Loneliness knows no age boundaries. Indeed, it’s pretty common among seniors. It’s one of the things that often inspires seniors to seek out company and activities at a place like the Southold Human Resource Center, which has been providing a nurturing environment for older residents for 42 years.
So when Southold human resource and senior services director Karen McLaughlin heard about the “buddy benches” Kait’s Angels has been providing to schools across the North Fork, she thought about how a buddy bench would make a great addition at the Mattituck Human Resource Center.
“When new people come, they need to make friends and let’s face it, it isn’t always easy to make friends when you’re new to a place. It doesn’t matter what your age is. So we thought a buddy bench here would be great,” McLaughlin said.
The concept of the buddy bench is simple: someone sits on the bench when they’re feeling alone and in need of a friend. Others who see someone sitting on the buddy bench take the cue and join them for conversation. A new friendship blooms.
The buddy benches have been installed in six area schools by Kait’s Angels, a nonprofit organization founded in memory of Kaitlyn Doorhy, 20, of Mattituck, who died after being hit by a car in Bridgeport, Connecticut in August 2014.
The buddy bench exemplifies one of the traits that endeared the popular Mattituck High School graduate to so many people, Kait’s Angels president William Araneo told the the senior citizens seated for lunch today in the dining hall at the human resource center.
Kaitlyn was “a friend to many people,” Araneo said. “She always gave everyone around her a chance to be her friend because she knew how important it was to welcome others into her life through friendship.”
McLaughlin reached out to Joe Doorhy, Kaitlyn’s dad, who is a member of the Mattituck Lions Club, an organization McLaughlin said has been “very very good” to the human resource center — and the connection with Kait’s Angels was made.
To ensure that no one who sits on the buddy bench alone for very long, the center will have ambassadors, McLaughlin said.
The bench will stay indoors for now, she said, but the plan is to put it outside near the entrance to the center. McLaughlin said she hopes to raise the money for a scecond buddy bench for the same spot.
“It’s the first thing you see and it will be perfect for new people coming here for the first time,” she said.
McLaughlin grew emotional as she spoke of Kaitlyn today during the dedication ceremony. In an interview, she said she’d only met the young woman a few times, when she worked at A Lure restaurant in Southold, but Kaitlyn made an impression. “She was such a sweet person,” McLaughlin said. “Her goodness and kindness carries on.”
SoutholdLOCAL photos by Courtney Blasl
Correction: A previously published version of this story misstated William Araneo’s given name.
