CHICAGO (AP) The stranger’s call came when Dianne Green needed it most. Alone in the home where she’d raised four kids, grieving recently deceased relatives, too fearful of COVID-19 to see her grandkids and great-grandbabies, she had never felt lonelier. Then, one day last spring, her cell phone lit up. The cheerful voice on the line was Janine Blezien, a nurse from a Chicago hospital’s “friendly caller” program, created during the pandemic to help lonely seniors cope with isolation. Blezien, 57, lives with her rescue dogs, Gordy and Kasey, in a suburban brick bungalow, just six miles from Green’s two-flat apartment in the city.
Loneliness is rampant. A simple call, or hug, may be a cure japantoday.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from japantoday.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Overcoming isolation: Loneliness is rampant. A simple call, or hug, may be a cure Lindsey Tanner and Martha Irvine Associated Press April 17, 2021 FacebookTwitterEmail 1of9 Janine Blezien sits with her dogs, Kasey and Gordy. Blezien, who is single, said talking with retiree Dianne Green, through the Rush University Medical Center’s “friendly caller” program, also helped her feel less isolated last year. “We just clicked,” she said. Show MoreShow Less 2of9 Janine Blezien (left) and Dianne Green walk arm-in-arm at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago during their first in-person meeting. Blezien, a nurse at Rush, and Green, a retiree, met by phone the previous year through the hospital’s “friendly caller” program for which Blezien is a volunteer. They were able to get together after being vaccinated against COVID-19, and they plan to go out to a restaurant and shop together, once they both feel safe doing so. Show MoreShow Less
Loneliness is rampant. A simple call, or hug, may be a cure | News, Sports, Jobs lockhaven.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lockhaven.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Loneliness is even more rampant due to the pandemic. A simple call, or hug, may be a cure ksbw.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ksbw.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.