Glow For Hope: Sparking Conversation on Mental Health

Jodi Gardner: Growing Older Doesn’t Mean Growing Invisible

Older adult mental health, caregiving, isolation, purpose, suicide prevention, and the reminder that every person deserves to feel seen and valued at every stage of life

Host: Kelly Poelker
Guest: Jodi Gardner, Executive Director of the St. Clair County Mental Health Board
Category: Older Adult Mental Health · Caregiver Support · Suicide Prevention · Community Resources

Growing older should never mean growing invisible.

In this episode of the Glow For Hope: Sparking Conversation on Mental Health Podcast, host Kelly Poelker sits down with Jodi Gardner, Executive Director of the St. Clair County Mental Health Board, for a conversation about older adult mental health, caregiving, isolation, purpose, and suicide prevention.

When we talk about mental health, older adults are often left out of the conversation. Yet many have lived through decades of grief, change, trauma, health challenges, caregiving, family transitions, and cultural messages that taught them to push through rather than speak up.

Jodi brings more than 30 years of experience across foster care, hospice, inpatient care, community mental health, and older adult counseling. In this conversation, she helps us better understand the unique mental health needs of older adults and why purpose, connection, dignity, and respect matter at every age.

This episode is for older adults, caregivers, adult children, families, neighbors, professionals, and anyone who loves someone who has spent a lifetime showing up for everyone else. It is also a reminder that asking for help is not weakness. Sometimes, it is the kind of courage that took a lifetime to build.

In This Episode

• Why older adult mental health deserves more attention
• How the term “older adult” can include multiple generations with very different life experiences
• How grief, trauma, chronic illness, pain, and life transitions can affect mental wellbeing
• Why some older adults seek counseling for the first time later in life
• How physical health and mental health are connected as we age
• Why isolation and loneliness can become serious risks for older adults and caregivers
• The importance of including older adults in decisions about their own care
• Why purpose remains essential throughout every stage of life
• How younger generations can better support aging parents, grandparents, neighbors, and loved ones
• What the St. Clair County Mental Health Board does for the community
• Local resources for older adults, caregivers, grief support, and suicide prevention

Powerful Moments From the Conversation

“People need to know how valuable they are at every stage of life.”

“The purpose really is the key to someone feeling that their life is still worth living.”

“Isolation serves no one’s mental health.”

“Good mental health doesn’t mean that everything’s always easy.”

“Reaching out to someone is the first step.”

“Just start asking some questions.”

About Jodi Gardner

Jodi Gardner is the Executive Director of the St. Clair County Mental Health Board. With more than 30 years of experience across foster care, hospice, inpatient care, community mental health, and older adult counseling, Jodi has spent her career walking alongside people during some of the hardest seasons of their lives.

Through her work with the Mental Health Board, Jodi helps support access to mental health services, substance use disorder services, intellectual and developmental disability services, and community-based resources throughout St. Clair County.

Resources Mentioned

• St. Clair County Mental Health Board: co.st-clair.il.us/departments/mental-health-board
• Programs and Services for Older Persons — PSOP: swic.edu/community/senior-programs/psop
• PSOP Older Adult and Caregiver Counseling Program: PSOP Programs
• Memorial Senior Counseling Services: BJC Memorial Senior Counseling Services
• Heartlinks Grief Center: myheartlinks.com
• Heartlinks Grief Support Groups: myheartlinks.com/groups
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: 988lifeline.org

If This Episode Resonated With You

If you are an older adult, you still matter. Your story matters. Your needs matter. Your voice matters. Growing older does not make you less valuable, less worthy of support, or less deserving of care.

If you are caring for an aging parent, spouse, grandparent, neighbor, or loved one, remember that support goes beyond appointments, errands, and practical needs. Sometimes the most meaningful thing we can do is slow down, ask questions, listen to their stories, and make sure they know they are still seen.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 in the United States to connect with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. If there is immediate danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

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