In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General released a report detailing the epidemic of loneliness among at least half of adults across the the country, impacting physical, mental and societal health. One of the key ways to combat loneliness that Dr. Vivek Murthy shared was social connection, which can be hard in a world where social and digital media is our go-to source of communication.
As COVID-19 unearthed this epidemic even further, there seems to be a widespread and growing acknowledgement that there is more we can do to rectify the problem, which should not just be a one-size-fits-all approach.
Across the world, loneliness is also being felt in myriad ways, and there are some innovative ways of combating it. In 2015 the Netherlands, a nursing home in Deventer launched a new project where they allowed college students to live rent-free in the home in an attempt to form connections with the elderly residents to stave off loneliness and disconnection. The program inspired many other cities across Europe to try a similar initiative. Watching these types of community-based solutions grow gives us hope that the loneliness epidemic is not an impossible issue to tackle.
We recently learned about a program based out of New York City run by students that is finding connections with the elderly in nursing homes to ward off feelings of isolation, using music and conversation as their primary vehicle.
The Melody Project was founded by The Chapin Elementary School student Gemma Wang with a mission to combat loneliness among older adults and foster intergenerational connection through shared creativity and care. To date, the organization has brought music-inspired, cognitively and emotionally stimulating activities to 100+ residents across New York City, working with four partner nursing homes and dozens of volunteers.
Beyond The Melody Project, Gemma is also a student member of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA). In November 2025, she gave a presentation on how community-based initiatives like The Melody Project can improve social health and aging care. She has contributed to the American Society on Aging’s Generations Now publication, writing about the biological and emotional effects of loneliness and how social engagement can help combat isolation among seniors.
What Gemma is doing with her peers highlights how youth-driven, intergenerational connection can strengthen communities and reimagine how we think about aging, empathy, and leadership. In a bid to learn more about her initiative, we spoke with Gemma to find out why intergenerational connection is important to her, and why the world needs more “soft power” to create lasting change.
What sparked the initial idea for The Melody Project?
The Melody Project started from something very simple: I’d been playing piano for over 10 years, but I didn’t want my music to live only in recital halls. During my 9th-grade year, I began visiting assisted living facilities because I hoped my piano playing could bring comfort to residents who often lived far from loved ones.
Very quickly, I realized that what mattered wasn’t the performance but the connection. A quiet room would completely transform after a single song. Residents who initially appeared withdrawn began telling stories, laughing, and sharing memories. Silence, which often mirrored loneliness, would turn into conversation.
I partnered with my friends and now vice-presidents, Evelyn Zhang and Suman Shah, two incredible musicians, and what began as a few visits evolved into a youth-led, creative, intergenerational initiative. I wanted to turn empathy into action, using music as a bridge between generations at a time when loneliness is one of the biggest public health challenges we face.
Why is intergenerational connection important to you, and can you share any research or data that has stood out to you since starting the initiative?
Intergenerational connection is so important because older adults carry entire lifetimes of stories and memories that often remain unseen simply because no one asks. At the same time, my own generation, which is slowly fading into the isolating realms of the digital world, is also one of the loneliest. Bringing us together feels both natural and necessary.
Loneliness itself also has proven biological implications, and emerging research is showing that it is not just an emotional response but a physiological one. From the standpoint of someone particularly interested in biology and public health, I’ve been intrigued by research on how chronic loneliness raises cortisol, accelerates cognitive decline, and is associated with a higher risk of hospitalizations. Some studies show its health and mortality effects mirror smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
Still, community-based programs like The Melody Project rarely receive funding because loneliness is so hard to measure. It fluctuates. It’s subjective. So even though caregivers, residents, and students consistently report improvements, scaling efforts like ours is difficult without quantitative data. That’s why I’m currently working with postdoctoral researchers to develop a rigorous evaluation model. I’m also independently authoring an applied health economics and public health policy research paper on the fiscal and clinical implications of loneliness.
Using national aging datasets, I’ve found that even modest reductions in subjective isolation can translate into measurable Medicare cost savings, sometimes thousands of dollars per person over multi-year horizons, simply by reducing preventable hospitalizations and falls. All of this reinforces something I feel deeply: connection isn’t a luxury. It’s a form of preventive health care.
What was your process for recruiting high school students, and was it hard to get people involved or easy?
Recruiting students is definitely one of the trickiest parts of running this program. We first collaborated with an organization called Sweet Readers, which helped us build initial momentum. Once The Melody Project became its own nonprofit, I relied on my classmates, teammates, and friends. High schoolers are busy. Between schoolwork, sports, and clubs, it’s not easy for people to commit time consistently. But I also think young people crave meaning, and once students attend their first session, they realize how powerful these interactions are.
Emerging research shows that intergenerational engagement doesn’t just help older adults. It benefits teens, too. Many of us spend so much time in digital spaces that we forget how grounding real human connection can be. I always emphasize that this isn’t volunteering in the traditional sense. It’s relationship-building. And once they experience that, they might want to stay.
Can you tell us a bit about how connection and music can be a powerful way to combat mental health issues and loneliness all around?
