Dear Eric: I am writing in response to the letter from the woman who had an Alzheimer’s diagnosis and felt isolated and lonely (“Unmatched Matchmaker”).

Your advice to her to reach out to support groups and to be more direct with her family and friends about her needs was excellent. As a board-certified health and wellness coach who focuses specifically on the needs of seniors and people of all ages living with chronic illness and disability, I wanted to offer some additional options that she and her family may want to be aware of.

First, many local elder services access points train and maintain a group of volunteer visitors for isolated elders in their community. Many city Commissions on Aging or similar also have programs like these.

Second, if the letter writer is even an occasional

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