CLEARWATER, Fla. – The coronavirus pandemic has hit the elderly community extremely hard but there are organizations trying to help lessen the blow any way they can.

One local organization is doing their part to help in form of a phone call to seniors who may be stuck inside right now all alone.

Gulf Coast Jewish Family & Community Services Sr. Director, Cindy Minetti said the program started out as an idea last year. Once they received grant funding they were able to come up with a final plan and launch the program in January.

“It was just a small little pilot,” Minetti said. “Our goal was to get about 25 volunteers and about 50 participants over the first two years.”

They had no way of knowing their new program would launch during a pandemic that’s having devastating impacts on the elderly community.

“I think it’s really important now because people are, they’re alone and they have less ability to connect out in the community,” Minetti said.

She says their research showed more people in Pinellas County over the age of 75 live alone. That fact is one of the reasons Susan Traub signed up to become a volunteer with the program, and she’s already made a connection.

“With my first participant it didn’t take too long to actually relax at first with her,” Traub said. “She is a social person. But the last year has been really hard for her. She lost her husband recently.”

Traub said she tries to be a listening ear and a friend in the midst of all of this chaos.

“She was delighted that I had reached out to her and looking forward to our next conversation and the next. So we have a friendship going,” she said.

The participants are matched with the volunteers based on their interests. And the volunteers are all pre-screened and given a background check.

Interested seniors and volunteers can all 727-450-7278 or email chats@gcjfcs.org.