Feature Issue on Loneliness and People with Intellectual, Developmental, and Other Disabilities

Participating in the visual and performing arts offered by CapeCodCAN has fully enriched my life and brought me so much joy.

Being a part of this fun organization through the years has made my artistic abilities truly grow. I have participated in most of their “Saturday Art” classes via Zoom or in person. I truly look forward to their awesome art classes and Zoom poetry classes. I’m also an avid participant in the monthly Friday Night Art Socials and Virtual Open Mic Night. The classes have really helped build my confidence and make me feel more comfortable, growing my artistic talents and sharing my original poems and dramatic readings of popular songs in front of an audience.

My roommate and another friend from my living community and I started going to some of the events in 2019, and during the pandemic I helped get the poetry sessions going. I felt like we’re all going through the same thing, we might as well get through it together.

Some of the people at CapeCodCAN I also see at Special Olympics or out in the community, and that’s great.

What is a little bit sad sometimes is that I’m the only one in my family on this side of the country. That’s hard because I can’t easily go home for things like my nephew’s birthday, our big Passover gathering or for my brother’s art show openings. Zoom and phone calls help, and we do a massive family group text chat, so I get pictures and updates. It makes when I do get to see them extra special and meaningful. I’m used to it but at times it gets a bit lonely.

I have a lot of really good friends, but no romantic partner. I did speed dating events twice last year, but nothing really came out of them. Sometimes it’s hard because both of my roommates have been in serious relationships and a lot of people in my community do have other halves. At times, that does stink. I guess if it happens, it happens.