Friday, 23 December 2011
Half a million people over 65 will spend Christmas Day totally alone this year, while at the same time millions of us will be concentrating on the followers or friends we have on our social networks, most of whom we will never know. WRVS the UK’s largest charity providing practical support for older people, on the day before Christmas Eve asks the question “Are we forgetting the value of real relationships?”
"Our work with thousands of older people every day shows us how important real human contact is to older people. In fact our recent Shaping our Age report highlighted that relationships with family, friends or neighbours is actually the most important factor in feeling physically well and happy as you get older. Imagine how it must feel to see no-one for days or weeks on end. People joke about having too much to do in the build up to Christmas, but being isolated like half a million older people will be this Christmas, would make even the strongest person feel anxious or depressed. It’s why many older, lonely people dread Christmas and just long for it to be over."
David McCullough, Chief Executive
Against this clear need for older people to stay involved with their friends, family and local community, WRVS research published earlier in the year shows that nearly 75% of us have never kept in touch with someone who we know has difficulty getting out of the house and 48% of us don’t know our neighbours. Yet millions of us set great store by the size of our virtual networks of friends and acquaintances on Twitter and Facebook.
"Christmas and New Year are times when many of us reflect on the old year and make plans for the year ahead. We are asking people this Christmas to do something positive to help an older relative, friend or neighbour who may be isolated and lonely. It needn’t take a great chunk out of a busy day, even ten minutes spent talking to someone can make a world of difference. There are other ways people can help: WRVS runs on the power of volunteering, we have 40,000 amazing people who give their time to help in all sorts of ways. More volunteers mean we can help more people. If giving time is difficult, people can support charities like ours. The important thing is that this Christmas the social network generation understands how important they are to the older generation. The value of a chat or a laugh with a real person means much more to someone older who is lonely, than a “like” or a “tweet” ever can."
David McCullough, Chief Executive