A group of volunteers from Scottish and Southern Energy Power Distribution will ensure that older people facing the festive period on their own aren’t lonely this Christmas.
Employees based in central southern England and northern Scotland will be making friendship calls in the run up to and over Christmas as part of Age UK’s ‘Call in Time’ befriending service.
According to Age UK, one million older people go a month without talking to anybody. To combat this, the charity has founded the ‘Call in Time’ friendship scheme where volunteers provide weekly phone calls to an older person. Age UK also raises awareness of loneliness and the role that individuals, families and communities play in helping ensure older people feel valued and included.
Lesley Dow, who works at Scottish and Southern Energy Power Distribution’s Perth-based Emergency Service Centre, has so far spent more than 11 hours getting to know William* and keeping him company. She said: “I am so glad I got paired up with William, we really get on so well, and have such interesting and varied conversations each week. We manage to cover a vast array of topics and always make each other laugh! I really look forward to our weekly chats and I know it has made a difference to him knowing that we can have a good blether and catch up each week.
“As we are coming up to a difficult time of year for elderly people who find themselves alone, William and I will have our usual catch up in Christmas week and I will also call him on Christmas morning just to check in on him as I don’t like the idea of him being by himself all day. We’ve built up such a good bond now that I don’t feel I have to do this out of a sense of duty, I’m really looking forward to speaking to him over the festive period.”
Colin Nicol, Managing Director for Scottish and Southern Energy Power Distribution, is committed to tackling an issue that he recognises could be faced by many of the company’s customers. “Suffering from loneliness, or any kind of vulnerability, and not knowing where to turn is a prospect that could affect anyone. That is why we work with charities, including Age UK, to train our call centre staff to identify signs of vulnerability, and signpost customers to any free help and support on offer.”
“Something as simple as a weekly phone call can make such a huge difference to someone who is lonely and I’d like to support our staff to help those most in need. Juggling the often conflicting demands of work and life can mean that these acts of kindness can fall by the wayside, which is why SSEPD offers all its employees the opportunity to do voluntary work during company time, including the friendship calls that are made as part of Age UK’s ‘Call in Time’ scheme.”
The group of 14 SSEPD employees have been involved in the ‘Call in Time’ service since April, having together clocked up more than 80 hours talking to the older people they have been paired with. The company is now recruiting more volunteers for the scheme, and has donated £200,000 to Age UK this year to help the charity combat issues faced by people in later life.
NB: *William's name has been changed to protect his identity.