Chatty Chairs aim to put loneliness to rest

An innovative new project encouraging people to have a chat with one another has been launched to tackle isolation among elderly people in Renfrewshire.

A new seating area – which is the first of its kind in Scotland – has specially-created Chatty Chairs.

The hope is that people will have a seat while out doing their shopping and take a few minutes to get to know the person sitting there with them.

The move by the centre comes after elderly support charity Age Scotland revealed 282,000 older Scots feel lonely some or most of the time.

The latest Scottish Household Survey also found that one in four people over the age of 60 said they do not meet a friend, neighbour or relative at least once a week.

Renfrewshire North and West Derek Mackay went along to help launch the initiative, which he hopes will help tackle the problem of loneliness and isolation in the community.

The SNP politician said: “Feelings of being alone in the world can have a significant adverse impact on someone’s physical and mental wellbeing.

“I’d like to congratulate the team at intu Braehead for creating the Chatty Chairs seating area, as it’s up to all of us to reach out in a compassionate way to make everyone feel welcome and valued in our communities.

“I hope the Chatty Chairs will be well used and that people will stop for even a few minutes to speak to each other.”

Age Scotland has also praised the move by the shopping centre as “wonderful”.

Brian Sloan, Age Scotland’s chief executive, said: “This is a wonderful initiative which will hopefully give people of all ages the chance to have a chat with someone new and perhaps even forge new friendships.

“Often a smile and a friendly chat can make all the difference to someone who is experiencing loneliness.

“It would be great if the Chatty Chairs helped to stimulate more conversation and social interaction between the generations and younger people were encouraged to spend more time with older people they know.”

Lydia Brown, intu Braehead’s community development manager, added: “We recognise loneliness is a problem for many people – of all ages – and we hope our Chatty Chairs initiative can play a small part in combating feelings of loneliness and isolation.”

Older people in Scotland can contact Age Scotland’s free Community Connecting service on 0800 12 44 222 to find local groups and activities which are of interest to them to help get them more engaged with others.

It’s up to all of us to reach out in a compassionate way to make everyone feel welcome and valued