Seniors get special surprise outside their windows during coronavirus crisis

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Live performances at The Davis Community in Wilmington are a weekly activity, but due to the coronavirus, Friday afternoon, residents tried something a bit different.

They listened from afar at their windows and outside their buildings. Normally they are able to gather inside, but given the circumstances, they got creative.

Coordinator Julie Rehder said, “We’re not curing anything, but we are providing that healing.”

Visitation has been limited, so the angelic sound from the harp was a of providing residents comfort.

Harpist Christina Brier said the familiar tunes might have connected residents to positive events in their pasts.

“Sometimes if they recognize a song, people will start to sing along a little bit, so I see a few singing over the rainbow or something with me, and then there’s folks who are just closing their eyes, relaxing,” Brier said.

The Davis Community has been providing live music now for five years to its residents because they see the difference it has made.

“Someone can think about, ‘Oh, I remember dancing with my husband,’ Rehder said. “As time goes by they’ll remember that memory, and maybe not be as sad during this very interesting, challenging time.'”

Rehder said many of the residents are in their eighties, so playing familiar tunes may have put them more at ease until they are able to be reunited with their families.

“The music can travel. Those vibrations still get into the soul, into the heart, into the skin, and hopefully into the mind, and provide calm,” Rehder said.

Rehder said they have been working on a way for residents to see their families, even if it means them interacting on opposite sides of their windows.