Bluebird Care Gosport, a home-care provider in the Hampshire area is embarking on an ambitious, and possibly life changing campaign, to try and bring about an end to loneliness. Unite Against Loneliness will be ongoing throughout 2019; the Bluebird Care Gosport team will be running a yearlong campaign to raise awareness of, and ultimately, try to eradicate loneliness within the local community and beyond.
The aim of the campaign is split into two objectives; the first is to raise awareness of the overwhelming issues of loneliness among the elderly and vulnerable. The second, is to show everyone how easy it is to support people who may be isolated and lonely, by encouraging them to be more socially inclusive and focused on community outreach. Small actions go a really long way.
The campaign is in partnership with The Silver Line, the only confidential, free helpline for older people across the UK. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is open to anyone who is feeling lonely or isolated.
Bluebird Care Gosport have a different event planned for each month of the year, which they hope will inspire others to take part in and share across social media. Some of the monthly activities include a Lock-In Social Experiment, Dinner Nights, a Pen Pal Project and Neighbours Month, to name but a few.
Kat Thomas, the mastermind behind these exciting plans, is the Director of Bluebird Care Gosport, the newly opened home-care provider in the area. Kat’s first challenge is The Isolation Experience, which she will be completing in February. Kat will be isolating herself for seven days and making a video diary, talking about mental health, and the emotional ramification of isolation. Kat will be in a self-contained flat, and will have no access to the outside world, no technology, her phone or visitors.
Kat Thomas, Director of Bluebird Care Gosport, said: “My biggest hope for this campaign is that it steers real change in our communities. There are so many charities, organisations and groups out there doing amazing things; The Silver Line, The Jo Cox Commission, The Campaign to End Loneliness, and lots more.
“Even the government is making serious headway in identifying the problem and steering real change but we can only make a difference if communities and people come together. If we are a society that is United Against Loneliness, then that’s when great things can and will happen.
“I really look forward to my year of campaigning and can’t wait to see this idea take shape and become something real, that could be life changing for people.”
To keep up with Bluebird Care Gosport’s campaign over the year, to find out more and to get involved yourself, follow the team on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Bluebirdcaregosport/ and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bluebird_care_gosport/.
