‘Chat benches’ for Welshpool area?
‘Chat benches’ have been set up across Somerset by Avon & Somerset Police to help spark conversation between people in the county, and Abacare says the idea would work in the Welshpool area too.
Jane Jones, Branch Manager at Abacare, which provides care across Welshpool, said: “Loneliness and isolation is an epidemic across England and Wales, but it’s small initiatives such as the ‘chat benches’ that can really help towards tackling the problem.
“The benches in Somerset display a ‘happy to chat’ sign so people wishing to chat to others simply sit on the bench and wait for someone to join them, or if they see someone already on the bench, they can sit there too and strike up a conversation. The benches are a fantastic idea, especially for the elderly who often live alone and sometimes don’t speak to friends, neighbours or families for weeks at a time.
“This idea would allow them to potentially make new friends, get to know people in the area and generally just have some interaction with others, so we’re calling on the local council and police force to help bring the idea to this area too. We’d love to see similar benches around the area and if they are implemented, our staff will certainly volunteer to sit and chat with people in their communities.”
The number of people aged 50 plus experiencing loneliness is set to reach two million by 2025/26, according to the Campaign to End Loneliness. There are currently 1.2 million chronically lonely older people in the UK.
The recent National Survey for Wales showed that 17% of people in Wales were lonely and 54% of people experienced some feelings of loneliness.
Abacare operates a professional Care Management Team that is committed to providing high quality care to individuals in their own homes. The company has recently launched its new website (www.abacare.org.uk) for people looking for high quality care for themselves or loved ones and also for those seeking a career in care.
It is looking for kind, honest, caring and reliable individuals who wish to have a stable and long-term career in care, and who would like to forge rewarding relationships with the service users they care for.
For more information about Abacare, please call 01686 625644 or visit www.abacare.org.uk. Alternatively, please follow the company on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/Yn4zmS or on Twitter by visiting www.twitter.com/visitabacare.
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