Little Brothers-Friends of the Elderly

isolation and loneliness among the elderly. We offer to people of good will the opportunity to join the elderly in friendship and the celebration of life. LBFE was founded in Paris in 1946 to help elderly people who were without the support of families after World War II. In 1959, an LBFE chapter was started in Chicago, at which time the organization became non-religious and open to both men and women volunteers. Since 1991, LBFE in San Francisco has been working to relieve isolation and loneliness among older adults living in San Francisco. At a time when communicating with a friend or family member on the other side of the country is no more than a few clicks of a mouse, or a few taps on a cell phone screen, research indicates that we are, as a society, more lonely than we have ever been. No age group feels the keen sting of loneliness more than the elderly. The UCSF Loneliness in Older Persons study showed that loneliness in adults over 60 years of age is a clear predictor of functional decline and death (Perissinotto, 2012). Now, during Sheltering in Place, all of us can identify what it means to be alone with little social support. It is at this moment we need to act and make sure the older adults in our community are being supported. LBFE is widely recognized as a premier service provider to this often-overlooked demographic.