After another fruitful trip down to Truro, I am left with a good deal of food for thought. It has become clear ‘traditional’ forms of campaigning are unlikely to gain much support in an area where the people feel somewhat jaded and unconvinced that the “suits” are ever going to listen to “the grassroots”.
We are going to have to think outside the box and find new and creative ways of getting the community involved and urging the decision makers to listen.
Our first campaign strategy meeting for Cornwall was held at Truro Community Library at the beginning of this month. We attracted a diverse group of attendees, including representatives from older people’s forums, from faith groups and from the voluntary sector. All agreed that loneliness and isolation in older age is a huge issue in Cornwall, particularly so in a rural area with dispersed services and a large older population.
How then, can we improve and increase efforts to deal with this escalating problem?
At the Campaign to End Loneliness, we believe that health and wellbeing boards can provide a framework whereby the public and voluntary sectors, alongside the community itself, can work together to find solutions to address loneliness.
We think they can start by measuring loneliness in their JSNAs and then including a target to tackle it in their health and wellbeing strategies. This could lead to funding of low-level support services (which would of course be welcome) but it could also be by providing a forum for the public sector, voluntary sector and community to come together to find locally based solutions.
Responsibility does not just lie with the health or social care departments however. Action from transport teams to improve local bus services or providing more community transport to enable older people to get out and about more easily could also be key.
Whatever the local solutions may be, we firmly believe that there needs to be a conversation between those with the power to make decisions and allocate funds, and the people on the ground.
The question that will undoubtedly be asked; at a time when local authorities are looking to make cutbacks, how can they afford to invest in new services? We ask in return, how can they afford not to?
We have an ageing population and clear evidence that loneliness and isolation leads to cardiovascular disease, depression, and early onset dementia. It also triggers early admission into residential care, increased visits to GPs, ‘revolving door’ hospital admissions and ultimately early death. So it is vital that we act now.
Utilising existing data sets to identify isolated older individuals, mapping existing services, identifying gaps and providing a framework for those gaps to be filled, need not cost the earth. Indeed, many of the solutions will be locally based, community run and volunteer led.
And so, to return to the original point, how can we creatively engage the community in this campaign? The community must raise awareness (and their voices) for the Cornwall Health and Wellbeing Board to take action. A brainstorm with the group on Friday threw up the following points that should be considered when planning any sort of action:
- older people must be involved at every stage of the process
- the voices of the most isolated and most lonely must be heard in this campaign
- our message must be spread far and wide; featuring in from local newsletters to community events to the local media
- the campaign should be ‘intergenerational’; involving young and old alike
- traditional campaigning methods (such as public meetings, letter writing, petitions etc.) have their place, but are not likely to grab attention or stimulate much interest. We must be creative and innovative
- everyone (both the suits and the grassroots) have a role to play in confronting this issue, and we must work together.
- The community has a huge role to play; not least by promoting neighbourliness and ‘a sense of community’
I am continually learning more about Cornwall – its population is passionate and committed people. They have a strong, active voluntary and community sector alongside a strong sense of place.
But it also has severe rural isolation, hidden inequalities and a rapidly ageing population. The Cornwall Health and Wellbeing Board are setting its priorities now and we need loneliness in older age to be part of the conversation.
So I throw it open to you. Taking account of all said above, how do you think we can best engage the Cornish community on the issue of loneliness? And how in turn, do we get the decision makers to listen to their voices? Answers on a postcard (or in a comment box below) please!
Marianne Symons is the new Campaigns Officer for the Campaign to End Loneliness. For more information about getting involved with our campaigns in Essex or Cornwall, you can contact us on info@campaigntoendloneliness.org.uk or 020 7012 1409.
This article has had 5 comments
An interesting blog – as an employee of a charity working in the social care field I myself sometimes struggle to understand the health and wellbeing board role (and how best to influence/support this) so trying to encourage the general public to engage with this certainly isn’t easy.
That said, I think there is an interest amongst pensioner action groups or other similar campaigning groups to learn about these boards and try and work out how to get action. As you said, people are tired of campaigning and not seeing any change.
