Vitalia Senior Residences at Stow Understands the Importance of Socialization and Building & Maintaining Relationships

No matter our age, building relationships with others is fundamental in enriching our lives. Research has shown that people who enjoy healthy relationships, live longer and happier lives. Maintaining relationships as we age has numerous health benefits such as increasing our physical and mental health, increasing mental acuity, promoting laughter and more!

At Vitalia Senior Residences at Stow, I, as the Resident Services Director, play a pivotal role in helping to create opportunities for our residents to build relationships with their peers as well as helping to maintain these relationships through daily events. Oftentimes, aging adults are afraid of senior living settings. They see it as an end to their independence. Most fear being isolated from family and friends. One of the stigmas associated with senior living is, “I’m too young and active to be in senior living”. Therefore, many avoid it as an option all together. Unfortunately, this means they also lose out on the abundant opportunities to create new friendships and memories that this setting provides.

In our community, we have a group of residents who are professionals at welcoming new residents and helping them to feel at home as they settle in. We also ensure that new residents are invited to join all events, based on their preferences. Once our residents take advantage of these events, they often find themselves meeting new people or even connecting with old friends or neighbors. Through our daily events and programs, we often see close friendships form that continue into the future. Residents begin having meals together or even take trips out of the community for shopping and family get-togethers.

It is my goal to help build and foster these relationships and break the stigmas associated with senior living communities. I’m always encouraging as many residents as possible to attend events and build friendships during that time. Oftentimes, residents will leave the event together to enjoy a meal to “continue their conversation.”

We do all sorts of different events here at Vitalia. We offer activities that cater to all ages, whether it is a walk-a-thon or attending a tech class, age is just a number when it comes to living at Vitalia.

Sources: https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316