The "la Caixa" Foundation launches a pioneering programme to help the elderly recover the meaning of their lives during a pandemic
The pandemic resulting from COVID-19 is triggering major emotional consequences. With the aim of responding to this situation and empowering the elderly in times of difficulty, the "la Caixa" Foundation is launching the 'Living with Meaning' programme in which more than 6,500 elderly people are expected to participate.
During the 9 training sessions, a space for reflection is created, combining readings by different thinkers with individual and collective reflection exercises. The programme is divided into four blocks, where the following aspects will be addressed: losses (how to deal with the death of our loved ones, but also how to manage symbolic losses: for example, irrecoverable time); care (the importance of understanding vulnerability, learning to care and how to care for ourselves); loneliness (delving into how to deal with loneliness in old age and empowering ourselves to manage it) and the life project (developing personal resources that help us to find meaning and significance in the new situation, aligning ourselves with our values and interests).
This pioneering project is part of the Personal Development and Life Cycle area of the "la Caixa" Foundation's Elderly People's Programme and has been conceived with a methodology that allows the different resources and strategies to be adapted to online and face-to-face formats throughout the year. It is open to all those registered in the activities promoted by the "la Caixa" Foundation in Spain.
"In times of predominantly screen-based communication, the disparity between being connected and feeling connected has become more apparent. The pandemic has confronted us with fundamental questions about our humanity and made us question the meaning of life. With this programme, we want the elderly to regain control of their own lives, filling them with meaning", stressed Dr. Javier Yanguas, scientific director of the "la Caixa" Foundation's Elderly People's Programme.
The current situation has highlighted the importance of personal resources for dealing with isolation and loneliness in any context. The "la Caixa" Foundation's Elderly People's Programme carried out a survey of homebound users of senior citizens' centres throughout Spain to analyse their strengths. Among the conclusions drawn from this qualitative analysis, it is worth highlighting that it is the people with a more positive and proactive view of loneliness who have "resisted" this confinement better.
In June 2020, a survey of almost 3,000 elderly people after the months of confinement was carried out, and it revealed a complicated situation, which has been increasing: 80% of the people interviewed recognise that they are afraid of the future; 70% of the people interviewed believe that the quality of life of future generations will worsen, and 52% of the sample expressed loneliness.
The "la Caixa" Foundation's Elderly People's Programme, with more than 100 years of history, has the strategic objective of tackling the new challenges that arise in old age. It is currently committed to generating models based more on "being" than on "doing" and to placing the focus on the development of a personal project. In this way, it aims to make a new stage in old age possible, one which is worth living with realism and responsibility, enjoying it and also contributing to it.