We’ve officially stepped into 2025, and as I look back on 2024, I can’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude. It was a year of many things, but it would be tumultuous if I had to choose one word I heard repeatedly.
2024 was an election year, a year of change, and a year that left many of us wondering what comes next. It was also a year filled with mystery—like random drones that appeared over sensitive areas toward the end of the year, with no clear answers about what they are doing. Even our government didn’t know (or admit) what they were.
As a psychology major, I often think about cognitive dissonance, that tension we feel when reality doesn’t align with our expectations or beliefs. I experienced it in moments like this—realizing that what once seemed impossible or extreme is suddenly happening right in front of us, and yet, the world just keeps moving along.
Cognitive Dissonance in Our Communities
This sense of disbelief doesn’t only come from strange drones in the sky. It also hits me in a much deeper way when I see how seniors in our community are increasingly displaced, vulnerable, and, heartbreakingly, alone.
Twice in December, I experienced moments that left me feeling troubled and perplexed.
The first was Harvey, a 73-year-old gentleman I saw while heading to the gym early one morning. He was slouched on a rock, struggling to catch his breath after going for a walk at 6 a.m. I stopped to help and ended up taking him home.
The second was Bertha, a 63-year-old woman I found in my office parking lot on a Saturday. She was homeless, and her cart—filled with everything she owned—had toppled over. My dad and I helped her, putting air in her Kobalt cart so she could haul her belongings once again. We sent her off with a bag of toiletries given to us by “Women impacting neighborhoods,” but my dad and I knew it wasn’t enough. Since then, we’ve seen her twice on 441 and are planning to get help for her.
These moments are seared into my memory not just because they were heartbreaking, but because of the deeper questions they raise: Why did Harvey and Bertha have to wait so long for someone to stop and help? Why do we see seniors in such vulnerable situations and accept it as “just the way things are”?
A Growing Crisis
As the senior population continues to grow, I fear that scenarios like these will become even more common. Will we become so desensitized that we stop seeing them at all? Will we accept seniors on the streets as just another “normal” part of life?
This is a cognitive dissonance I refuse to accept. I believe we are called to do better—for Harvey, for Bertha, and for the thousands of seniors in our community who are in desperate need of compassion and care.
A Call to Action for 2025
2025 brings with it a new opportunity to make a difference. At Heart2Heart Outreach, our mission has always been to stand in the gap for seniors, and to provide them with the resources, support, and companionship they need to thrive. But this work can’t happen without you.
Let’s make this the year we refuse to turn a blind eye. Let’s choose to see, to act, and to care. Together, we can ensure that seniors like Harvey and Bertha don’t have to wait in silence for someone to notice them. We can be the hands and feet of Christ, reaching out with love and compassion to those who are so often forgotten.
Thank you for walking with us into this new year. Your support, your prayers, and your willingness to act are what make this mission possible. Let’s stand together in 2025 to create a world where no senior is left behind.
To learn more about Heart2Heart Outreach, please visit our website: Heart2heartoutreach.org
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