May is Older Americans Month, and this year’s theme for the celebration, “Powered by Connection,” aligns with the way LeadingAge provider members promote social connectedness and engagement among the older adults they serve.

One member’s program that does just that is the Virtual Senior Center (VSC), an innovation launched in 2010 by New York City-based Selfhelp Community Services. Selfhelp serves more than 25,000 older adults each year, not only in its 17 affordable older adult housing communities, but with a wide array of creative home and community-based services including home care, older adult centers, case management, and more. The organization has also been a national leader in comprehensive services for Holocaust survivors.

The VSC uses technology to connect and engage homebound older adults—to reduce social isolation and build online networks of support. This is made possible by enliveo, Selfhelp’s “online social wellness platform,” that enables users to participate in more than 5,000 virtual classes, health and exercise workshops, tours, concerts, social activities, and more each year. The program is now expanded beyond New York: VSC partners with other providers to serve clients in Baltimore, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and San Diego, and supports participants in eight languages.

The enliveo platform is age-friendly and safe, managing access for users to mitigate cybersecurity threats users might face with other social media platforms.

An engagement study completed in 2023 found that a large majority of VSC users are living alone and in need of ways to interact and engage with other people. Indeed, while the program provides many learning and entertainment options, a recent survey of users showed that the top two motivations to participate are a desire for acceptance from a group and for physical or emotional security.

An earlier survey of VSC users (2020) showed how they felt about the difference the program had made in their lives:

• 80% of participants felt less lonely.
• 60% experienced an increased sense of connectedness.
• 76% reported making new friends through the Virtual Senior Center.
• 74% felt less depressed.
• 97% reported an improvement in their quality of life.

Selfhelp’s VSC and its enliveo platform are profiled in a case study by LeadingAge’s Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST), part of CAST’s newly updated Social Connectedness and Engagement Technology Tool. For more details, read the case study, VSC powered by enliveo: Empowering Social Wellness for Isolated Older Adults Since 2010.

And for your own Older Americans Month celebration, LeadingAge has created tools, tips, and tactics to showcase the connections you help older adults build to maintain their physical, mental, and emotional health.

How does your organization innovate to build community and human connections for residents, clients, and their families? Use the LeadingAge Story Collector, powered by Greystone, to share your innovations. Try it now.