Loneliness and social isolation are now very serious public health issues that can badly affect one’s health. They can increase a person’s risk of dying early, or dementia, heart attacks and stroke.
Older adults are at increased risk because they are more likely to face factors such as living alone, the loss of family or friends, chronic illness, and hearing loss.
Feeling lonely can be as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
Community Connectors are members of the community who signpost and inform family, friends and neighbours about how to access support groups, services and information that might help improve their health and wellbeing.
Our one-hour training session is designed to help ANYONE in the Kingston area be better equipped to signpost and support others in the community.
If you wish to learn more or enrol in our training course, email us at: info@compassionatekingston.ca
The Ten Stories: Intergenerational Conversations
There is power and purpose in the stories older people tell over and over again – and there really are just 10 stories they tell repeatedly. Based on interviews with caregivers, Dr. Mary Ann McColl’s (Professor in the School of Rehabilitation Therapy at Queen’s University) research has found that the values and symbols in those retold stories hold the secret to making our loved ones feel validated, remembered and understood in the late stages of their lives – and can help us connect to our loved ones on a deeper level.
Did you know that social relationships have been shown to have the strongest influence of reducing premature death? Research has shown that social isolation and loneliness have about the same impact as smoking 15 cigarettes a day!
Become a Community Connector
Compassionate Communities Kingston is developing a network of Community Connectors. Training sessions will be scheduled this spring and fall. For more information, email info@compassionatekingston.ca.
Talking Cafés in Kingston: Building Connection, Reducing Isolation Among Older Adults
Since launching in September 2025, Compassionate Communities Kingston Canada and the Kingston Frontenac Public Library have been helping older adults build connections and reduce social isolation through their growing Talking Café program. The initiative has already...
Like Bees to a Flower, Connector’s Join Dots in the Community
Through the good works of David Townsend, former Executive Director of South Frontenac Services, Compassionate Communities Kingston (CCK) was able to identify a group of connectors naturally in evolution in neighboring community South Frontenac. David, along with...
What happens when you can’t make health decisions for yourself?
Kingston lawyer and doctor explain the importance of advance care planning What would happen if you were sick, so sick that you were not able to speak for yourself? Perhaps just too sick to think straight, or perhaps in the ICU – and maybe connected to a ventilator,...
