Many are not ready for the shock of loneliness
it soon became obvious they weren’t needed any more.
“We have a fantastic primary school that is full of children from outside the village.
“There is still energy here, we have an active village hall and friendship group, but those who were once the driving force behind these things are getting older and are not as capable as they used to be.”
St Michael’s recently opened a community cafe, run by a team of staff and volunteers, twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays.
It has linked up with community transport charity Beverley Community Lift, which picks up people from around the village.
“We wanted to provide a centre within the community that would help combat loneliness, and so far, it’s been a success,” Mr Parkinson said.
“We’re all too aware how easily JUST A few miles away, Dunswell has experienced a similar change to Cherry Burton, but on a grander scale. It has seen the most rapid increase in over65s in Yorkshire – rising from four per cent to 30 per cent of the population in the past 30 years.
Close to the River Hull, on a flat expanse, it has seen no new sprawling housing estates in recent years due to the flood risk of its location, and with people keen to stay put, the population has not regenerated. people call fall off the radar. There was one lovely lady, who used to be very actively involved in village life, but when her husband died she stopped going places.
“It wasn’t until she passed away that people talked about how fondly they remembered
In Dunswell, the problem, ward councillor Ros Jump says, is that village has no real centre, and people are “psychologically divorced” from each other as the housing is either side along the spur roads to Beverley and Cottingham.
Coun Jump, who attends St Faith’s Church in Dunswell, said: “To say it’s a dying area is wrong, but it is a struggling one because of its older population and having nothing for people to centre on.”
For the people who live there, there is very little to do in the day. her, they said ‘oh I thought she’d moved away’. Through grief, she had become more isolated.
“As a church, we are keen to provide pastoral care, through thoughtful and meaningful relationships with those who are bereaved or infirm.
“With the cafe, there’s no
“The people who do work, work out of the area,” she said. “The few people left there during the day have nothing to do.
“At the church, we’re desperate to get people in, but there isn’t the footfall to open up a cafe, for example. I don’t know what the magic bullet is for this – the front of it is, it means loneliness for a lot of people.
“However, that’s not to say there isn’t a strong community spirit among the older ones. There’s an unofficial network of care, with neighbours looking out for each other, taking those pressure, but it’s a chance to come along and make friends.”
That is made easier by Beverley Community Lift, which last year provided 24,000 minibus journeys and 3,390 car journeys to help older people across Beverley, Market Weighton, Pocklington and all the villages in between, regain their independence.
Interim manager MarieLouise Robinson they aimed to reach out with “a human touch” to reduce isolation.
“Cherry Burton is just a few miles from Beverley but if you don’t drive, you’re stuck,” she said. “When the church opened the community cafe, we thought it was an ideal opportunity to reconnect people. Older people have a great sense of pride, they don’t want to rely on family or friends, and our service helps them to retain their independence.” who don’t have a car shopping, that type of thing.”
One active group in the village is a branch of the Yorkshire Countrywomen’s Association, which meet monthly at St Faith’s.
Chairwoman Jean Bex, 71, came to Dunswell 36 years ago, and says much of the community spirit that was evident then, remains. The Countrywomen’s group has around 30 members, and they are keen to reach out to people in the village who might be isolated.
Mrs Bex added: “We’re seeing more women come along.” OLDER PEOPLE are unprepared for the “shock” of loneliness in later life and need to do more to protect themselves from the risk of isolation, a campaigner has said.
Communities must also rally around those unable to build social networks in older age, Andy Nazar, campaign manager for England at the Campaign to End Loneliness, said. The launch partner of
Loneliness: The Hidden Epidemic campaign, is encouraging people to ‘Be More Us’, and recognise the value of social connections.
According to the charity Independent Age, more than one in three people aged 75 and over say that feelings of loneliness are out of their control.
But Mr Nazar said older people should be encouraged to grasp the nettle and ensure their own social networks, be it family, friends or neighbours, are strong, especially when they face “life transitions” such as retirement or the loss of a loved one.
“There are shocks that come with older life that people don’t necessarily realise,” Mr Nazar said. “They may be becoming more aware of their pension or health worries, but what they are not necessarily thinking about are the relationships in their lives and the support they can call on as they get older.
“For many of us, life transitions that put people most at risk of loneliness are inevitable, for example giving up work. You may think that will leave you with plenty of time to spend in the garden, but the garden doesn’t seem quite as appealing in the winter months, your grandchildren grow up and the holidays you thought you’d be going on aren’t as accessible.
“Then the big one will come along – bereavement – and it’s the key time people become isolated.”
The majority of the areas that have aged most rapidly in Yorkshire are rural, and while, he says, many people who live in rural areas have built up a “sense of resilience” over time, the breakdown of many services in recent years is having an impact
He added: “Individuals have a role to play in ending loneliness, but local authorities, health services and businesses must also play their part by recognising there must be safe spaces for people to come together and build their social connections. This could be anything from pubs and bingo halls, to banks and post offices where people collect their pensions. These places are diminishing and meeting places in communities are disappearing.”