Dear Supporter,

Welcome to the Christmas edition of the Campaign to End Loneliness E-update!

Loneliness and social isolation in older age have been mentioned frequently in newspapers and on the radio over the past few weeks. As Christmas is a time when we emphasise spending time with family and friends, it also raises awareness of those who do not have these connections.

But there are many organisations and individuals who will be working hard over this festive season to try and combat loneliness. We now have a selection of Christmas case studies submitted by Campaign supporters on our website, which we hope will inspire and encourage action from all.

This week Tracey Crouch spoke powerfully in the House of Commons on the issue of loneliness in older age and the work of the Campaign to End Loneliness. As she observed, this “seclusion is not confined to the Christmas season”.

So as we enter 2012, the Campaign and all our supporters will continue to strive to raise awareness of, alleviate and prevent loneliness across the United Kingdom. Views on the News

The Sun newspaper has been running a Christmas campaign on the theme of loneliness and social isolation. ‘Care for the Elderly this Christmas’ is asking members of the public to remember the difficulties some older people face, and volunteer or donate to look out for the elderly particularly by volunteering or donating to the charity, Friends of the Elderly. The second article on this campaign can be found here.

Esther Rantzen has announced her intention to set up ‘SilverLine’, a phone line for vulnerable older people. The advice line could be used for reporting abuse, information on overcoming loneliness or how to use online banking. The Campaign to End Loneliness is one of a number of organisations working with Esther Rantzen on this initiative and will ensure our supporters are kept updated.

A phone-in caller to BBC Radio Oxford will have her first family Christmas in 20 years. Noreen Scott joined a radio discussion on loneliness at Christmas and revealed she “just bolted the door on herself on Christmas Eve” for many years. A listener decided to contact BBC Radio Oxford and offer that she spend the day with her and her family, and Noreen has accepted the invitation.

Campaign News

Conservative MP Tracey Crouch raised the issue of loneliness in older age in Parliament and talked about Campaign to End Loneliness. She said:

“500,000 older people will spend this Christmas day alone. Sadly, that seclusion is not confined to the Christmas season. Chillingly, it is part of the day-to-day life of many older people…Researchers rate it as a higher health risk than lifelong smoking or obesity. Associated physical and mental health conditions include sleep deprivation, a weakened immune system, higher blood pressure, an increased risk of dementia and intense levels of depression.”

A transcript of her speech and the Department of Health’s response can be found here.

The Campaign to End Loneliness Research Hub held its second meeting at the beginning of December. The Hub supports the Campaign by gathering, communicating and contributing to the evidence base around loneliness and isolation in older age. We were pleased to welcome a number of new members, include Dr Barbara Hanratty from the Institute of Psychology, Health and Society at the University of Liverpool.

Please note the January edition of the Research Bulletin will only be sent to organisation and individuals who have signed-up as supporters of the Campaign to End Loneliness. Back issues will only be placed online after the next bulletin is released. If you would like to receive a copy of the Bulletin, please sign-up via our online form.

Last month we launched our new report Listening to You: the baseline report from the Campaign to End Loneliness. The report contains the results of a survey conducted earlier this year, to which over 1,500 adults responded. For an electronic copy of the report and to see visuals for accompanying postcards, visit our website. For hard copies of the postcards, please email Anna.

Due to our upcoming work with the Local Government Association, the Campaign has seen an increase in the number of local authorities signing-up to become “supporters” of the Campaign. We will be releasing a briefing paper on tackling loneliness with the LGA in February and in the meantime we welcome all statutory organisations to our supporter network.

Would you like your organisation to be profiled on our website? We are now creating brief profiles of our supporters, which can be found here and will be updated regularly. If you would like to answer a few brief questions on your work, and share any new projects or ideas you have, please email Anna.

News from Around the Country

Contact the Elderly’s Christmas Advent Calendar is nearly fully open but make sure you take a look at the wonderful Christmas stories and memories from around the country. Tea party guests from around the country have contributed, from Liverpool to London, Coventry to and even rural . There are also two celebrity stories from Lacey Turner and Liz Smith.

The Design Council have announced the shortlist for their ‘Connected Communities’ competition has a £495,000 prize for the most innovative service idea. The four finalists include services that use sport, entrepreneurship, mentoring and home sharing to improve connections in older age.

Do you know any retired adults who would like to build friendships by writing letters? English Lady Penfriends are a penfriends matching service for retired men and women designed for those who do not have access to the internet. They will carefully match hobbies and interest for penfriends, and the one-off £15 joining cost is fully refundable if you are not satisfied. For more information, please contact Yvonne Wilding on [email protected] or by writing to:

English Lady Penfriends The Limes Missenden Rd., Great Kingshill BUCKS HP15 6ED

Volunteer Now have launched their new Belfast Befriending Network (50+). The purpose of the network is to share good practice, support, strengthen and build capacity of volunteer-involving organisations providing, or wishing to establish, befriending services for older people (50+) in the Belfast area to ensure quality and sustainability of services. For information, contact Frank Johnston, Community Projects Manager, on 02890 818327 or email [email protected].

The Life Academy are hosting free tax workshops for voluntary sector organisations to help raise awareness and understanding of tax issues, so they can better support clients, beneficiaries or members. Anyone who would like to take advantage of a free tax workshop should contact Stuart Royston on [email protected].

We wish all of you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Laura & Anna The Campaign team

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