About the Virtual Senior Center

The Virtual Senior Center, an innovative demonstration project made possible by a public-private partnership between Selfhelp Community Services, Microsoft, the New York City Department for the Aging (DFTA) and Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) enhances the lives of homebound seniors by using computer, video and Internet technology—in the seniors’ homes and at their local senior center — to create an interactive experience that reduces social isolation, promotes wellness and provides better access to community services.

Six homebound seniors, ranging in age from 67 to 103 participated in the demonstration project.
 
Video cameras and monitors strategically placed around the senior center enable the homebound seniors to interact with classmates and instructors at the center, and to take part in activities such as armchair yoga, painting classes, current events discussions and tai chi.  Using the technology, seniors at home can see and hear the other people in the class and actively participate in two-way discussions and activities.  

Participants also have full access to the Internet and are finding new ways to reengage with the world.  One senior now enjoys live streaming religious services, and uses a video link to communicate face-to-face with her children and grandchildren.  One of the men in the project connected with former co-workers and was reacquainted with a childhood friend he hadn’t seen in more than 70 years.  

One of the seniors is better managing his health through Microsoft HealthVault, where he monitors his blood pressure and other medical information, which is then made available to his physician.  Together he and his doctor track his progress and decide on the best course of treatment.  

The Virtual Senior Center project included a psycho-social assessment that measured a number of attitudes, health attributes and emotional factors for the six participating seniors at the start of the program and at various stages.  As a group, the seniors showed marked improvement throughout the course of the project.

Asked what the Virtual Senior Center has done for him, Milton gives an answer that is both poignant and eloquent: “It saved my life. Before this project, I was bored to death. I was just waiting for my time to finish. Now, all of a sudden, I’m wide awake. I'm alive again.”