Prairie Council On Aging 

and 

Lincoln Avenue Baptist Church 

Persons Interviewed 

Bambi Rockwell, Case Manager at Prairie Council on Aging 

Robb Rockwell, Associate Pastor at Lincoln Avenue Baptist Churchp[]\

Date and Length of Interview

February 24, 2021 at 8:30 pm for approximately 40 minutes 

Interview Questions

• What are some observations you have made about older adults and social isolation in your line of work?

• How has the Covid-19 pandemic impacted older adults?

• What activities to promote engagement were done Pre-Covid?

• What types of activities are being done throughout the community to decrease the effects of social isolation? 

• Do the older adults that you work with have access to technology?

• What types of resources would you think the older adults would benefit from and also enjoy participating in for this project?

BLOG

I will be providing three different musical resources to the older adults in the Jacksonville, IL area to help promote social engagement. 

Bambi Rockwell, a case manager for the Prairie Council on Aging, works with older adults in Jacksonville, IL and the surrounding areas. Despite growing up in Jacksonville myself, I learned so many things about the older adult population and many of the challenges they face on a day-to-day basis. According to the Prairie Council on Aging, social isolation is a huge issue, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only increased its negative effects. Pre-pandemic and today, some of the main factors that go into social isolation is that many of the older adults in this area are located in rural, lower income areas. Less access to technology and a lack of reliable transportation were the two main factors that Mrs. Rockwell has observed that contribute to social isolation. 

Pre-Pandemic there were many activities that were provided for older adults in Jacksonville. Going to large events like Church for worship services, bible studies, choir practice and Sunday school were huge for many older adults in the area. I also spoke with Robb Rockwell, the associate pastor at Lincoln Avenue Baptist Church, and he said that before Covid there were groups of older adults meeting at the church for various groups three-four times a week. Other activities to promote social engagement included exercising at the local walking track, going to senior centers, and having meals with their friends that were provided by the Council on Aging’s nutrition program. COVID has impacted every single one of these events and has been “absolutely awful on seniors.” 

After talking with Mr. and Mrs. Rockwell, we determined that there were three main types of activities that the older adults that they work with loved to participate and be involved in. These three activities were: 

1. Listening and singing along to music

2. Doing light, physical activity

3. Doing mentally stimulating things such as puzzles. 

I proposed that for the service-learning project, I could provide three musical activities that align with the older adults preferred activities. 

During the interview I also inquired about the access to technology that older adults in the area have. Most of the older adults that Mr. and Mrs. Rockwell works with, have cell phones with internet access. However, only a little more than 50% have computers and/or prefer to use them on a regular basis. These factors will be things that I will be keeping in mind as I design the three virtual music resources. Places in the area are beginning to reopen as more and more individuals are getting vaccinated, and there has been a slow increase in group gatherings. Based on all of this information I am wanting to design the musical activities to be done in a group or solo setting. While promoting social engagement is the main goal, I also do not want to exclude the older adults that are still wanting to social distance in order to stay safe. 

My hopes for this service-learning project is to provide older adults with musical experiences that will help promote social engagement and emotional well-being. My initial ideas for ways to gather evidence to see if the service-learning project is helping older adults meet the intended outcomes are as follows: talk with more case managers at the Prairie Council on Aging, other staff members at Lincoln Avenue Baptist church, and possibly find a way to send out surveys to those individuals that choose to participate. 

There are several resources that I am going to need to explore in order to make these activities meaningful and successful. Potential resource categories that I am looking into are as follows: 

• Gaining more in-depth information about social isolation

• Group music therapy goals and interventions with older adults

• Ways to make resources through technology accessible for older adults 

• How to design activities that are applicable for group and individual use