Student Health Buddies help fight loneliness among the chronically ill

Julie Cramer, housebound due to a chronic health condition, remembers looking forward to weekly calls from her Health Buddy, a retired nurse. The volunteer offered Cramer compassion, guidance and, most importantly, an understanding ear. Cramer felt she’d found a caring friend. In fact, she and her Health Buddy still talk regularly.

“The ability to feel heard — that someone actually cares about and believes what you’re saying — can be transformational,” Cramer says.

Thanks to a partnership with USF, many students, faculty and alumni now serve as volunteers. Part of the nonprofit Seniors in Service of Tampa Bay, Health Buddies aims to improve the well-being of people isolated by health issues.

“We match individuals who are primarily older adults who feel isolated, lonely and have chronic conditions with a Health Buddy,” explains program manager Aria Garling, ’24, Life Member. “A Health Buddy is a trained, background-checked volunteer who provides companionship [via phone calls] to these individuals across 12 weeks’ time.”

Since Garling became the manager in 2021, the program has grown from 20 recipients annually to an anticipated 400-plus this year. The number of student volunteers has also grown. Their majors span a range of USF disciplines.

“Health Buddies has been a tremendous influence on my professional development, as well as a driver in my personal goals as I aspire to be a leader in health care,” says Sana Lulu, a 2023 biomedical sciences alumna now in USF’s medical school. “This program taught me that every action, no matter how small, can make a big difference in someone else’s life.” 

Health Buddies serves clients in Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Polk counties at no charge. Making a connection after feeling isolated for so long often reinvigorates clients, with some even becoming volunteers themselves.  USF students also provide research through the USF Center for the Advancement of Food Security and Healthy Communities to identify how the program can improve.

The students gain invaluable experience in community-based research, says David Himmelgreen, anthropology professor and director of the food security center.

“The students learn how to interview, analyze and interpret data and the participants develop a social connection with our students,” he says.

“The Health Buddies program creates a link between generations, and that benefits everyone.”

- Kellie Britch, ’18 // College of Arts and Sciences

To participate, visit seniorsinservice.org/health-buddies.