Loneliness Awareness Week Activities
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Identifying and responding to isolation during everyday interactions (Free zoom workshop)
14 June, 2023 @ 11:00 am - 12:00 pm BST
Free
Free workshop to support community groups and organisations to find and engage the people less likely to access formal groups and activities
Ageing Better in Camden (ABC), based within Age UK Camden, was one of 14 Ageing Better local partnerships across the UK, funded by the Lottery Community Fund to test and learn new approaches to tackling loneliness and isolation amongst Camden residents aged 55+. For many people a stigma exists about being identified as lonely or isolated. This together with other barriers including ‘not for me’ preconceptions about groups and activities for older people and social isolation leading to low and self-limiting social expectations, can make it feel more difficult for some people to take a social risk, participate or seek out information.
In repose to these challenges, ABC funded and developed a dedicated Outreach Service, to proactively go out into the community to find, approach and engage the people ‘no-one’ knows via street outreach and door knocking. This included older men, BAME communities and individuals less likely to say ‘yes’ to accessing formal services, community activities and support.During this one-hour workshop, Jo Stapleton, Good Practice Mentor, Outreach Specialist, will share insight gained from older people reluctant to access formal activities and practical conversational strategies to talk about, identify and respond to social isolation, including:
• Why every conversation with an older person has value and how to make the most of the interaction.
• Using a light-touch conversational approach to build rapport and to ask the older person about their social world and connections
• Key conversational indicators of loneliness, isolation and how to respond
• What are the formal and less formal social opportunities for older people and how to introduce these to sew a seed and effective nudge towards future participation
• Effective tools and techniques to informally manage the interaction including bringing conversations to a positive close.
For more informatin about Ageing Better in Camden and our outreach apporach and free training offer, please visit http://www.ageingbetterincamden.org.uk/outreach or contact joanne.stapleton@ageukcamden.org.uk
