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LSA sophomore Melanie Esterine speaks with her Perfect Pair match Enid over Zoom on Monday, January 25, 2021.
Courtesy of Morgan Kmety
‘Perfect Pair’ matches students with assisted
living residents to combat pandemic loneliness
Having
volunteered
in
assisted
living
facilities
for more than three years,
University of Michigan alum
Emily Lerner said she noticed
it was a challenge for senior
residents to connect with their
passions and the world beyond
their facility.
“Well before COVID, a lot
of families stopped coming
to visit,” Lerner said in an
interview with The Michigan
Daily. “And, on top of that,
activities-wise, it’s a lot of
bingo and ice cream socials. As
fun as that can be, not every
single person becomes 85 and
wants to do bingo over and
over. A lot of the residents were
just getting a little bit antsy
and feeling like they had lost
any sort of connection to the
outside world.”
Throughout
her
college
career, Lerner thought about
whether she could do anything
to
solve
this
engagement
problem
in
assisted
living
facilities.
After
graduating
last spring into a pandemic
and economic recession, she
said she found there was an
increasingly urgent need for a
solution, and she had the time
to act.
In
August
2020,
Lerner
founded
Perfect
Pair,
an
organization
that
brings
University
students
and
assisted
living
residents
together amid a pandemic that
has largely isolated seniors.
In the few months since
its
creation,
Perfect
Pair
has recruited more than 100
students, partnered with five
assisted living facilities across
southeast Michigan and formed
five
internal
committees
to work on issues such as
fundraising and programming.
Lerner, as the organization’s
executive director, is working
to further grow Perfect Pair
and prepare it for a post-
pandemic world. She said she is
hoping to form a chapter of the
organization at Michigan State
University in the next year and
a half, and she has applied for
501(c)(3) status so Perfect Pair
can operate as a tax-exempt
nonprofit.
When
the
pandemic
subsides, students will carpool
to senior facilities for activities,
which Lerner hopes will help
engage residents who aren’t as
technologically savvy or just
prefer in-person interaction.
LSA
sophomore
Melanie
Esterine,
a
Perfect
Pair
member, said she joined the
organization last fall so she
could build a strong connection
with her pair, especially during
the pandemic.
“I just thought it was so
beautiful that this club was
focusing on still getting them
that human interaction, even if
it is virtual,” Esterine said.
Perfect Pair tailors matches
between students and residents
by
conducting
preliminary
questionnaires
about
their
interests. Esterine said her
match, Enid, used to be an
English
professor
at
the
University, and the two bonded
over their interests in reading,
art and their hometown of New
York City.
“I already had a copy of ‘The
Great Gatsby,’ and I had told
(Enid) in our first meeting
just as an introduction that
that’s what I was reading at the
moment,” Esterine said. “And
she was like, ‘That’d be so great
if we could read it together.’ So
then Perfect Pair also provided
her with the copy, and then we
read it together. And when we
finished it, we came back and
discussed.”
In
addition
to
fulfilling
individualized
requests
for
supplies, Perfect Pair sends
activity boxes to all students
and residents so they can
engage
in
activities
like
painting, planting and letter-
writing over Zoom.
Norma Aunins, a resident at
Brecon
Village
Independent
Living, said she decided to
join Perfect Pair because she
previously had talked with
students
on
Facebook
and
wanted to try something new.
“It was a way to continue
having contact with the outside
world because it gets kind of
closed in around here during
this pandemic,” Aunins said.
“I feel like I’m contributing to
something.”
Aunins
said
her
match,
Alexandria, shares interests
in medicine and animals, and
their chats help her keep up
with younger generations.
“I enjoy her personality,”
Aunins said. “We seem to have
a similar sense of humor and
a lot of interests. This past
week, she put on the screen
a crossword puzzle, and we
worked together. She being
young got some answers that
I never would have come up
with, and me being the old lady
of the crew … came up with a
lot of other ones. So we really
enjoyed that.”
Aunins
highlighted
that
residents and students alike
benefit from the interactions.
“I would highly recommend
it to anyone who has any
interest,” Aunins said. “It gives
you contact with the outside
world,
it
gives
(students)
something to do, where they’re
contributing,
and
you
also
are contributing to their life
experiences. So the interaction
is great.”
Even though participating
in the program isn’t a big-time
commitment, Esterine said it
has made a positive impact on
her life.
“I feel like it’s added, as
cheesy as this sounds, a friend
or family member, just because
Enid is so, so sweet,” Esterine
said.
“I
genuinely
enjoy
speaking to her, I’ve learned so
much from her and I’m just so
inspired by her.”
Daily Staff Reporter Dominick
Sokotoff can be reached at
sokotoff@michigandaily.com.
DOMINICK SOKOTOFF
Daily Staff Reporter
CAMPUS LIFE
Organization started by University alum aims to facilitate interaction during COVID-19
“I just thought it
was so beautiful
that this club
was focusing on
still getting them
that human
interaction, even
if it is virtual”
TESS CROWLEY/Daily
Snow on the ground, but no students in sight on the Diag due to the stay in place recommendation last week.