Music is an emotional catalyst. It reaches parts of the brain that language sometimes can’t. In our sessions, we see music unlock memories, spark recognition, and create immediate common ground between students and residents.
Connection works in tandem with that. As recent studies have shown, “Super Agers,” individuals in their eighties whose cognitive performance rivals that of younger adults, maintain rich social networks, engage in communal activity, and prioritize meaningful relationships. Their brains exhibit thicker cortical regions and slower atrophy, suggesting that social connection can confer protective benefits against cognitive decline.
When someone listens to your story, laughs with you, or creates art beside you, the brain literally shifts out of “threat mode.” Cortisol drops. Engagement increases. Mood improves. For many older adults, and honestly, even for teens, loneliness can feel like invisibility. Music and connection remind people, “I see you, and your feelings matter.” That simple acknowledgment can change everything.
You recently made a presentation at the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) about the benefits of community-based initiatives like yours. Can you tell us a little of what you shared?
My presentation focused on the importance of community-based, intergenerational interventions as a serious part of healthy aging. I shared what I’ve learned from running The Melody Project: that creative, low-cost programs can meaningfully reduce loneliness and improve emotional and cognitive well-being. I also emphasized how current U.S. aging policy doesn’t treat social connection as a clinical priority, even though loneliness increases the risk of premature death in assisted living settings.
I discussed the need for pre-post evaluation tools (which I’m currently piloting), federal and state grants for intergenerational programs, and the importance of integrating social connection into reimbursement models like Medicare and Medicaid. My main message was that community-based care is preventive care, and we need policy that reflects that reality.
How does The Melody Project work – can you share more about some of your community actions, events, and initiatives?
The Melody Project works through a simple but intentionally designed structure that centers connection rather than pure performance. Each session begins with a short musical performance that serves as an emotional starting point. We invite both students and residents to reflect on the feelings, memories, or imagery the music evokes, which naturally opens conversation. From there, we pair them to work on a creative, music-inspired activity like beading, drawing, or storytelling, which allows them to collaborate, learn about each other, and build genuine relationships.
Every session ends with residents keeping the artwork or craft they created together as a tangible reminder of the time spent. What makes The Melody Project unique is that it isn’t about performing for older adults but connecting with them; every session is an opportunity for shared creativity, reflection, and meaningful intergenerational friendship.
There seems to be a popular trend on how “soft power” can create big change in society, as more and more people want to move away from harsh ideas that impact humanity and communities. From your perspective, how can music, friendship and joy change the world?
“Soft power” is often underestimated because it doesn’t look like traditional power. I think a lot of people think of being the strongest, fastest, or wealthiest when they think of power. But joy, friendship, and creativity are forces that shift culture from the ground up. Music can change the emotional climate of a room within seconds. Friendship rewrites how people see themselves and each other. Joy reminds us that connection is worth fighting for. These aren’t small things; they’re the seeds of empathy. And empathy is what drives lasting social change.
We are also experiencing a loneliness epidemic globally, with more and more people feeling isolated and divided. How would you encourage other youth leaders to know they have the power to tackle this issue?
My biggest message for other young people who want to make a tangible change is that you don’t need authority to make an impact. You just need presence, curiosity, and determination. Loneliness is a universal experience, which means everyone has the capacity to address it. Start with what moves you. Start small. Start local. And start with what you have. What will matter in the end is showing up consistently.
My project began with just a piano, a dream, and a willingness to knock on a door. Youth leaders have a unique superpower: as the future of our world, we bring fresh perspective, energy, and creativity to problems that feel “stuck” in traditional systems. Loneliness might be a massive issue, but it’s also deeply human, and that means every person has the ability to help mend it.
How have your family and the different generations in your own life reacted to what you have created?
My family has been incredibly supportive. My grandparents especially love hearing about the residents I meet and the work that I’ve been doing. It’s been truly so meaningful to see how the different generations in my life connect to the work I’m doing to bridge generational divides elsewhere.
Can you share any memorable stories or moments from the interactions you or your peers have had so far in the nursing and resident homes you have been in? How has The Melody Project been received at these places?
One of the moments that has stayed with me most is meeting a resident named Fran. At first, she sat quietly, almost withdrawn. We were creating friendship bracelets based on memories inspired by music. When I asked her what she thought of the song, she didn’t answer. So, I shared my own memory about my mom and why I chose a pink bead. Slowly, Fran picked up several blue beads and said, “My mother’s favorite color was blue.” Then she began reciting a poem her mother had always read to her as a child, “The Swing”by Robert Louis Stevenson, entirely from memory.
Moments like that remind me that behind every quiet exterior is a lifetime of stories waiting for the right invitation. Residents often tell us they look forward to our visits, and many, even those with light dementia or Alzheimer’s, remember the students they worked with in prior sessions. Staff members have shared that residents seem more animated and joyful after our sessions. The reception has been overwhelmingly warm, and honestly, that’s the most rewarding part.
Visit the website to learn more about The Melody Project, and follow them on Instagram.
