THE FRIENDLY VOICE
Sometimes a little chat can brighten a lonely day
Sheona Dorrian, 26, leads Age Scotland’s small group of volunteers who are making vital Friendship Calls to older people living in isolation across Scotland. She explains how these caring calls can have a huge impact.
This is a really hard time for older people who need to stay home, especially anyone who lives alone and doesn’t have family nearby. A phone call seems such a simple thing but it can have a huge impact. People will simply ask if they can have a chat because they haven’t spoken to another person in days. Many also say they feel quite lost because isolating has stripped back their routines and they feel cut off from the outside world.
Having a conversation with someone on the phone can help take their mind off things. Very often people will come on the phone sounding confident, but once they start chatting will become emotional and break down in tears. One woman called asking about her food delivery but then spoke about her family, and her newborn grandson. She told me she was scared she would never get to meet him.
Another main concern is people becoming overwhelmed with conflicting information in the news. We get a lot of people asking what they can and can’t do and we just need to give them the NHS and Government advice. But once they get that reassurance, they feel much better.
We can advise on where people can arrange food and medicine deliveries but mostly we talk about little things like what’s on their mind, what worries them, things they miss doing and what they’ve been watching on TV.
Before the pandemic, the number of older people living by themselves or feeling lonely was the equivalent of one older person in every street in Scotland. These Friendship Calls are vital right now because that number is just going to go up and loneliness really can do harm to people’s health and well-being.
My main concern is people don’t know that we’re here for them. I know it can feel daunting calling someone you don’t know but that’s what we’re here for. These calls make people’s day a little brighter and that’s so important right now.