Reach out a hand to those alone at Christmas
Over half a million elderly people will spend Christmas alone. Isolation and loneliness is common throughout the year for those who are single, separated or widowed, but especially at Christmas which is renowned for being a time spent with family and friends. Just imagine what it must be like to be alone, no family or friends to talk to as they have either passed or unable to visit themselves due to old age or illness, and not seeing a soul for days.
So what can we do?
You could join ‘Age UK’s befriending service’ where you volunteer to visit and call an elderly person weekly , or you can simply pop around to an elderly neighbour or relative to make sure that they are okay, if they need anything, or sit down with a cup of tea for 5 minutes and have a chat with them. If your relatives’ live far away, make a phone call it will make their day. These simple things will take only 5 minutes of your time but will be invaluable to the elderly person; you may be the only person they see or speak to all week.
Together we can make sure that everybody has a happy Christmas and nobody will be alone.
References:
http://www.ageuk.org.uk/get-involved/spread-the-warmth/
https://pixabay.com/en/man-old-man-sitting-seated-elderly-1577160/
