Contact the Elderly is a national charity which combats the acute loneliness often felt by older people over 75 who are frail and living alone. The charity offers a unique service, providing volunteer-led hospitality to older people aged 75 and over within a family environment. It helps to address the emotional needs of older people whose diminished mobility makes it impossible for them to maintain regular social contact. One Sunday a month over 320 volunteer groups collect over 3,000 older people from their homes and take them to a host’s house for tea, talk and companionship, providing regular vital fun, and friendship.
An independent survey (2008) undertaken by national charity Contact the Elderly provides strong evidence that its Sunday social group activities for older people (aged 75 and over) are not only effective in reducing loneliness and isolation but have a positive impact upon general health and well-being.

The survey highlights an increasing number of frail older people who have become socially excluded through circumstances of diminished health and family situation.

Roderick Sime, director of Contact the Elderly, comments: “Even when an older person has been identified and included on welfare lists, resources are limited and loneliness is not considered a priority condition.”

Sime continues: “Loneliness and social isolation play a pivotal role in older people’s well-being, affecting both physical and mental health. Sundays remain a particularly lonely day of the week, especially for older people living alone. The vital warmth of friendship for a few hours once a month means we can discreetly monitor the health and welfare of a very vulnerable section of the community.”

The charity, which organises monthly Sunday Teas for older people within a family setting, revealed that 75% of its members surveyed said that they felt more optimistic and cheerful as a result of joining a Contact the Elderly group.

Other key observations were that 82% of respondents felt they had something to look forward to during the week; 50% said their general health had improved as a result of the group; 26% said they had visited the doctor less often since joining the group; 65% had made new friends and 51% felt part of the community.

The research was part of a wider three year project, funded by the Big Lottery Fund, to test and develop different models for setting up social groups for older people.

Sime concludes: “Professionals involved with the care of older people acknowledge that our simple service plays an ever more important role in contributing to support other, and often over-stretched, welfare services. The improved mental and physical health of such vulnerable people living alone helps to address key issues such as reduced hospitalisation, delays moves into care or nursing homes and reduces depression precipitated by loneliness”.

Case studies are available at http://www.contact-the-elderly.org.uk/media.php

An interview with older person and ‘referrer’ can be viewed at http://www.wateringcanmedia.com/clients/contacttheelderly

The charity’s report, ‘Reaching Isolated Older People’, evaluating alternative methods of service delivery and support to isolated and lonely older people is available from Contact the Elderly from March 3, 2008.