Although most of us feel lonely occasionally, for a growing number of adults the feeling of loneliness is becoming all too familiar. Exacerbated by the pandemic, many adults and older people have been forced to stay away from their loved ones to protect their health.
This impact has been felt especially for those who live alone, which unfortunately tends to be the elderly.
According to Age UK, more than 2 million people in England over the age of 75 live alone, and more than a million older people say they go for over a month without speaking to a friend, neighbour or family member.
With loneliness associated with an increased risk of certain mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, sleep problems, stress and even Alzheimer’s – loneliness poses a real threat to the health and wellbeing of our older generations.
Fortunately, there are charities out there on a mission to change this.
The Silver Line Charity
The Silver Line is a charity that recognises only too well the negative impacts of loneliness in older adults. To help fight against chronic loneliness in the elderly, The Silver Line was set up by Dame Ester Rantzen DBE. Sparked by a heartfelt response to a column written by Rantzen herself, The Silver Line was born.
The Silver Line offer a confidential, free helpline for elderly people across the UK, 24 hours a day. The specially trained team of experts offer everything from conversation and friendship to information and even referrals to community groups tackling loneliness. The expert team are also trained to safeguard older people who are suffering abuse and neglect.
Since inception in 2015, The Silver Line have worked on important projects ranging from housing and health, to finding lunch clubs and even financial concerns.
As well as the more practical aspects of helping older generations, Dame Esther is also a champion for older people, reminding older generations of their true worth. She said: “Older people continue to inspire us. Look at Sir Captain Tom Moore who was a great ambassador for older people, showing how we can be positive, brave, compassionate and bold. Similarly inspiring are the Queen and David Attenborough and I think it’s crucially important that we remember the value that older people bring to society.”
And this incredible work by Esther is now more important than ever. During the pandemic, The Silver Line has seen a big increase in calls.
“We’ve seen a 31% increase in calls since the pandemic started. Some of those calls were from people who hadn’t called us before but were experiencing loneliness and others were from people scared about things associated with the pandemic, such as going into hospital alone,” Dame Esther explained.
Yet sadly, despite the hard work of charities such as The Silver Line and Age UK, there are thought to be around 1.2 million chronically lonely older people across the UK. And that number is set to rise to 2 million by 2026.
To show support to the invaluable work The Silver Line are doing to support lonely adults, Damart, a fashion retailer specialising in clothes from nightdresses to floral trousers, for the over 50s, has generously donated £10,000 to the charity. Recognising the incredible work they do for adults up and down the country, they hope that this money will go towards supporting those at risk of loneliness.
The bottom line is that despite the growing loneliness epidemic, there are charities out there doing their bit to support and represent the older generations. We hope that with the continued support of charities like The Silver Line and Age UK, we can help protect older generations against the ongoing battle of loneliness.
