New senior groups will battle loneliness among Moray’s elderly

A CHARITY THAT provides a vital lifeline of friendship to older people who live alone is planning to launch its first groups in Moray in the coming year.

Contact the Elderly, which has 126 groups throughout Scotland, is hoping to bring its free monthly Sunday afternoon tea parties to Elgin. It will then develop plans for a group in Forres and gauge interest from other areas in the region.

A volunteer host welcomes a group of between six and eight people into their home once or twice a year. A volunteer driver collects one or two guests once a month and accompanies them for an afternoon of shared conversation, tea and cake.

Denise Robson, Development Officer at Contact the Elderly, said: “Our tea parties are well-loved in towns, cities and villages throughout Scotland and we would really like to bring the benefits of baking and a blether to older people who live alone in Moray.

“We already have interest from some potential volunteers and guests and are keen to establish tea party groups. To do that, we need volunteers to commit a very small amount of time to make a very real difference and older people who would enjoy an afternoon out of the house in the company of a nice bunch of folk to get in touch.

“We want to replace loneliness with friendship. It is a shared problem and the benefits of our tea parties are immeasurable.”

Recent research by Contact the Elderly revealed that three-quarters of guests usually find Sundays particularly lonely and almost all say the parties give them something to look forward to. More than 90% of volunteers feel they are really giving something back.

To find out more about becoming a guest of, or volunteer with, Contact the Elderly in Moray, please contact denise.robson@contact-the-elderly.org.uk or 01542 285010.

Contact the Elderly can post leaflets to anyone wishing to share details with an older person who might benefit or to have displayed.