The beginning of a beautiful friendship

When you put two vulnerable groups of people together in a room, what happens? The third season of a critically acclaimed documentary series pairs teens and seniors for a happier, healthier life.

- TIFFANY DUNK

A 14-year-old girl sits alone in her room. She's been there all day, playing music, with her pet guinea pigs providing her only company. "I don't have many friends," she says, her voice thick with unshed tears. "My confidence levels are non-existent. I feel invisible, I guess. I've always felt that way about myself but it's gotten worse since high school."

Across town a 75-year-old man is also sitting alone. Having survived the pancreatic cancer that was supposed to kill him eight years ago, he has no partner or family. And while he volunteers for the Cancer Council during the day to fill his hours, meaningful connections are slim to none.

"What really is there to look forward to?" he queries. "To be honest with you, I feel like I'm in God's waiting room, just waiting to die."

Loneliness is something we all feel from time to time, even if our world is filled with people and frequent social interactions. But for two specific age groups, loneliness is having devastating impacts on both physical and emotional health.

So, when the producers of hit documentary Old People's Home for 4 Year Olds embarked upon a third series, they came up with a twist on the intergenerational experiment that they hoped would have a similarly positive effect on participants young and old.