“A new campaign aims to bring more attention to the issue.”

by Emily Gurnon

“When Sol Moran, 63, left her home in Puerto Rico to move to Minneapolis, things initially went well. She enjoyed being closer to her son, who lived in a nearby suburb, and she had a job she enjoyed. Then Moran got hit with a constellation of serious illnesses. She wasn’t able to keep up her work as an interpreter and home health aide and didn’t have the energy to get out of her apartment for anything other than medical visits.

“Her world became very small.

“‘I had given up on life,’ Moran said last week. ‘I was wondering sometimes why I had a phone,’ since the only calls she received were about doctors’ appointments.

“’A Potent Killer’

“Loneliness and social isolation are not merely a source of sadness for many older adults. Studies have shown that isolation increases the risk of mental and physical illnesses. In fact … ”

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