How Salt Lake County adapted to help seniors when pandemic stole their social network

SALT LAKE CITY — When Vickie Venne learned that Salt Lake County was shutting the doors of its senior centers as part of the state's pandemic precautions, she was devastated.

"I had a major pity party on the 13th of March," she said. "How do I know March 12 was a Thursday? That's when everything closed."

She said she gave herself a week to be sad about not having the option of meeting up with friends for classes or meals, and then she found something to take her mind off of her loneliness.

"By March 20, I'd gotten myself involved with a sewing community and I was making masks for first responders," said Venne, 68. "I gave myself about a week to cry and be upset."

The masks gave her purpose, but what she still lacked when the senior centers closed was connection. And she wasn't alone.

"We were immediately aware that this was not good," said Afton January, communications manager with Salt Lake County Aging and Adult Services. "We started getting calls, 'When are you going to be reopening? It's been a week. It's been two weeks. It's been three weeks.'"

Some, like Marianne Christensen, who is over health promotion for Salt Lake County Aging and Adult Services, immediately began calling seniors whom she would have been seeing at fitness classes.

"We just started to transition what we were already doing online, so that was a little bit tricky in some cases, but it worked great in most classes," she said. "This pandemic has been really isolating for older adults, and it's hard to think about how we can connect with them."

For some, it's enough that they can pick up hot meals each day at the senior centers where they once dined with friends or took a foreign language class.

"I think it's a big deal," said Bob Perelle, 79, who picked up his meals with a childhood friend. "I think they're treating us good."

Dan Flores, 79, said he used to come to the senior center to play pickleball, but now he settles for hot meals and friendly conversation.

"I played pickleball," he said. "I ate with the group, talked to a lot of people. ... It was pretty nice."

Flores is one of those who appreciated any effort to reach out, even if he said he can't do the online classes because "I can't even work my phone. ... I like what they're doing. I still donate a little here and there. I think it's nice."

January said staff realized very early in the shutdown that they needed to do more to reach out to those who were also most vulnerable when it came to COVID-19.

"The social isolation that our seniors were experiencing became a top concern," January said, noting that other staff, some of whom had job changes because of the shutdown, began following Christensen's lead in making calls and reaching out to seniors who could no longer visit one of their 16 centers.

"They'd just call them and ask, 'How is it going? Do you need anything? How are you doing after the earthquake?' Just have a friendly conversation. It gets lonely."

Immediately senior centers began handing out meals to seniors who requested them. They were hot, ready-to-eat meals, and it was a chance to check in with clients, see how they're doing and check to see if they needed help with other services.

"(Christensen) has been wanting to put fitness classes online for a long time," said January. "But we just didn't have the time, resources or motivation. Then the pandemic hit. We thought, 'We have no choice but to innovate, so let's just do it.'"

By June, they began offering online seminars and classes through YouTube. Everything from a presentation of geology to a yoga class.

"As it grew, it became more interactive, and we made it a more robust thing," January said. "This fall there are dozens and dozens of offerings through the virtual senior center. Some are offered on Webex or Zoom, and others are telephone based. ... We want to keep them active, keep their minds working, and keep them engaged in learning new things."

Christensen, who has worked for the county for 12 years, said some seniors were uncertain about the online classes because they didn't know how to use technology, while others didn't have access to either technology or internet services.

The county teamed up with Utah State University to loan some seniors iPads, but the county also just purchased 35 iPads that it plans to loan to seniors who want to take online classes and don't have a device.

"We want to empower seniors to be more adept with using technology," January said. "This way they can take classes, connect with friends and interact with loved ones safely. Technology is part of our lives, and this will help them stay engaged in the world."

Allison Dieterle, 63, said the classes have been an unexpected gift in her life.

"The county is so impressive in trying to meet everyone's interests," she said. "Each month there are more and more classes. Those students who teach the exercise classes with the University of Utah are so thorough and enthusiastic. I see a whole bunch of different faces, and you get so you recognize your classmates."

Most of the classes she took before the pandemic were exercise classes, but when someone suggested she take fitness for older adults, she was skeptical.

"I ran into someone who was teaching it, and I got a big kick out of it," she said. "I've taken mindfulness classes, an aging mastery class, and I do a lot of the crafts because I have so much time on my hands."

Christensen said most instructors go the extra mile to create opportunities for participants to socialize — even if it is virtual.

"We open the meetings for all of our classes 15 minutes before the start of class," Christensen said. "People have made friends just joining classes 10 minutes early, like you would in person. It's been fun to watch because that's what we all want, right? Connection."

Dieterle illustrates how one instructor tried to create connections in an online class that she said helped them deal with chronic pain.

"You said you were going to do something that day, maybe clean your closets, and even though you didn't see (the people in the class), they'd cheer you on," she said. "And it was therapeutic to cheer someone else on and have them cheer you on. ... I even joined a book club. I've never done a book club in my life."

Karen Walker said she learned about the online classes through the senior center's newsletter.

"I was just really happy," she said. "I knew right away that I'd participate. I needed something to do."

The loss of social connection was abrupt and disorienting.

"We used to get together on Fridays and play Neurobics, sort of brain games, and then we'd all go out to lunch," she said. With the coronavirus shutdowns, "that was gone."

They sent out the sheets, and seniors could do them on their own, but the friendships and socialization was something all of them missed desperately.

"I think the exercise classes are what I missed the most," she said. "So now, we do some of the classes on Zoom, which is good. But it's just not the same. I missed my friends."

Dieterle said as a vegetarian she doesn't pick up a lunch at the senior center, but sometimes she walks over during the distribution just to wave at friends she no longer sees.

Walker said she is exercising more than ever thanks to the online classes, and she believes it will help her stay fit through the winter.

"I would miss classes at the senior center in the winter because I live in a place where it's not easy to get out of during a snowstorm," she said.

Dieterle and Venne said if participants have issues, staff members go the extra mile to help them figure out the issue, whether it is technology or adapting the class to their needs.

"I'm just so grateful, so grateful," Dieterle said. "I tell everyone about the senior centers. I've lived a lot of other places ... and these are amazing. Without them, I don't know what I'd be doing. I'm always one of their biggest cheerleaders because of the amazing things they do for seniors."

Venne has taken a wide variety of classes from exercises to help with balance to listening to a presentation from an FBI agent on election security.

"There's no question," she said of how the online classes have enriched her life. "The meditation has kept me sane, especially as we move into this election."

And sometimes, the classes lead to friendships in real life.

"One gal in the class lives about 10 blocks from me, so we have been walking together," she said. "The agency has been amazing. Marianne is so calm, so generous and so gentle with everyone."

She said the online classes have allowed them to "stretch ourselves" and think about issues and subjects they may have avoided if they'd been allowed to continue their lives without interruption.

"They called and asked me if I'd be a mentor to someone once they get an iPad, which I think is great," she said. "So people aren't on their own."

Walker said the tech support makes the online classes much more accessible for anyone.

"If you weren't formerly tech savvy, I could see where it would be hard," she said. "I had an issue with the website just today. But I just call, and there is always help for the tech. ... It's a great program. I would have gone nuts by now without it."

The online programs have been so successful, county officials believe the virtual offerings are now a permanent part of how they can help seniors "age well." It's actually going to allow them to serve more people than they ever could in a physical building.

"It's been a really fun and exciting time," January said "Everything has changed. But we feel like what we're doing is better than ever, and we plan to keep this going indefinitely. This is a new part of our programming, to engage with staff, their peers, and instructors ... from the comfort of their own home, if they can't make it to senior center."

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