I do. I think that loneliness is a huge problem for older adults, and I think it's one that's not easily solved, because in part it's a result of circumstances.
If you think of the statistics, 2,000 veterans are passing on per month--I think that was the statistic that came out of the Gerontological Advisory Council's report. Many older veterans become lonely because their associates pass on. One of the advantages to communal living environments for older people is that if the environments are designed and programmed properly, they can combat loneliness. So the problem of keeping people in the community can be that their circumstances in terms of friends and families change such that through no fault of their own they become socially isolated and lonely. Communal living environments, be they assisted living or long-term care or whatever, that have good programming can give people a new lease on life and a new opportunity to participate in things and to become engaged in things and to really enjoy their last years in a way they wouldn't have if they were still living independently in the community.
So you have to be careful, in terms of promoting independence and community living, to make sure that people don't outlive the supportive network that's available to them and, through no fault of their own, come to require the development and the assistance to develop another supportive network, if they are going to have social connectedness and friendship and all the rest of it in their latter years. Loneliness is a huge problem.