The Senior Wellness Pilot Program Grant is designed to build capacity for community initiatives that will improve socialization and support the health and wellbeing of older adults, individuals with disabilities who are homebound, and residents of institutional settings in New Jersey. Social isolation is often conceptualized as a deficiency in the quality and quantity of interpersonal relationships and has been shows to have a negative impact on various health indicators and contributes to increased mortality rates. The New Jersey DHS Social Isolation Study, published in April 2023, found that an estimated 44% of New Jersey’s older adult population is socially isolated. Social isolation in older adults, which has been found to be more common in people with lower income and who lack transportation, among other factors, has been found to lead to adverse physical and mental health outcomes
