'Present Perfect': Easing Elderly Loneliness Through Preschoolers

It's not easy trying to fight off the feeling of isolation. Add old age to that equation and you can immediately imagine a sad everyday occurrence. But for a group of elderlies in a Seattle nursing home, things became quite a little lighter and happier. A pre-school was arranged inside this home, allowing preschoolers to have joint activities with the 900 plus elderly residents five times a week. This was reported by Babble.

The school, Intergenerational Learning Center, also gave a statement about this arrangement. It said, "Both planned and spontaneous activities and programs for children take place throughout the building and campus which is also home to more than 400 older adults. Five days a week, the children and residents come together in a variety of planned activities such as music, dancing, art, lunch, storytelling or just visiting. These activities result in mutual benefits for both generations."

Proof that this type of program has touched the heartstrings of those who knew about it, a documentary was made to bring awareness about the advantages good things that has resulted from this project. The documentary was done by Evan Briggs and it was named Present Perfect. It delves into the ongoing revelations about aging in America,  and the consequences of trying to lighten the elderly people's lives through their interactions with the young ones. There is also the good influence of the elder generation on the younger ones which can give guidance and wisdom.

A large number of elderly people experience depression as a result of social isolation. Studies have shown that 43 percent undergo such a state of loneliness. Somehow, this social experiment brings a good feeling of connection and warmhearted responses from both the young and the old. This makes it possible for us to believe in the strength of the human spirit in the elderly and the promise of life and fun among the growing young people. Both can give a world of difference and meaning into each other's presence.

Evan Briggs further reiterated how compartmentalized we have become as a society wherein we each tend to focus on individual goals and not think much about those who are mostly forgotten.

"One experience in particular occurred during a morning visit between the toddler classroom and several residents who had gathered to sing songs together. Everyone had just finished a rendition of 'You Are My Sunshine' when one of the residents began to share a memory he had of singing that very same song late at night on a bus full of soldiers while serving overseas during World War II," he said. "And though the kids were too young to understand his words, the fact that their presence provided a catalyst for his recollection just seemed to fit in a 'circle of life' kind of way," Briggs stated.