By Megan Brown
Special to The Herald
A good friend is hard to find.
And unlike a fine wine, that search doesn’t get better with age.
Myrtle Imus, 72, was lonely when she moved by herself from Kent to Everett in 2016. She became a volunteer with the Homage Senior Companion Program to build friendships.
The companion program helps create bonds between senior citizens who may otherwise feel isolated from society and have a hard time putting themselves out there.
Imus became aware of the Homage service after seeing an advertisement for the program.
“I saw this picture of this lady standing by a senior, and I thought, ‘Wow, she really looks like me!,’ ” Imus said.
Imus contacted Homage, and was connected with four other women in the area.
“I call them my little angels,” she said.
Imus visits her companions in their homes or they go out to lunch together. Sometimes they plan visits to museums or local attractions. They help each other with errands or chores around the house.
Homage made the enrollment process easy and uncomplicated.
“They’d call me and say, ‘I have a companion,’ and ask if I’d like to meet them,” Imus said.
Those companions range in age from a few years her senior to 15 years younger than Imus.
One of her senior companions rarely left her house because of a physical disability. Imus made it her mission to change that.
“I now have her going to church and out to dinner once a week. I take her with me when I go some places, just to get her out. It’s just been a real good time for us. I know she’s happy. And I am.”
Helping others is a familiar pastime for Imus, who retired in 2013 from a 50-year career as a licensed nurse practitioner.
The Homage Senior Companion Program provided an opportunity for her to continue helping others while making friends.
The benefits of social interaction and companionship have been studied extensively in children and young adults, but only recently have its effects on seniors shifted into focus.
Researchers are finding a strong correlation between friendships later in life and good health. A 2012 study from the University of California San Francisco concluded that chronic loneliness in adults over 60 might be an indication of earlier death and myriad other health complications.
Having social support has also helped Imus cement her exercise regime.
“I’m going to the Y three times a week; I don’t even question it, I just go,” she said.
Last year, she had both of her knees replaced in the span of just a few months. She stayed with one of her children in Kent, but wanted to regain her independence by moving up to Everett by herself.
Imus raised five children as a single mother. She has eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren in Washington.
Like many parents of grown children, Imus felt uncomfortable relying on her kids too much for socialization.
“You don’t want to bug your kids,” Imus said. “They’re busy, and they’ve got their own lives.”
Imus wasn’t just lonely because she was having a hard time making friends. She also was lonely because so many of those closest to her had already passed away.
“I’ve lost everybody. My mother, my brother, my father, my aunts and my uncles. I had no one in my age group to compare and enjoy time with,” she said.
The companion program has given Imus opportunities to make new friends and find happiness again. “I feel so much more fulfilled and more complete. I feel like that emptiness that I would feel in my heart has been filled.”
Homage Senior Services operates the program throughout Snohomish and King counties. Homage also offers nutrition classes, Meals on Wheels and home repair services.
According to Imus, the key to finding friends later in life is putting yourself out there.
“I think we just need to come out of our shells, and be there to help each other.”
For Imus, it’s paid off. “It’s just so awesome to have friends,” she said. “We have a wonderful time together.”
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