How Can Your Senior Make Friends in an Assisted Living Community?
Making new friends can be intimidating for older adults. When your elderly family member is investigating assisted living options, she may want to look for ways in which the community helps residents to meet each other and to get to know each other.
Get Out and about a Little More Regularly
If your elderly family member is spending most of her time in her own apartment, she’s likely going to have a little more difficulty meeting other people in her community. Getting out a little bit more every day, even by doing something as simple as taking a walk, can be a great way to encounter new people. It’s even possible that she’ll meet people with similar interests.
Sign up for Some Activities
Many assisted living communities pride themselves on having a variety of different activities available for residents. These activities are a great way to learn something new, to engage in something your senior already loves, or to meet other people in the community. Trying different activities each week can give your senior a chance to meet a variety of people. And she might just find something that she loves doing, too.
Take Time to Greet Everybody
Being shy is definitely a reason to feel nervous about getting out there and making friends, but your senior needs to make a little bit of an overture herself. When she takes a moment to greet people as they pass by or as she encounters them, that helps to open up conversational possibilities. Even just a simple smile and nod can go a long way toward warming other people up.
Use Meals as a Chance to Socialize
Many assisted living communities offer multiple options for meals. Residents can often eat in their own apartments or in the community dining room with other residents. When your senior goes to the dining room, she has an opportunity to sit with other residents, enjoy a meal together, and get to know them. If she wants, she can eat with different people every day until she finds some new friends that she wants to spend more time with on a regular basis.
Above all, your senior should be patient with herself, especially if she’s not naturally a social person. It can take time and effort to make new friends. Having a plan can help your elderly family member to get a little outside of her comfort zone.