AUSTIN, Texas — Ms. Jacqui has lived in Texas six years, and suffered a stroke almost two years ago.
“It was a situation where I woke up in the morning and I could not pull myself out of bed,” Ms. Jacqui said. “That was the most difficult part, is not having anybody there to really support me.”
Not liking what she sees after her stroke, she asked us not to show her face on camera.
“Now, I haven’t posted a picture of myself in two years at least,” Ms. Jacqui said.
But another change that arrived the last holiday season was spending last Christmas alone, a first for Ms. Jacqui.
“It was extremely lonely, I just sat and watched TV and I didn’t have a special meal. I just was there,” Ms. Jacqui said. “I didn’t want to have that same hopeless, lonely feeling that I had last Christmas so I got online.”
Ms. Jacqui found help by googling “Adopt a Senior,” an initiative that brings holiday joy to seniors. She contacted the program, which connected her with volunteers willing to spend time and willing to fight loneliness like Teresa Hoyt, who knows the feeling all too well.
“I’ve been in Texas about 17 years and I have no family here. And so I’ve been alone every Christmas,” Hoyt said. “I felt, ‘Well if there’s someone out there reaching out for it to do it why can’t I reach out as well?’ So it was kind of a two way street.”
On Christmas Day, both women went to IHOP and formed an instant connection.
“It’s almost like we’re kindred spirits,” Ms. Jacqui said. “This was a risk that I thought was well worth taking by reaching out to others.”
“Her personality, she’s an absolutely beautiful person,” Hoyt said.
It is finding the meaning of Christmas in the gift of friendship.
“I know now that I’m not alone,” Hoyt said.
If you want to volunteer or need any help fighting loneliness, click here or email [email protected].