Today, the first pilot for The Silver Line launches in Manchester, and I am there to see this telephone helpline for older people born with the catchphrase “no question too big, no problem too small, no need to be alone”. Esther Rantzen, founder of The Silver Line charity says “we don’t want to replicate the rich…
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Monthly Archives: November 2012
Measuring loneliness: from policy to practice
This week, the Campaign to End Loneliness team travelled to Lisbon to run a workshop at the Envelhecimento & Inovação Social, a conference on ageing and social innovation organised by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. The workshop asked participants to consider how commissioners can be persuaded to invest in services and activities that prevent or alleviate…
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Tackling the causes of alcohol misuse
Today, the report by Dame Sally Davies talks about tackling liver disease caused by excessive alcohol consumption. Tackling the causes of excessive alcohol consumption should also be a crucial part of a prevention strategy. One of those causes is loneliness; people living alone, and feeling alone, may turn to drink to compensate for their lack…
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Loneliness Harms Health: Over to you…
The end of October was an exciting week for the Campaign as we officially launched our Loneliness Harms Health campaign nationwide, with events in our two flagship campaign areas. Keeping Connected in Cornwall was a very enjoyable event where over 100 people were entertained by the SOUP ukulele band, got involved in arts workshops and…
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ONS data: Information to tackle the loneliness public health threat
Today, the ONS released data that should be flagged with every public health body: a higher number of people aged 45 – 65 are living alone than ever before. Living alone and divorce are major risk factors that can lead to isolation (based on number of contacts) and loneliness (when the quality of contact is…
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Befriending Week – 2nd to 9th November: Let’s Tackle Loneliness
“I am very pleased when it is 10.30 am on Saturdays. Linda arrives with a big smile- her visit brings an end to my sadness!” Befriending Networks, the umbrella organisation for befriending in the UK, invites befriending services to participate in Befriending Week in the run up to our annual conference on November 9th. The…
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