Legacy
Legacy
Please note: this post is 102 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only
Want to make an immediate difference to your older neighbours this winter? Between 12pm Tuesday 29th November and Friday 2nd December, any donation to our Winter Wellbeing project will be doubled, thanks to the Big Give Christmas Campaign. Read more and pledge your support here.
Winter is a time when many of us hibernate. It gets to November and we’ve swapped the picnics of summer for a duvet, a lot of pasta and nights in with Planet Earth. But while David Attenborough’s gravelly narration combined with warmth and carbs might sound pretty appealing, for many of our older neighbours, winter doesn’t conjure up thoughts of cosiness. Instead, it can be the most isolating time of year.
Short, cold days, high fuel bills, the increasing cost of food and unpredictable weather can dramatically increase immobility and isolation. Icy conditions increase the likelihood of falls, which can leave people housebound for months. Winter’s a time when health problems increase hugely and when health services are stretched even further. Meanwhile a combination of Christmas – which can remind people of those they’ve lost – and January blues can escalate anxiety and depression.
South London Cares’ Winter Wellbeing project is crucial in identifying people at risk. For the third year running we’ll be helping our older neighbours to keep warm, active healthy and connected. Last year people got out for the first time in months thanks to the help of their younger neighbours, and were connected up to health services and financial advice. Meanwhile, 27 grants helped people to warm their homes without the worry of choosing between heating and eating.
In total we had warming conversations with 1,175 older neighbours: 360 received further help. We delivered 116 lots of blankets, coats and fleeces, and through the course of the project, attendance at our social clubs more than doubled.
This year we plan to reach many more older neighbours through proactive outreach: we’ll be out on the doorstep, in the supermarket, at the pharmacy, chatting to older people and seeing how we can help. We’re striking up conversations and:
· Delivering blankets, scarves and gloves to those who are really feeling the cold.
· Supporting neighbours whose circumstances are particularly difficult with small grants.
· Helping people to access the healthcare and local authority services they need.
· Inviting older neighbours along to our Social Clubs like dances, film nights and tech workshops.
· Asking whether neighbours would like a younger neighbour to visit them once a week through our Love Your Neighbour programme.
In the week since we kicked off this year’s project, we’ve helped Rita, 83, get a gas engineer round to sort out her heating. We’ve met retired maths teacher Esther, 95, who lives alone and would love someone to visit her for a weekly (competitive) game of scrabble: we’re hoping to match her up with a volunteer soon.
We’ve got to know Bilal, 73, a self-taught multi-instrumentalist who once played at Brixton’s famous Hootenanny on New Year’s Eve. He wants to know about events in his area where he can meet more people.
Through a combination of activities, referrals and new friendships, we plan to make winter not only easier, but more enjoyable, for people like Bilal and Esther.
If you fancy foregoing the hibernation, and are interested in getting involved this winter – either through outreach, blanket delivery, social clubs, our Love Your Neighbour programme or supporting the project with a donation – let us know by emailing [email protected].
We’d love it if you could join us.