Help
Charity’s #Cooee initiative gets more support from Devon carers
| Published: 22nd June 2020 15:45 |
A CHARITY campaign encouraging people each lunchtime during the ongoing social distancing restrictions to shout ‘hello’ to their neighbours is being given more support by a Devon home care provider (June 2020).
HomeLife Carers, which helps some of Devon’s most vulnerable and elderly, says it’s stepping up its promotion of the initiative to raise awareness of those who may be lonely at home.
Regional Manager for HomeLife Katie Jewell, who looks after its offices in Barnstaple, Okehampton, Plymouth and Tiverton, says: “Those we visit need our medical, emotional and physical care to be able to remain safely at home. Before COVID-19, our frontline staff also assisted many of our service users with excursions and day trips. Of course, this isn’t possible at the moment and may not be possible again for some time. We know they are feeling lonelier and more vulnerable than ever, so we understand how others in the same situation across Devon may be feeling too.”
HomeLife is still shielding some of those in the highest risk and most vulnerable categories as identified by the Government. And it is also helping safeguard the NHS and its resources by keeping people safe and well at home, away from the county’s hospitals.
“We saw Communicare in Southampton’s idea on social media back in April and thought it would help boost our service users, who are understandably not feeling as upbeat as normal. Communicare is a charity, helping the isolated and lonely, and although it is based in Southampton, it is hoping its campaign will go nationwide.
“Each lunchtime, they’re asking anyone who is at home, regardless of whether they are vulnerable and elderly, to shout ‘cooee’ or ‘hello’, or any form of friendly greeting, from an open window or over the garden fence, wall or hedge at a safe social distance to their next door neighbours.
“Even if they can’t see them or their windows aren’t open, they hope enough people will do this at 12noon nationwide every day until the lockdown is fully lifted and the danger has passed to help those who are housebound at the moment realise they are not alone. We think this is a great idea, not just for our service users but also for anyone at home in these uncertain times, who might like to hear a cheery voice.”
HomeLife delivers personalised home care supporting people wishing to stay living safely and comfortably in their own homes in Devon.
Communicare in Southampton is a friendly, neighbourhood charity that wants to eradicate loneliness and isolation in the city with the assistance of its band of Communiteers, who volunteer to give their time freely.
Manager at Communicare, Annie Clewlow, who comes from Devon and has family in the county, says: “Many people, not just the elderly, are struggling as they are missing out on the socialisation they would normally have whether through clubs, exercise groups or work.
“In April, we launched the hashtag #Cooee and asked people through our social media channels to shout this, or any form of friendly greeting, from an open window or over the garden fence, wall or hedge, at a safe social distance, to their next door neighbours. Even if they can’t see them, or their windows aren’t open, we hope enough people will continue to do this at 12noon nationwide, every day, to help those who are housebound realise they are not alone.
“This is an all ages campaign and we hope everyone can get involved. A recently released Office for National Statistics Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, April 3 to May 3, about lockdown loneliness found, of those asked, 30.9%, 7.4 million adults, reported their well-being had been affected through feeling lonely. Working-age adults living alone were more likely to report loneliness, so we’d like to encourage anyone who is at home during the day, for whatever reason, to join in with #Cooee.”
For more information about HomeLife, please visit https://www.homelifecarers.co.uk.
Report this article as inappropriate
Comments
You need to log in before you can do that! It's only a quick registration process to join the AMA network and completely free.
Loading...
Help