On this week’s Thrift Urban Housing blog I will be
discussing the over 65s event that will be taking place across the country by hosting
activities for elderly people. Silver Sunday gives the elderly the chance to
meet new people as well as revive a traditional sense of community by bringing
people together through a variety of activities.
Thrift Urban Housing is a housing charity that supports less privileged
people who are in need; people who are capable of taking care of themselves but
need solid support in doing so.
Loneliness a Serious Problem for the Elderly
The Silver Sunday event was
launched in 2012 by The Sir Simon Milton Foundation with the key incentive
being loneliness among elderly people. A report into this issue revealed that
over a third of people over the age of 75 felt they were lonely. Silver Sunday
gives them the opportunity to leave their homes and brings back a sense of
purpose that makes them feel like equal members of society again.
Actress and campaigner Joanna
Lumley backs the event and has recently spoken out against the image of elderly
people in Western society. “The Far East has a different attitude to old age
entirely where the older you get, the more you’re respected and your opinions
are sought. That doesn’t happen in this country.”
This subject is something
that is particularly close to home for Thrift Urban Housing. Their Befriending Scheme was set up specifically
to deal with the issue of loneliness and perhaps more importantly, the vulnerability
resulting from loneliness. One of their key initiatives is to help elderly
people stay in their homes for as long as possible through the Stay Put scheme, but as a result loneliness
can occur and so have an obligation to counter that through the Befriending
Scheme.
Celebrities Back the Event
As well as Joanna Lumley, other high profile figures like
London Mayor Boris Johnson, Terry Wogan and Gloria Hunniford also lend their
support. Furthermore, the Daily Express has the long running Respect for the Elderly
campaign which strives for better treatment of the elderly people in society.
The Health and Social Care Information Centre has released
data that shows a quarter of people who receive care still experience loneliness
and lack social contact and acquaintances. Six per cent described feeling
isolated from society. 22 per cent of elderly people receiving care and 27 per
cent who were reliant on help said they lacked significant social interaction.