How are older Americans fighting isolation amid the pandemic?

A photographer documents an 80-year-old determined to help her neighbors stay connected after COVID-19 shut down their community center.

Sarah Blesener photographs her landlord, Blanche Romey, in the basement of the house they share in Brooklyn, New York.

Photograph by Sarah Blesener, National Geographic Society Covid-19 Emergency Fund

Photographs bySarah Blesener

ByRachel Jones

September 14, 2020

10 min read

Blanche Romey never minded picking up an extra loaf of bread or a dozen eggs from the grocery store for one of the residents at the Duncan Genns Apartments, where she’s been a community center volunteer for 30 years.

But in early April, as COVID-19 cases rose in New York City, the 80-year-old grandmother with decades of experience as a community organizer and affordable housing advocate, began to notice more and more empty shelves at the stores in Bushwick, her Brooklyn neighborhood.

Then she learned that the community center had closed down.

television showing news in the living room — Romey purchased her 10-and-a-half room house in the Bushwick neighborhood for $5,000 in 1980. The television is almost always on, playing “Jeopardy,” the occasional drama, news programs or prayers for those affected by COVID-19.

woman wearing mask with TV reflection in her glasses — Romey purchased her 10-and-a-half room house in the Bushwick neighborhood for $5,000 in 1980. The television is almost always on, playing “Jeopardy,” the occasional drama, news programs or prayers for those affected by COVID-19.

woman stretching in front of house — Romey exercises on the patio in front of her house. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the 80-year-old community activist maintains a daily routine of stretching and movement.

The pandemic, so deadly for older people, was also indirectly undermining the community structures that support them. Before the pandemic, the National Academy of Sciences released a report saying that 43 percent of people over the age of 60 acknowledged feeling lonely. COVID-19 is making that chronic problem much worse.

Romey rents the upper floors of her home to photographer Sarah Blesener. As Blesener covered the impact of COVID-19 on New York hospitals, she began to worry about her landlord. (Here's how systemic racism and coronavirus are killing people of color in New York City.)

Even as deaths spiked, Romey stuck to her daily routine of exercise, prayer, volunteering, and checking in on her neighbors, always wearing dramatic clothing and one of her myriad vivid hats. “She is so in-your-face, so strong and vocal,” says Blesener, “I started to think that maybe she wasn’t aware of the risks.”

Blesener needn’t have worried. Romey knew the risks but was intent on keeping herself busy supporting neighbors. Her determination inspired Blesener’s photo project on COVID-19 and older people.

“I was actually feeling kind of burned out from seeing so much death and dying and all of those aspects,” Blesener says. “I was wondering, ‘How do we make visual imagery that goes beyond the news narrative?’”

Romey rests in her bedroom after checking on close friends in her Brooklyn neighborhood. They are all in their 80s, and she tries to keep daily tabs on their well-being.

dinner table with food on floral table cloth — On the Sunday before Easter, Blanche Romey serves brunch to her husband Vance, 83, and daughter Alease Davis, 60. Most of her husband’s large extended family has been afraid to visit the Romeys due to COVID-19. Blanche made to-go boxes filled with leftovers from the meal to send to her neighbors.

woman walking down steps of home with another woman in the door way — On the Sunday before Easter, Blanche Romey serves brunch to her husband Vance, 83, and daughter Alease Davis, 60. Most of her husband’s large extended family has been afraid to visit the Romeys due to COVID-19. Blanche made to-go boxes filled with leftovers from the meal to send to her neighbors.

The answer came from her daily check-ins with Romey, conducted from the top of a stairwell to maintain social distancing. Romey lives in the basement of her home with her 83-year-old husband Vance, who is battling cancer. Their two daughters and three granddaughters live nearby, but Romey spends most of her time doing her neighborhood advocacy work and checking on her neighbors.

“I see how the isolation and the depression is hitting some of my people,” Romey says. “I tell them to pray and get out there early before the crowds come. I tell them you can’t stay cooped up all the time.”

Romey’s resilience typifies the paradox of life for older people during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many have survived physical and psychological traumas that in theory could prepare them for the grim scenario of lockdowns, isolation, and diminished functioning. But that wisdom and endurance doesn’t lessen their risk of severe illness and death from coronavirus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that eight of every 10 coronavirus deaths have been people over the age of 65.

groceries in brown paper bags lined up on a table outside — Bags filled with fruits, vegetables, and other food stuffs at nearby Phoenix Garden will be delivered to older community members. The program started at the beginning of the pandemic, and now 68 people receive the weekly deliveries.

woman carrying groceries up apartment building steps — Bernadette Mitchell, a Phoenix Garden volunteer, delivers a bag of vegetables and produce to 78-year-old Norman Stout, who is blind. Volunteers meet at Phoenix Garden every Saturday morning to pack the bags.

hands tying twine around herbs on a wooden table — Bernadette Mitchell, a Phoenix Garden volunteer, delivers a bag of vegetables and produce to 78-year-old Norman Stout, who is blind. Volunteers meet at Phoenix Garden every Saturday morning to pack the bags.

people picking up cardboard boxes of food at a senior center — On May 29, 2020, Blanche Romey, far right, stopped in at Duncan Genns Apartments community center, as staff distributed free food for older residents. COVID-19 quarantines have prevented many older adults from venturing out of their homes, even for basic necessities.

Matthew Smith, an associate professor at the Texas A&M School of Public Health and co-director of the school’s Center for Population Health and Aging, says that physical vulnerability deepens the potential for depression and anxiety.

“COVID-19 prevention strategies have robbed many elderly people of the very tools that kept them going,” Smith says. “They’re not going to health care facilities in the same way, they’re not interacting with their community centers and clubs, and they’re not interacting with each other. Those enriched connections are so important for older adults.” (Psychologists are studying how we cope with social distancing.)

Coupled with the fact that many older people also can’t spend time with close family members, Smith says there’s a real need to monitor their overall mental health status. “A hug means a lot. It can be very transformative during times of stress, and for many seniors, the loss of that emotional resource can take a toll.”

woman on red background — Adassa Edwards lives at the Duncan Genns Apartments complex in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The building provides affordable housing for older people in the neighborhood.

woman with white shirt and blue hat on green background — Adassa Edwards lives at the Duncan Genns Apartments complex in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The building provides affordable housing for older people in the neighborhood.

woman in yellow dress with yellow hat on green background — Blanche Romey in one of her vivid, signature hats and dressy outfits. The 80-year-old says she loves to dress up for her daily rounds of checking in on her neighbors. She also arranges parties for friends.

woman in blue shirt on red background — Blanche Romey in one of her vivid, signature hats and dressy outfits. The 80-year-old says she loves to dress up for her daily rounds of checking in on her neighbors. She also arranges parties for friends.

It all boils down to maintaining a healthy sense of self for an age group with decades of valuable life experience but fewer ways to utilize that expertise, Smith says. “When an older adult has purpose, it’s a driving force for their livelihood. Having a sense of contribution to society is very fulfilling and provides a great deal of motivation. Isolation chips away at that.”

Romey doesn’t envision herself slowing down anytime soon, because too many of her neighbors need that boost of encouragement she can offer.

“I can understand the loneliness, and that’s why I do what I do,” she says. “I have my aches and pains, and my eyes are going, but I give God thanks. I have to keep on pushing. They need the help, and I need to know that they’re doing okay.”

Pauline Brown and Blanche Romey walk home together after a visit to St. Thomas Episcopal Church in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. The two women live a block apart and try to check in with each other whenever possible.

This work was supported in part by the National Geographic Society's COVID-19 Emergency Fund for Journalists with additional support from the International Center of Photography.