Contact the Elderly seeks volunteers to help tackle social isolation
An organisation which helps older people live healthier and more fulfilled lives is looking for volunteers on Arran.
Contact the Elderly has 92 groups in Scotland, including an island group, which meets one Sunday a month for a tea party in a volunteer host’s home. Each older person is paired with a driver who takes and accompanies them to the tea parties.
The charity’s Scotland executive officer, Valerie Crookston, said: ‘Stories of older people alone affect us all, but people often don’t know just how easy it can be to help someone in need. As well as tackling an emotional need, eradicating social isolation and loneliness helps our older population live healthier and more fulfilled lives.’
Contact the Elderly will soon launch a second group on Arran and needs drivers and hosts to make these parties come to life. They are also looking for guests in Arran. Volunteer drivers take their guests to tea parties one Sunday afternoon a month. A volunteer host will welcome up to 10 people once or twice a year into their home. Hosts’ homes need to have a downstairs toilet and no more than a couple of steps at the door.
Conference
Valerie recently spoke to an audience of 200 health and social care professionals and colleagues from other organisations at a recent conference hosted by NHS Ayrshire & Arran to launch its new project, ‘Pocket ideas ... a moment in time’.
It is a pocket tool designed to help older people be involved in meaningful conversations. The tool promotes the importance of meaningful activity for those in hospital and care homes, particularly those with dementia.
Valerie discussed the implications of loneliness and how it affects the health and well-being of older people. She explained to the delegates what Contact the Elderly is doing in the area to support those aged 75 and over suffering from social isolation and the positive impact its groups are making.
Andrea Boyd, occupational therapist at NHS Ayrshire & Arran, said: ‘How we approach people matters, and how we help people engage in purposeful activity is key. We wanted to give those working with older people a simple tool to allow them to do just that.’
Across Scotland, Contact the Elderly supports 764 people aged 75 and over through its network of 1,035 volunteers.
To find out more about the work Contact the Elderly is doing in the local area and about volunteering or becoming a guest for the tea parties, contact Margaret Oliver, west of Scotland development officer, at Margaret.oliver@contact-the- elderly.org.uk or on 01389 605915.