A CHARITY in Southampton has received £5,000 in funding from the city’s council to host tea parties throughout the year to help eradicate loneliness in the elderly and boost community spirit (June, 2018).
The launch party will be held on June 23 as part of the Great Get Together* initiative, which runs from June 22 until 24 and is designed to help bring people together.
Communicare’s Manager, Annie Clewlow said: “Funding for events like these is vital to our work in the city. We’re inviting anyone along who wishes to meet new people and share some tea and cake in the process. A very warm welcome awaits them! Our grant covers 12 tea parties for the coming 12 months, so there will be other opportunities for people to come along and get to know their neighbours if they aren’t free this time around.
“Information coming to us from a variety of sources including the city council’s scrutiny panel on loneliness and isolation shows that we need far more initiatives that allow people chances to get together and simply enjoy each other’s company. For us that is the key to a strong and effective community.”
Communicare will also be working closely with the Co-op and British Red Cross on the tea party project. The retailer has offered to help supply tea, coffee and cakes, while the Red Cross will help people join in the events.
The Red Cross and Co-op have been working together since 2015 to tackle loneliness in communities across the UK.
The Communicare team will be assisted by Sheila Elsey, Co-op Member Pioneer, as part of her remit to bring together community groups, and Louise Mackney, one of the Red Cross’ Community Connectors working across Southampton to support adults of all ages experiencing loneliness or social isolation.
Annie continued: “We’ll be pooling volunteers to help host the events. By working closely with the British Red Cross, we are providing new opportunities for local people to meet up and socialise and making sure we are together able to reach as many people as possible who might need our support.”
Communicare, which is based in the heart of Southampton, is a friendly, neighbourhood charity that enriches the lives of lonely and isolated people in and around the city.
Annie added: “Our service is run by us and staffed by our committed, kind-hearted, Communiteers who act as good neighbours; generously providing practical and emotional support.”
Communiteers are offered simple and basic training on topics such as safeguarding, manual handling and developing listening skills. They can choose their level of involvement and the types of activities they wish to engage in too.
The support offered is at a neighbourly level but Communicare does not provide professional, personal care, which can be given by statutory providers, or routine cleaning or gardening.
Doreen Smith, who uses Communicare’s services, said: “The tea parties are great fun and it really makes a difference to me to be able to get out and about meeting new people. It can be quite lonely at home if you’re retired and on your own, especially if you have family but they are busy with work and other things. It’s important they get on with their lives and events like these give me something to do and it keeps me out of mischief! It’s an invaluable service, a lifeline.
“They are absolutely wonderful; a great get together, the staff are so friendly and welcoming, you are really cared for and looked after. It is lovely to meet other people and talk to everyone, the tea parties are really important as it gets people out of their home that wouldn’t normally mix or go out at all especially for those who might not see or talk to anyone.”
Communicare’s Good Neighbours’ Network already supports nearly 400 individuals/families annually in Southampton, covering 671 different tasks including one-to-one befriending, either at home or out and about, transport to medical, social or other appointments and activities, shopping for or accompanying service users, DIY tasks and gardening projects.
The service offered is free, although beneficiaries are invited to make a donation if they are able.
Annie continued: “Our tea parties are so important to those in the city who feel isolated and would like to get out more and are just one of the many initiatives we operate. For example, we have recently launched our Homecoming Project in Sholing, which is a service to support people in the first few days, or even weeks, when they are discharged from hospital and is specifically for those who would benefit from low-level, good neighbourly support.
“Through the Homecoming Project we’ve launched a campaign to persuade more people to become Communiteers, to be able to support this new initiative and all the others we run across the city.”
Communicare is now hoping other similar community-based groups and organisations, and members of the public, will get involved with the tea parties as they roll out.
Annie continued: “We’re also keen to hear from individuals who can help with all the activities and services we offer, even if they have just an hour or two a week to spare, and, also, groups that already operate in the community who could help, such as other church or Neighbourhood Watch groups, book clubs, WI groups, flower arranging clubs, all sorts really.
“Although we can help find roles for most people wishing to help with the services we offer, and will not turn individuals away, we’re ideally looking for those who have time to spare between 9am and 4pm from Monday to Friday, which are the key times for hospital discharges. These are also when those that use all our general services require assistance too.”
For further details, please call 023 8021 6022, visit www.communicareinsouthampton.org.uk or follow the charity on Twitter at @Communicare_SO or log on to www.facebook.com/CommunicareInSouthampton.
Notes to editors:
* The Great Get Together is inspired by Jo Cox, who was killed on June 16, 2016. It believes there is a groundswell of people who simply want to bring communities together and celebrate all that unites us.
This year, The Great Get Together will take place from June 22 to 24, which would have been Jo’s 44th birthday. Find out how to join in.
