Between Loneliness and Togetherness: Using Photovoice as an Intervention Tool with Older Adults Within the Framework of a Community Social Work Course

Abstract

The article describes a community intervention within a community social work course for second-year students, based on an academy-community partnership. Defining loneliness among older adults as a social issue, students designed and implemented an intervention using the photovoice methodology and community-based participatory research. The process included community mapping, data collection through interviews, and needs assessments, leading to an intervention plan in collaboration with organizations in Be’er Sheva, Israel. Six elderly Holocaust survivors received photovoice training and documented their experiences with student support. The project culminated in the exhibition “Between Loneliness and Togetherness.” The article examines how a community social work course served as a resource for addressing social issues through academic-community collaboration.