“It’s difficult to describe the feeling of being old and alone... you feel like you are alone in the world, no one cares, and it’s a terrible, terrible feeling, who can you turn to? who will support you? who will help you?”

Charlotte is blind, despite her blindness, she gets from A to B thanks to WRVS' transport scheme in her area “without WRVS transport I couldn’t do anything, I would never be able to go out or meet people, I would be housebound.” Charlotte also uses other services provided by WRVS volunteers like the home library service and assisted shopping from a Good Neighbours scheme, without this help she says she would be virtually “trapped in the house all the time”.

Charlotte’s daughter lives close by and helps her; “I don’t want to depend too much on my daughter, she has her own life to lead, I feel a number of elderly people feel that way. This is where WRVS steps in, because they can provide transport to anywhere, whether it’s the doctors or the hospital, this is the feeling of support that we need. To be perfectly honest, at the back of my mind, and I think at the back of many older people’s minds is... if anything happens to my daughter, what happens to me?, knowing that you have an organisation that will support you makes such a difference to your life… you don’t always have to use it, but knowing that it is there is comforting.”

“Christmas time can be quite painful for many older people although a lot of people have children and they are married and have families but to a certain extent they want their own lives, they may take their mum or dad for Christmas Day, but at the end of the day you have to return home to an empty house, and that it is when it hits you most. For people like me who have lost their partner, it doesn't matter how long ago it was, the pain is still there.”

“After bereavement, you are swamped with relatives for about six to eight weeks, then suddenly they all drop off and then that ‘loneliness’ hits you. It’s very difficult to overcome. I know I could always ask my daughter to do something for me, she would do it, but the chances are that she may have to drop something important. Whereas, if I can get a volunteer to do something, I know that I am not intruding on their life, I would rather try and do things independently. I feel Christmas time is very difficult for elderly people, it can be a very emotional time and just a little bit of cheer can brighten it up.”

 Previous page