The Compassionate Contact Core Creates Real Buddies

“I wanted to stay involved as a volunteer at the VA, and I thought this was an interesting program.”

The program, developed and implemented by the VA Center for Development & Civic Engagement, matches volunteers to Veterans to provide important and ongoing connections. Matches are made based on mutual interests, and the sole purpose is to socialize with Veterans once or twice weekly for 15 to 60 minutes. Volunteers can call when it’s best for the Veteran or the caregiver’s schedule. Veterans are referred to the program by their VA clinician when they feel added socialization will enhance their overall wellbeing. Volunteers in the Compassionate Contact Corps undergo training that includes modules on confidentiality, privacy, customer service, empathy, compassion, support, and boundaries.  For Veterans who live alone or who cannot get out of their homes easily, the weekly phone calls go a long way to reduce loneliness, while also providing support for caregivers who may be overwhelmed. The Compassionate Contact Corps Program was established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to provide Veterans who were stuck at home during the lockdown with important social connections with designated VA volunteers.

Kapoor was matched with Richard Jones, a 67-year-old Air Force Veteran who once flew C-5 airplanes for a dozen years before retiring from the military. When he saw the email about the program, he signed up. “I live alone and struggle with PTSD,” he said.

That match made in August 2020 during the pandemic took a turn that no one could predict. During one of their routine weekly calls in February 2022, Kapoor noticed that Mr. Jones sounded different. “He sounded off. He didn’t sound like himself and he was out of breath. I asked if he had to run for the phone, but he said he did not. Since I knew what he sounded like normally, and I felt alarmed,” she said. When she asked if he was feeling okay, he told her he was experiencing some pressure in his chest, but was okay. Still alarmed, Kapoor explained that she felt that she needed to call 9-1-1. “He agreed and gave me the necessary information for her to make the call.” Unbeknownst to either of them, Jones was in the throes of a heart attack, and the 9-1-1 call saved his life. An ambulance arrived and he was transported to the nearest hospital. “I was admitted and stayed in the hospital for a few days,” said Jones.

Although they have been part of the program since 2020, neither Kapoor nor Jones can identify each other in person. They do not know what each other looks like since they connect via weekly phone calls, but they are connected by their voices and have developed a wonderful friendship as a result of the Compassionate Care Corps Program, which is affectionally known as “The Buddy Program” at the VA Maryland Health Care System. Currently, there are 36 volunteers who connect with more than 70 Veterans as part of this important initiative to provide ongoing socialization during these challenging times.

Mother Teresa said, “Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.”  Increasingly, health care professionals are viewing loneliness as a “public health crisis,” as bad for you “as smoking half a pack of cigarettes a day,” according to VA Neurologist Dr. Indira Subramanian, an expert on loneliness at the Portland VA Medical Center.

Because loneliness can lead to depression, suicidal ideation and increased risk for hospitalization, the Compassion Contact Corps Program is providing life- saving connections on a variety of levels for Veterans throughout the VA Maryland Health Care System.

“I look forward to our weekly chats as much as he does. We have built a true relationship,” said Kapoor.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer in the Phone Buddy Program or you are a Veteran enrolled in the VA Maryland Health Care System and would like to be connected to a VA volunteer, contact Joyce Kuwae, Voluntary Service Specialist, at 410-642-1039 for more information.