Loneliness
How can we help the elderly to avoid feeling isolated wherever they live?
New to the area and looking for friendship groups?
People in their senior years often move home. They might be retiring to a favourite part of the country, relocating to be nearer family, downsizing, or even returning to the UK after living abroad. Whatever the reason, finding new friends in a new community can make all the difference to how satisfying the move is. […]
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Avoiding loneliness during the coronavirus pandemic
Updated September 2020 Loneliness amongst older people was a growing crisis before the arrival of COVID-19. Even though some services have been re-opened, the path of the virus means that we are likely to see the likes of community centres, libraries, restaurants and coffee shops providing limited if any services for some time to come. […]
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The first signs of loneliness in friends and family
There is no doubt that people in the UK are now living longer than ever before. While increased life expectancy is a good thing overall, it can lead to issues such as loneliness. This often happens as people become less agile and able to socialise. Of course, loneliness is not restricted to the elderly but […]
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Keeping Them Company, Wherever You Are
Collaborative Post As our parents grow older, it’s time for us to take care of them just like they did for us when we were children, because isn’t that the very least we can do? However, busy schedules and sometimes even vast time zones don’t make this as easy as we’d like, and that’s a […]
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Helping parents to avoid depression
Written by Kathy Lawrence With depression known to be a real risk in an ageing population, there are many ways that we can help our parents to keep active and independent to stave off the gloom. Our parents can become depressed for many reasons. Losing friends and loved ones is an obvious cause, but loneliness […]
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Tackling the emerging loneliness crisis for older men
Written by Kathy Lawrence The number of older men living alone is set to increase by 65% by 2030 according to a report published in October 2014. Andrew Kaye, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Independent Age, one of the organisations behind the report, discusses whether loneliness is inevitable. Hardly a week seems to go […]
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Is loneliness now an epidemic among the elderly?
Written by Rebecca Lenton Loneliness among the UK’s ageing population is widely publicised as a health hazard which can increase the risk of depression, dementia and heart attacks. The size of the loneliness challenge The Campaign to End Loneliness reports that 10% of those aged over 65 are chronically lonely while Age UK has found […]
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How can we reduce loneliness among the elderly?
The When They Get Older team recently had the chance to contribute their expertise to a project run by Interact Arts Community Interest Company called “Behind Closed Doors” which focused on the issues faced by elderly who live on their own. We were asked to create a factsheet from our Loneliness Guide condensing the information […]
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How tea parties help to ward off loneliness
Written by Rebecca Lenton This week’s storyteller is Gemma. Gemma tells us how she became a volunteer driver for Contact the Elderly. She describes the benefits of attending the charity’s free monthly tea parties for everyone involved. I’d decided that I wanted to give something back to my community. I saw a poster advertising the […]
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Do meals on wheels actually mean tea and company?
Written by Rebecca Lenton This week’s storyteller has chosen to be anonymous. Ever wondered what a meals delivery means for your elderly relative? Is it a friendly face and a welcome chat to brighten their day or is it much more than that? Is it a break from the norm of spending their day in […]
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