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Even as we see the light at the end of the tunnel of this pandemic, mental health continues to be a challenge amongst our clients. Our volunteers are there to help. There is no better example of this than in our Sudbury chapter, where depression, anxiety and solitude are met with a caring, listening ear.

Anxiety is, not surprisingly, a symptom that can pop up in any stressful situation. Add in a pandemic - and the isolation that comes along with it - it can become overwhelming and seem unmanageable. Emily, our Sudbury Chapter Leader, has found the key to helping to appease anxiety in a client she has been working with recently: listening. “I’ve found that the more I allow her to just talk to get it all off her chest, she seems to calm down.”

An insidious symptom, anxiety can often exhibit itself in one’s diet, as Emily’s client has experienced. This client is very particular about the food she eats, and would not eat the Meals on Wheels dinners as she did not like them. As a result, she wasn’t getting enough food intake. To address this issue, Emily would do specialized grocery shopping for her; even buying her client’s “comfort foods” such as a special kind of donut that she craves. Another client of Emily’s who has a medically complex diagnosis has been able to benefit from this customized grocery shopping to appease her symptoms of both anxiety and depression.

Not exclusive to our elderly clients in this pandemic especially, is the feeling of isolation. It has been an enormous challenge, and the social isolation can and has resulted in mental health issues. “I know that spending the time to listen to my clients - young and old - goes a long way in relieving anxiety and the deep sense of loneliness,” Emily said. “My experience has been that taking that time just listening is the most important way of validating each client’s unique experience.”