Loneliness is a huge social problem! With 3.8million older people living alone, more than 700,000 people over 65 have reported loneliness
About 200,000 older people are unable to leave their homes due to social immobility
Only 17% of older people are in contact with family, friends and neighbours more than once a week and 11% are in contact less than once a month
12% of older people feel trapped in their own home
Only 6% of older people leave their house once a week or more
Nearly 200,000 older people in the UK don’t get help to get out of their home
9% of older people say they feel excluded from society
Of about 3.8 million older people living alone, 70% are women over 65
51% of people aged 75 and over live alone
This staggering revelation is the driving force of the Listening Ears charity, fuelling its work to take action to reduce isolation among the elderly through our flagship projects: The Feel Good Centres and Community Angels befriending service.
In the last 16 years, we have supported more than 1,200 people aged 50+ through our centres and outreach action. With your help, we can reach many more. Your donation to our charity enables us to cover delivery costs, volunteer travel, refreshments and activities. You can support us by becoming a partner of Listening Ears. One-off donations are welcome, as well as regular monthly commitments
Help elevate the community by giving something back. You can donate your time by volunteering or by becoming an ambassador of the Listening Ears charity.
Isolation among the elderly
The Feel Good Centres are an initiative of Listening Ears targeted at the over-50s and the elderly. The centres in Abbey Wood (Feel Good Fridays) and Thamesmead (Feel Good @ The Atrium) provide opportunities to come out of isolation, make friends, have a cup of tea, sandwich and a variety of fruits, play games and participate in different programmes and activities to improve their quality of life, their health and total wellbeing. Clients participate in gentle exercises to keep the limbs active, promote physical stability and prevent falls which is common due to ailing muscles. Service users are also treated to free massages on pampering days once every month, as well as a monthly luncheon club which is a buffet featuring varieties of dishes cutting across different cultures. Furthermore, they enjoy outings to differences places of interest and at least once every year, they enjoy a coach day trip to the seaside. All our locations have disability access and all physical activities are gentle, bearing in mind the age of the participants, but effective enough to improve mobility and reduce the risk of Cardio-vascular illnesses.
Activities at our Feel Good Centres include: Interactive sessions to make new friends, Board games and Bingo, Health checks (blood pressure, BMI), Information sessions on health, Internet safety & home security, Chair-based exercises and gentle physical activity sessions, Line Dancing, Zumba Gold, Stretch & Relax sessions, Tai Chi, Luncheon club session and more!
Following a visit from Anthea Turner on behalf of our funders, our Feel Good Centre is featured in the new national Health Lottery television advert!