began to write about their own experiences. Blake has met a variety of people throughout his journey. He’s met a survivor of sex trafficking who shared with him how lonely she is. He met another woman who was sitting next to a fountain by herself. She had been struggling with suicidal thoughts; he told her about his journey, and they had a therapeutic discussion. In fact, she told him she had been on her way to take her own life before she had spoken with him.“She said to me she was going to be okay. She said that moment changed her,” Blake recalled. Throughout Blake’s journey, he’s had people hug him, give him high fives, shake his hand, and even kiss him on the cheek. Throughout his odyssey,among older adults.The committee’s deliberations come amid growing interest in the topic. Four surveys (by Cigna, AARP, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the University of Michigan) have examined the extent of loneliness and social isolation in older adults in the past year. And health insurers, health care systems, senior housing operators and social service agencies are launching or expanding initiatives. Notably, Anthem is planning a national rollout to Medicare Advantage plans of a program addressing loneliness developed by its subsidiary CareMore Health, according to Robin Caruso, CareMore’s chief togetherness officer. United Healthcare is making health navigators available to Medicare Advantage members at risk for social isolation. And Kaiser Permanente is starting a pilot program that will refer lonely or isolated older adults in its Northwest region to community