“Get chatty in a cafe” to combat loneliness

A CENTRE that supports older people is encouraging cafes in Warrington to sign up to a new scheme that will help combat loneliness.
LifeTime Warrington has already joined the new Chatty Café Scheme and now wants national café chains, independent coffee shops and supermarkets in the town to also get involved.
The centre has dedicated tables marked “This is a chatter and natter table” set up on a Tuesday and Thursday between 10.30am and 12.30pm in their café area, where people can
sit if they want to actively encourage someone to come over and talk to them.
LifeTime officer Andrea Rees said: “When you are feeling lonely, a short interaction with another human can really brighten your day. A Chatter and Natter table creates a space for people to talk; whether it’s for five minutes while you drink a brew, or an hour of good conversation.
“It is not necessarily about building friendships – just good old fashioned human interaction to combat loneliness, which just might have a big impact on someone’s day. We support older people in the community, but the chatter and natter tables are for all ages and great for intergenerational interactions.”
Andrea wants to encourage coffee chains and independent coffee shops in Warrington to lead the way in the area.
She added: “This is the kind of scheme that you would expect places like LifeTime to get involved in – but it is vitally important that those unexpected places like café chains and supermarkets around the borough get on board to help support older people who may be feeling lonely or maybe even a new mum – the scheme suits all ages.”
Lifetime is part of Warrington Housing Association and the centre at The Gateway on Sankey Street, provides activities, advice and social events for people in their fifties, sixties, seventies or eighties and above.
Across Warrington they run more than 60 groups and events to get involved with every week, including a camera club, community choir, exercise classes and much more.
For more information on the Chatty Café Scheme or LifeTime activities go to www.lifetimegateway.org.uk or call 01925 246824.