A lifeline of friendship Contact the Elderly A lifeline of friendship tackling loneliness and social isolation amongst older people, through regular face-to-face contact. Hello, I am Prabina Lord Midlands Support and Development Officer for Cte. I am covering for my manager who has broken her foot! She is sorry she cannot be here. I will be talking to you about Cte, what we do and the people we help. Hopefully this will of interest to you and we can help fight loneliness together!

Loneliness: the facts Over 2 million people over 75 live alone in the UK; 1.5 million of these are women (Age UK, 2014) Two fifths all older people (about 3.9 million) say the television is their main company (Age UK, 2014) Over two thirds of our older guests receive a visitor less than once a week. (Contact the Elderly, 2016) As I am sure you are aware one of the greatest challenges facing society is loneliness and isolation among our rapidly ageing population. Over 2 million people over 75 live alone and two fifths say the television is their main company. Over two thirds of our guests have said they receive a visitor once a week or less. I went to a launch in June and one lady said she had not left the house or spoken to anyone since she went to the doctors two weeks ago, which is heart breaking to hear.

Background Only national charity solely focused on loneliness and isolation Older people who struggle to get out by themselves and have little or no contact with family or friends. Contact the Elderly organises monthly tea parties for isolated older people aged 75 and over Provides regular, consistent and vital friendship link every month to 5,200 older people At Cte we aim is to alleviate loneliness and isolation experienced by large number of older people who struggle to get out by themselves and have little or no contact with family or friends. We do this through monthly tea parties for small groups of older people in the homes of volunteers across England, Scotland and Wales. We have 655 groups nationwide and in the North West we have 31 groups. I manage 60 in the Midlands area. The charity provides a regular, consistent and vital friendship link every month to almost 5,200 older people.

Our model Simple yet very effective concept: free monthly tea parties for older guests Supported by a network of volunteers within local communities: Group Coordinators who organise the individual groups, make sure the tea parties run Hosts who open their homes to the groups once or twice a year Drivers who commit to one Sunday a month or as a reserve driver when required. GP surgery groups The Cte model is based on a simple yet very effective concept: free monthly tea parties for older people, supported by a network of volunteers, within local communities. We recruit volunteer drivers, hosts and GC to help arrange the monthly parties for small groups of older people. Once a month, each older guest is collected from their home by a volunteer driver, and is taken to a volunteer host’s home, where they join a small group for tea, chat and companionship. The group is warmly welcomed by a different host each month, but our drivers and older guests stay the same. This ensures that over the months and years, acquaintances turn into friends and loneliness is replaced by companionship. We also have GP groups where the GP’s and staff hold the monthly parties in the waiting room or they refer guests to us on a regular basis.

What kind of people is our service aimed at? Criteria: Over the age of 75 – half our guests are in 80s,20% in 90s Live alone with little or no contact with family or friends Often cannot get out by themselves without some assistance Are mobile enough to get into car and manage steps with a helping hand. Guests walk unaided, some use walking sticks/frames Our service is aimed at older people who are over the age of 75. Almost half of those attending tea parties are in their 80s, while 20% are in 90s. We also have a 1% over 100. Many of the older people we help live alone and have very little contact with family or friends. Some people have a family member pop in for ten minutes to give them some shopping, some have a few phone calls or they refer to their cleaner as their friend. Others have no contact at all. They often cannot get out by themselves either so they are very isolated. Our guests have to be able to walk unaided often they use walking sticks or frames and the most help we would expect a volunteer to give is a steady arm to lean on.

Effectiveness Sunday afternoon loneliness day of the week if you live alone Small groups of guests Unique feature – home hospitality 80% less lonely 96% have something to look forward to 51 years sustainable model Loyal network of 9,200 volunteers Improves health and wellbeing and helps older people stay independent. Why is the Cte model so effective? Our research has shown that Sunday afternoon is highlighted as a particularly lonely day of the week for older people living alone. We provide regular face to face contact when most community services do not operate. Our groups are keep small (usually between 8-10 guests), with the same individuals meeting every month, which means the guests and volunteers make lasting friendships. The unique feature about our charity is that we offer home hospitality – being welcomed into someone own home makes such a difference to our older guests sense of wellbeing. The hosts often have other family members or animals there and the drivers sometimes bring their children so we have a weave of different ages and intergenerational links for our guests. 80% feel less lonely and 96% have something to look forward. Our charity started 51 years ago and our model is still sustainable today. We have an extremely loyal network of 9,200 volunteers and 17% have been with the charity for over 10 years. Some our hosts have been with us from the start. If a guest is not there then the other guests will call and check in, often the volunteers go and see them in between tea parties. The benefits extend well beyond the one Sunday a month gathering. Real friendships are formed and some volunteers often help older guests with their weekly shopping and check up on their general welfare. It is a win win situation for all involved. Our model also helps address the emotional needs of older people who wish to remain in their own home, but whose diminished mobility makes it impossible for them to maintain regular social contact.

Contact the Elderly: how you can help If you know someone aged 75 or over, who lives alone who would benefit from this service, why not take a leaflet and pass it on to them, or speak to them and apply online on their behalf: http://www.contact-the-elderly.org.uk/guest Refer volunteers and spread the message! So how you can you help. We are always looking for older people to help. We have groups across the country and in the North West who want to welcome for more older people. We are also hiring more staff to set up more groups so if you know anyone who is lonely then please tell them about our free service. We will visit them and talk them through everything so they are at ease. We do give priority who those who live away from their family, aren't near family. If you also know anyone who would be interested in volunteering then we would love to welcome them to our team. You can direct to our website and we will be in touch.

Messages from our older guests “When you knocked on my door five years ago, you changed my life. Contact the Elderly has given me something to live for and a feeling of belonging.” Maud, 89 This is a quote from one of our older guests. I wanted to play you a short clip that shows our tea parties and our GP practices group.

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Please let me know if you have any questions Thank you Please let me know if you have any questions