There is no easy answer to the question about engaging the community, but I agree that doing something creative is needed. Have you thought about something visual like a photo exhibition? People’s stories could be added underneath and then taken to different places. (Something like: http://betterlife.jrf.org.uk/gallery.html)
Making a short film about the impact of loneliness, and a difference can be made might also work. Younger generations can access it online, and older people’s forums could perhaps show it to their groups for those without the internet.
As for decision makers, evidence and data always seems to be key. Particularly if you can put a figure to it. Do you have time to poll or survey people (i.e. as many people aged over 55?) across the county on loneliness?
Anyway, just a few thoughts on a postcard for you. Best of luck!
Thanks so much for your very helpful comments and I’m glad you agree with me that we have to find new ways to engage and that creativity is absolutely key.
I like the idea of a survey – we could perhaps ask local newspapers to run it and get some press about the issue as well. This has been run quite successfully in Tendring and Torbay; http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/local/clacton/9567099.Tendring__Campaign_to_give_elderly_people_a_voice/ and http://outoftheshadows-alanw.blogspot.co.uk/. It could also nicely complement the more qualitative approach of a film of photo exhibition.
Lots of ideas and lots to think about.
My Dad lives in Cornwall and is quite rural so this is very close to my heart. I also used to live in Cornwall where I trained as a mental health nurse. I am now working for ESCC and run their HOmeshare Scheme which is a great project that aims to reduce loneliness and works.
A Homeshare scheme would be a good option, it helps combat loneliness and provides accommodation that is affordable. Great for students and anyone who is on a low income or who just doesn’t want to live alone, loneliness not only affects older people.
However, one thought that has stuck in my mind for sometime is that my Dad is not especially sociable, he’s never been one for joining things but is sociable and friendly to people. The one thing he told me that he would be happy to join is a ‘Men in Sheds’ project. As far as I am aware there is not one near him.
This has made me think that perhaps what is needed is new ideas about what people actually want, as far as I am aware many people don’t want to go to a day centre or are interested in all the traditional activities that are on offer for older people. Times have changed and it seems that services are not keeping up with how people are changing.
Good luck with it all, well done Cornwall for being in the forefront as usual
Hi Kate,
Many thanks for your comments. Your point about your dad certainly resonates. Engaging with older men and identifying projects that they actually might want to take part in is widely recognised as being very challenging (see http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/content/assets/PDF/publications/Grouchy_Old_Men_.pdf?view=Standard for example).
In our Loneliness Toolkit for Health and Wellbeing Boards, we highlight this issue and the importance of developing targeted responses, which are more likely to achieve results. In general, lonely older men are best engaged through specific activities related to long-standing interests, such as sport or gardening, and respond less well to loosely-defined social gatherings, which are generally of more interest to women.
Our hope is that by highlighting the issue of loneliness and ensuring that it is in local health and wellbeing strategies, these sorts of issues will be considered. Indeed, we ask that health and wellbeing boards begin to measure the levels of isolation in older age in their local area, map services available and gaps in services, and find ways to fill those gaps.
Do you know whether loneliness in older age is included in the health and wellbeing strategy and/or joint strategic needs assessment in East Sussex? If not, perhaps it might be worth trying to bring this issue to the attention of your local health and wellbeing board. For more information on this, take a look at http://www.campaigntoendloneliness.org/how-can-we-help/loneliness-toolkit/
Best wishes,
Marianne
I was delighted to read your coments, it makes me feel there is some hope for the aged if someone is attempting to think outside the box.
My mother lives in Cornwall, I in California, so obviously its hard for me to help her, daily or weekly with small things, especially as she dosn’t see well. In spite of her age she is still very active, thanks to a wonderful group of volunteers she goes bowling,dancing, choir etc, not bad for 91! However there are many hours in the day and I know she is very lonely.
Homeshare seems like a really good solution but it does not seem to be in the St. Austell, Cornwall area. She doesn’t want to be in assisted living, she says she also doesn’t want to be around old people all the time, she wants to be around someone with some pep!! So again,Homeshare with a young person seems like a no brainer.
Thank you for your concern for your community,
Susan.
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