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“Music helps to alleviate feelings of loneliness by connecting us back to moments, people, and places.” Julian Powell, the charities founder, discusses.

Julian Powell is interviewed on the popular show, “Late Night in Canada,” where he talks about Music Share for Seniors, how it benefits residents living in long-term care, and how potential volunteers can get involved.

Music Share for Seniors' initial model had volunteers entering long term care facilities, spending time with residents and listening to curated playlists together. Now they’re leveraging the musical element of their program to reach similar outcomes during the pandemic.

“We’re dropping off iPads with personalized playlists for residents of St. George Care Community,” he told CTV News Toronto. It’s part of a program Powell founded called Music Share for Seniors. The goal is to help socially-isolated seniors, who might be feeling lonely, enjoy songs from their past.

“We’re able to provide them with music that’s in their native tongue and it might be the first time in years that some of these individuals have actually heard their language spoken back to them, so that’s a really exciting moment,” said Julian Powell

According to the Canadian Association of Music Therapists, practitioners have been plying their trade in Canada since at least the 1950s, using “music purposefully within therapeutic relationships to support development, health and well-being.