Group brings music, doctors and human connection to RVA seniors: 'A mission come to life'

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — A woman with a broken hand hadn't played piano in months. A man had buried his wife of 63 years just two days earlier, with no children and no one to talk to. These are the moments the group Medicine and Music: Healing Hope and Harmony says it cannot plan for — but keeps showing up to find.

The physician-led nonprofit held its first Circle of Care Day Saturday, visiting residents at Chesterfield Square Apartments. Volunteer physicians and musicians arrived not as clinicians, but as neighbors — sitting down for lunch, sharing conversation and, in some cases, playing music alongside the people they came to see.

The program was created in response to the 2023 U.S. Surgeon General's advisory declaring loneliness a national public health epidemic.

Dee-Dee Teklu and her husband, Abraham Teklu, founded the organization after recognizing the serious health consequences of isolation among older adults.

"The health effects of loneliness and isolation is equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day," Abraham Teklu said. "It's very, very bad and it could lead to so many health effects. So in order to help reduce those effects on our seniors, we do this to come out and just be friends and tell them that there are people outside that think about them and they're not alone."

WATCH: Physician compares loneliness to smoking 15 cigarettes a day

Dee-Dee Teklu said the mission is straightforward.

"We take medical doctors and musicians as teams of joy into any community that may feel that they need company. We want to help eliminate or decrease loneliness and isolation, so we bring food and we bring doctors — not as clinicians but as neighbors and friends," Dee-Dee Teklu said.

Abraham Teklu plays saxophone and performs duets with his wife at events. He said the physicians who volunteer are not there to conduct medical exams.

"No agenda, no medical exam, no blood pressure check — just talk to them," Abraham Teklu said. "They were not expecting a physician to just go sit with them and break bread with them."

The impact, the founders say, often reveals itself in unexpected ways. Dee-Dee Teklu recalled a woman at a previous event whose hand had been injured.

"She had not been playing the piano like she used to and she sat next to our pianist and with one hand she played and we cheered her on and we watched the other hand open up and start playing on the piano also. We couldn't plan for that," Dee-Dee Teklu said.

Abraham Teklu described another moment that stayed with him — a resident who had lost his wife just days before the organization's visit.

"They were married for 63 years and had no children, and he had no one to talk to during that kind of heavy and burdensome time for him. He opened up to me to tell me all his life story and had no one to talk to at that time. So we were just there thinking that we're going to eat food with them, but that was a powerful witness to see," Abraham Teklu said.

Dee-Dee Teklu said the experience of giving back is just as meaningful for the volunteers as it is for the residents.

"There are so many times that people feel unseen and when we just show up and say hello, it does so much for them and it does so much more for us to be able to give back to our community. It really is rewarding," Dee-Dee Teklu said.

When asked to describe what she saw around her at Saturday's event, her answer was simple.

"A mission come to life. A mission come to life — people knowing that there are people who care about them," Dee-Dee Teklu said.

Her message to anyone watching who wants to make a difference was equally direct.

"As an individual, we can't solve the world's problems, but we can take care of our neighbors," Dee-Dee Teklu said. "And if everybody is taking care of their neighbor, if everybody is doing their small part, that's when love takes over and people feel seen and heard and valued."

The organization typically holds its Circle of Care events across the Hampton Roads area. Saturday marked the first time the program expanded to the Richmond area. The founders said they plan to continue building on that presence.

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