The first Sunday tea offering a lifeline of friendship to lonely older people took place last Sunday in Midsomer Norton and was a great success.
Part of a national initiative led by Contact the Elderly, the charity solely dedicated to tackling loneliness and isolation among older people, the new group will cover the whole Somer Valley and has a programme of monthly events in place for the next twelve months.
The charity, which aims to relieve the acute loneliness and isolation of people over the age of 75, organises monthly Sunday tea parties for small groups and volunteers within their local community throughout the country. Each older person is collected from their home by a volunteer driver and taken to a volunteer host's home for the afternoon. The group is warmly welcomed by a different host each month, but the drivers remain the same, which means that over the months and years, acquaintances turn into friends and loneliness is replaced by companionship.
The older members of the new group were welcomed warmly to their first tea party held at the house of new volunteer hosts, Sonja and Mike, in Midsomer Norton. The Mayor of Midsomer Norton, Paul Myers, was in attendance in his capacity as Trustee of the Midsomer Norton Community Trust, which is currently coordinating the group. He said of the first party: "It was great to see people from all over the area coming together and having such a great time – it is such a fantastic initiative."
New research released earlier this year has highlighted the link between loneliness and ill health in later life, including depression, certain heart conditions and even Alzheimer's disease. Contact the Elderly remains steadfast in its belief that its monthly Sunday tea parties, which offer a regular and vital friendship link every month, exist as one of the most effective preventative measures of tackling this growing issue.
Anyone interested in either volunteering for, or joining this new group, or one of the other 35 Contact the Elderly groups across Bristol, Bath and Somerset, can get in touch by calling: 0117 9395747 or by email at [email protected]">[email protected]