The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of social connection and shown that more must be done to alleviate the crisis of social isolation and loneliness, particularly for older adults. Last month, n4a CEO Sandy Markwood joined a panel at the Coalition to End Social Isolation & Loneliness' (CESIL) two-day Action Forum to share information about how n4a and our members are working to address social isolation and loneliness among older adults.

The goals of the CESIL international Action Forum were to raise the visibility of the impact of social isolation and loneliness on older adults, identify key innovations, promote federal and state policy solutions and to spur nationwide organizational commitments to action.
 
n4a is committed to expanding and enhancing the work of the Aging Network to address the social isolation of older Americans through engAGED: The National Resource Center for Engaging Older Adults, that is administered by n4a with funding from the Administration for Community Living and is guided by an Advisory Committee consisting of leaders and national experts.
 
At the Action Forum, Sandy also shared a commitment to action from n4a on how engAGED will work to address social engagement and social isolation across the Aging Network through outreach, identification and dissemination of best practices, training and technical assistance and development of consumer resources.
 
In response to the pandemic, the Aging Network has quickly adapted many of its programs and services to help reduce the social isolation and loneliness that may occur as more older adults self-isolate due to COVID-19. engAGED continues to highlight some of these innovations and best practices on their website.
 
For more resources on combatting social isolation and encouraging social engagement among older adults, please visit engagingolderadults.org.