Residents at a Scottish care home have been putting pen to paper to connect with new pals in the USA, sharing stories of past memories and experiences of the pandemic.
Edinburgh care home Cramond Residence has established a pen pal relationship with The Wexford, an Independent Living Facility part of Columbine Health Systems located in Colorado.
It is the result of some forward-thinking by Lifestyle Co-ordination Lisa Sohn, who worked as an intern at the facility in Loveland, Colorado, before moving to Scotland over a year ago. Lisa reached out to her old supervisor to gauge interest in starting up a pen pal programme.
Both homes have since exchanged several letters and it has been a positive way of keeping residents’ spirits high, as well as keeping their mind occupied and stimulated whilst reminiscing about previous trips visiting Scotland and America.
Lisa, originally from Colorado, is one of the dedicated team at the 74-room modern care home in Edinburgh.
Lisa said: “It's been nice to offer our residents something positive to take part in, especially in the middle of all of this madness.
“Residents have really embraced the opportunity to connect with their pen pals and have been writing as often as possible. We now host monthly classes dedicated to writing to their friends in the US.”
The simple act of letter writing has many positive benefits such as improved memory function and greater feelings of happiness.
Logan Shaw, Activity Director at the Loveland home, said: “It has been a great initiative to be part of and our residents really enjoy writing letters to their friends in Scotland.
“With every letter sent, the excitement of receiving a letter back increases and we are delighted to help facilitate our residents creating new friendships with like-minded people across the pond.
“Although, we started the pen pal program prior to the pandemic, it has truly been a blessing for our residents to be able to relate to one another throughout the last couple months, even though they are worlds apart!”
