Legacy
Legacy
Please note: this post is 101 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only
Last winter, we met Patrick, 86, during our Winter Wellbeing project. We had knocked on his door in West Norwood during a very cold December day. He’d become isolated indoors because of problems with his feet, and was really excited to be part of our Love Your Neighbour Programme for regular company and conversation with a younger neighbour. We connected him with Lucy in January who lived just down the road, in fact near a pub which he used to work in during the '50s when he'd moved to the area.
When Lucy first met Patrick she said to him: “Well, I’ll put the kettle on shall I?” and he said that from then on, he knew they’d get on well. Through their weekly chats, reminiscing about what London was like 60 years ago, to hearing all about Lucy’s job in the city, their friendship became a staple in their routines. Lucy brought her whole family round to meet Patrick, and in the summer she cleared out his garden so he could enjoy the outdoors during the heatwave.
The highlight of their year, however, has to be the special effort Lucy made so that Patrick could get out into his neighbourhood for the first time in a year. Their first trip out into West Norwood was all custard tarts and coffee, but it was soon Patrick’s 86th birthday – so a shandy in his local was in order!
Patrick told us that Lucy restored his faith in young people, and that the quality time and company helped him to reconnect. It spoke to South London Cares' ultimate aim: bringing younger and older Londoners together who wouldn't usually meet, to meaningfully benefit from knowing each other.
