Guest at a tea party organised by Contact The Elderly. Photo: Contact The Elderly

By Anna Westerberg
 

The ever-growing epidemic of social isolation and loneliness among the elderly not only leaves heart-breaking stories in its trail, but it is also responsible for severe health problems and an increase in mortality rates. Islington charities are tackling the problem by bringing people together. Elderly people and young volunteers are making new friends across the generations.

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Michael Sugrue started volunteering with the befriending project at  The Friendship Network  at Manor Gardens Centre in Islington, North London in 2013. The network matched him with an elderly member and through their weekly phone conversations they soon became very good friends.

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“We often talk about the weather, and general chit-chat,” says Michael. “But I always make sure to ask my friend how they are feeling, how their week has been, what they have been up to, if they have been out at all.”

Project Manager Ed Bartram, explains the concept of the Friendship Network.

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Last year Michael Sugrue’s friend, an 89-year old widow, lost her husband of 65 years to Alzheimer’s disease. She was experiencing loneliness even though she was not socially isolated.

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In a  review  by the charity organisation  Age UK  loneliness is defined as a “personal, subjective sense of lacking desired affection, closeness, and social interaction with others”.

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The Department For Work And Pensions says 10 % of the elderly population experience loneliness “all or most of the time”. That is 1,760 of Islington’s older residents, a figure estimated by the Islington Fairness Commission at the Islington Council.

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                            Heat map  showing the risk of loneliness in Islington. Source: Age UK

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The helper’s high

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There are many personal benefits to helping others according to Michael Sugrue.“It is a feeling of wellbeing,” he says. “It especially gives me a good feeling if my friend has had a good week and is doing well.”

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Michael finds the service of volunteering very rewarding. “I suppose it’s basic. I enjoy the fact that I am providing a very useful service. I’m very proud of what I do.”

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As a matter of fact, Michael has science on his side. An  article in The Alternative Dailyreports on the positive health-effects of being kind. Those who help others have a lower risk of mortality compared to those who do not help others.

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Here is why: the feeling of well-being from helping someone comes from reduced levels of cortisol and the release of oxytocin; “the compassion hormone”. Oxytocin reduces pain as well as stress and helps with the cell-repairing process. Reduced levels of cortisol will give you a healthier heart and a decreased risk of dementia.

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The research also shows that acts of kindness produce dopamine and serotonin; the brain’s feel-good substances that stifle depression. Merely having kind thoughts is enough to induce the release of these substances. The helper feels joy; the “helper’s high”.

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The article concludes that while these effects are direct and immediate, when deeper ties are formed such as friendships, the health benefits become long-term.

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Science and chemistry aside, building bridges between the generations means learning from each other.

“As a young person, I imagine, talking to somebody who’s got a lot of life experience and is very wise could be very helpful for them,” Michael Sugrue adds. “They could learn an awful lot from that.”

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                                        Tea party in Islington. Photo: Contact The Elderly

Health risks

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Age UK has found that loneliness has the same impact as smoking 15 cigarettes per day. They state that “people with a high degree of loneliness are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s than people with a low degree of loneliness.”

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The charity also reports that loneliness is connected to high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases, low immune system, poor sleep quality, and suicide. The Islington Fairness Commission estimates that roughly 18 % of the borough’s elderly suffers from depression.

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Charity organisation  Campaign To End Loneliness  states that “loneliness increases the likelihood of mortality by 26 %”. According to Islington Fairness Commission there is a higher risk of death for lonely elderly “during cold periods or heat waves”.   They also report that “older men in Islington have the lowest life expectancy in London (75 years)”.

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Causes of loneliness

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Age UK lists some factors that cause loneliness among the elderly:   at an older age the social network shrinks; mobility is reduced and health deteriorates. Bereavement can also lead to loneliness and isolation.

Another factor that causes loneliness is poverty. According to the Islington Fairness Commission 42 % of Islington’s residents over the age of 60 have an income level below the minimum with the highest number of low incomes in Finsbury Park and Tollington Wards, and the lowest number in Clerkenwell, Highbury East and St Mary’s. The Commission says Islington deals with “extremes of rich and poor”, and a “lack of affordable housing” is a “direct” cause of loneliness where pensioners can’t afford to live close to friends and family.

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Islington houses London’s third largest LGBT community, a group whose elderly members are especially vulnerable to loneliness. According to the Islington Fairness Commission and the Revealing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Trans Islington Report elderly LGBT-members are less likely than straight people to have children. There is also “a sharp drop in the numbers of LGBT with a partner after the age of 65”.

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The problem may seem insurmountable. However, Communications Manager James Yelland at the charity  Contact The Elderly, believes there is a solution. He explains further in the video below.

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Where to start

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A good place to start for anyone who is looking to help is to contact a charity. According to their website Manor Gardens Centre added 71 new volunteers in 2016 to their Friendship Network, and 50 elderly members were befriended.

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But charities are not the only option. Approaching someone sitting by themselves in a park or café can also be a good idea.

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“It taps into our social responsibility,” says Michael Sugrue. “You can simply introduce yourself and say: ‘I see you’re sitting on your own, are you lonely? Would you like to have a chat?’”

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In fact, that is exactly how Contact The Elderly once started. James Yelland tells more:

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So, talk to your elderly neighbours. Start a conversation on the bus, in the queue at the supermarket or by the mailbox.

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Who knows, maybe that conversation will grow into something bigger. If not, a simple smile and a hello might be big enough for that lonely stranger and the helper’s high might be big enough for you.

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