We all need to get out more

Please note: this post is 139 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only

This week South London Cares will be four months old! Since we started up in July we've begun to grow our network of volunteers to mobilise young professionals to connect with and support their older neighbours across Southwark and Lambeth. It's been an exciting and fast few months.

So what do we know so far? We know that there is a growing number of older people in our communities who feel disconnected, unconfident and isolated. But we also know that there is a huge number of young professionals living and working in south London who want to make a difference for their older neighbours and improve their resilience, confidence and social connections. Our network is beginning to connect these two groups and to broker interactions to benefit both.

Over the past four months we've connected 65 young volunteers with 158 of their older neighbours. Our volunteers have spent 370 hours creating new social connections in group Social Clubs and one-to-one through our special Love Your Neighbour programme. We know that our volunteers are already making a difference and having an impact on their older neighbours' outlook and confidence - and we are inspired by our sister charity's impact evaluation, published last month.

Recently there has been a lot of public discussion about loneliness and isolation, with research predicting an increase in the numbers of severely lonely men and discussion about what a growing ageing population means for our society - not just for older people but for younger generations too.
So what can you do?

Volunteering with South London Cares can bring you closer to your community and provide a regular opportunity to switch off from your phone, work and all the daily hustle and bustle. Our volunteers are holding games nights, film and popcorn evenings, baking, enjoying dinner parties and much more.