Plea for volunteers to help tackle loneliness among the elderly

A charity which aims to alleviate loneliness among the over-75s has launched its second group in Dundee to encourage social interaction.

Re-enagage, formerly known as Contact the Elderly, tackles social isolation through regular Sunday afternoon tea parties.

The charity is in desperate need of volunteer hosts to enable the groups to run.

Organisers say they have a waiting list for guests due to high demand.

The second Dundee gathering, which met on Sunday in the Broughty Ferry home of volunteer host Moira Brown, is the latest of Scotland’s 140-plus Re-engage groups which encompass more than 1,000 guests.

The charity exists to combat loneliness in older people by eradicating social isolation.

According to Age Scotland, 425,000 older people in Scotland have felt lonely, and almost 170,000 people aged 65 and over speak to three or fewer people they know in a typical week.

Jennifer Kaney, Re-engage’s development officer for Dundee, said loneliness could have profound effects on wellbeing.

She said: “To be able to get another group up and running, reaching more of the city’s lonely older population, is fantastic and a real credit to all our volunteers but we are currently short of people to host our groups and have a waiting list of guests.

“Hosts are only asked to open their homes two or three times a year, so it is not a big commitment but the difference that social interaction can make to our guests is huge.

“Social isolation can be truly miserable, especially for the over75s, but we can bring social lives back to older people who have lost them, give them the chance to make friends within their local communities and keep those friends via regular contact.”

To find out more about becoming a guest or volunteer for Re-engage, contact Jennifer Kaney at jennifer. kaney@reengage.org.uk or call 01786 235034.