Loneliness Awareness week, taking place this week (W/C 15th June) is an annual awareness week that exists to acknowledge loneliness, encouraging people to talk about it openly. At Brunelcare, we have launched several schemes that allow the people in our care to combat loneliness.
Brunelcare has launched its Friends on the Phone initiative, allowing people in the charity’s care to partner up with a trusted, friendly volunteer for a weekly phone call, helping combat loneliness and form new relationships. The charity has seen 35 successful matches and counting. Brunelcare has also piloted a Pen Pal Scheme, whereby people in the organisation’s care receive and send letters from people from the local community. So far, we have had over 350 letters exchanged between Brunelcare sites and the community, with some very special relationships being formed.
To combat loneliness, especially during this very difficult time, Brunelcare has been lucky enough to have not one, but two Android tablet devices gifted to Waverley Gardens, an Extra Care Housing (ECH) site in Bristol. 11-year-old Ava Reynolds has managed to raise £200 for the centre in order to keep the tenants, friends and family connected with the technology during Loneliness Awareness Week and throughout the pandemic; until they can once again see their friends and family face to face at the centre.
Laura Oliver, Centre Manager at Brunelcare’s Waverley Gardens Said:“It’s so lovely of Ava to raise enough money to purchase not one, but two devices for us to use at Waverley Gardens. Her donation will definitely help us combat loneliness this Loneliness Awareness Week. Our tenants can now see and hear their loved ones more clearly than they could on a mobile device. It’s brought such joy,
and we have video calls scheduled in all day every day!”
Brunelcare will be celebrating the week by posting messages of thanks across its social media channels from its residents and tenants about how they’ve managed to combat loneliness. We’ll also be hearing from some of our friendly volunteers about how it feels to help during the pandemic and throughout Loneliness Awareness Week.
To join the conversation around Loneliness Awareness Week visit our social media channels that can be accessed via our website: www.brunelcare.org.uk.
