Coronavirus related social distancing has been taking its toll on all of us. But the elderly have been hit especially hard.

Most of the world’s population has been through, or is still going through, strict social distancing measures.

Social distancing has impacted most people’s mental health. But for some, the pain is extreme. One story really demonstrates this and what people can do to help.

One 72-year-old woman in London, UK has really shown just how badly social distancing is affecting some people.

As the weeks of social distancing turned to months, she felt ever more lonely. At first, she turned to books and movies to get her through the long days. But when she ran out of books and DVDs, she began to despair.

The lady had always been independent. But she also realized that due to circumstances beyond her control, she needed the support of her community.

So she stuck a note on the front door of her building.

The note explained that she lived alone and was “going round the twist” without anything to read. So she asked if her neighbors could be kind enough to leave some books and DVDs on her doorstep.

Luckily, many of the people that live in the woman’s building helped out.

Connie Bliff, one of the residents, read the note and realized that she could contribute. So she went to her flat and sorted through any books and DVDs that she thought that the woman might enjoy. When she got to the woman’s flat, she saw that there were already dozens of books and DVDs in front of the door. She added her own offerings to the pile and went back to her flat.

When the woman saw all the books and DVDs, she was so happy. Her faith in humanity was instantly restored. It may sound like a small gesture to some. But for her, it meant everything to have this entertainment.

She then wrote another note, this time thanking everyone for their generosity.

Thanks to her neighbors, her mental health soared. She both had the entertainment she needed and knew that other people cared about her.

When Connie Bliff saw the second note, she realized that she had to share it with the world. So she posted both the notes and a description of her and her neighbors’ actions to Twitter. Pretty soon, the story went viral.

To date, the post has had almost 500,000 likes. It also has over 68,000 retweets and 700 comments. People have been saying things like this:

Connie used the tweet’s popularity to urge people to help their neighbors in a similar fashion. She also urged people to volunteer to help out the UK National Health Service.

It’s important to remember that the woman in this story is not the only one suffering from loneliness and a lack of entertainment now. In fact, there are people in her situation all over the locked down parts of the world.

Connie’s message urging others to help out their lonely neighbors applies to everyone.

There are people in need of support in every community. And even small things, like donating books or giving them a phone call, can make a difference.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Source: Bored Panda, Connie Bliff