TACKLING VETERAN LONELINESS WITH VA’S COMPASSIONATE CONTACT CORPS, WITH SPECIAL GUEST SURGEON GENERAL VIVEK MURTHY
On this Father’s Day episode of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ New Horizons in Health Podcast, we talk about the public health risks of loneliness and social isolation.
As a father, today is a chance for me to feel gratitude for the opportunity to be one. But for many who have lost loved ones or have gone through tough times, weekends like this can be hard. America is going through an epidemic of loneliness, and there are few experts out there on the topic like Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.
Dr. Murthy and I discussed VA’s Compassionate Contact Corps program for Veterans, which connects VA staff and volunteers with Veterans who, at one point, told us that they’re dealing with loneliness. These staff check in to make sure Veterans have everything they need, but also to just connect with Veterans. Every Veteran has an interesting story to tell, and our teammates often tell us that they gain so much out of this opportunity to serve even more Veterans every day.
Dr. Murthy and I discussed programming that can help anyone with loneliness, and what the next frontier in policy looks like for governments and health systems at every level to address the issue.
Bottom line: VA is here for any Veteran who needs us, including Veterans who are facing loneliness. You are not alone, and VA is there for you.
Enjoy!
