Biking out of loneliness
Reaching out
Community Plus has helped many people to battle loneliness by connecting them to local groups and activities. One such resident is 70-year-old Mr A who reached out when his partner moved into a care home after developing dementia and becoming violent towards him. Mr A was put in touch with Community Co-Ordinator Mark when he expressed how his partner moving to a care home had left him feeling lonely and isolated.
Help was on hand
Mark started by connecting Mr A to a conversation and coffee group based in Huddersfield. Mr A shared his passion for motorbikes over a cuppa with other friendly people in the group. After seeing Mr A’s passion for motorbikes, Mark encouraged him to visit a motorbike specialist in Kirklees.
With Mr A’s increasing confidence, Mark had one last thing left to do which was to connect him to a social worker who would discuss the challenges around his partner’s condition.
One battle at a time
Mr A is now actively engaged with local community groups and feels more positive and is enjoying life more. With help from the social worker, he has built resilience and has a better understanding of his partner’s condition.
Mr A regularly attends local community groups and actively enjoys his hobbies. He feels that the help from Mark has contributed to his positive feelings on fulfilment and is glad to be more engaged and connected to the community.
Lift someone out of Loneliness
Loneliness is something we all experience from time to time. Due to the stigma attached to Loneliness, it can often be hard to talk about it to people around us and close to us.
There are lots of simple actions that you can do to help, including:
- Checking in with a family member, friend or neighbour by sending a text or giving them a call to see how they are doing.
- Reaching out to someone to suggest catching up over a tea or coffee
- Inviting someone to join you in getting some fresh air and going for a walk
Find out more on this campaign and how you can help lift someone you know out of loneliness here.