
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