Kingsland Walk Senior Living 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 Kingsland Walk Senior Living, 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. 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. As the Resident Services Director, I have many opportunities to help encourage and build relationships with residents. By visiting them in their apartments, greeting them every day, letting them know what is happening throughout the day, and listening when they have concerns, I can build rapport. During daily events, my job is to provide encouragement and help residents get out and about within the community, doing things maybe they haven’t done before or not in a long time. Here at Kingsland, we have an extraordinary family of residents who all come together to check on each other and build upon their experiences in the community. One resident commented, “This is a very caring place. So many people have come up to check on me and make sure I am okay.” This comment speaks to each event or each moment in the dining room. Time spent together allows everyone to tell their own unique story by offering opportunities to reminisce about their past.

Feeling like you are losing your independence when moving into a senior community is a common thought. As Resident Services Director, I am consistently looking for feedback on what residents want and like to do. We must make this an opportunity for residents to make senior living what they want it to be, including finding things that interest them and helping them keep gaining experiences and making memories along the way. We model #whatseniorlivinglooks like through our social media platforms, so others can see what we are doing in and outside of the community.

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