The initiative, called Let’s Chit Chat, provides communication devices like tablets and phones with easy-to-use video chat applications. Seniors can book a chat session with a dedicated conversationalist for 30 to 45 minutes to discuss a topic of their choosing.
The program was inspired by the isolating experience of seniors in long-term care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic and Masset’s work as a volunteer at Mackenzie Health, a Richmond Hill hospital that services people from nearby municipalities like Newmarket.
Masset hopes that Let’s Chit Chat will be widely adopted by long-term care homes and other institutions that cater to seniors across Ontario. For now, individuals can purchase calls or, alternatively, monthly or annual subscriptions to the service. Programs like this often use tools like brochure printing or phone marketing to inform customers or clients about what they have to offer.
The initiative stresses the importance of communication technology for seniors, even as social distancing rules relax, with its website saying:
“Loneliness is one of the greatest public health challenges of our time; it is unacceptable that so many people suffer in silence from this social injustice.”
Let’s Chit Chat launched recently and is currently available for online subscribers.