Every day seniors sit alone, waiting to share their experiences, their knowledge and their sense of humor. Too often, visitors never arrive.

 

Founder Brenda Merritt tells this story about one

of her visits to a nursing home:

When I first visited Margaret, I had just entered her

room when she said,  “You must be an angel.”
I laughed and asked, “Why do you say that?”
Her answer broke my heart. “Because I haven’t had

a visitor in 12 years!”

 

This story is not unusual. Just ask anyone who

works in such a facility.

MICAH recruits and trains volunteers to visit nursing

homes, veterans’ centers, assisted living facilities

and other places seniors stay. MICAH has sent

visitors to isolated seniors’ homes to visit and to do

home and lawn maintenance, also.

 

Today, 1.57 million seniors age 65 and older live in nursing homes, and the number is increasing as baby boomers age. The majority of these seniors are forgotten and alone. Some estimates show more than forty-five percent have no living children. Sometimes family and friends live too far away to visit or are busy working two jobs and can’t visit. Whatever the reason, many of our nation’s citizens live out their retirement years sad and lonely.