Loneliness project in Market Drayton celebrates first anniversary
A Compassionate Communities project that sees volunteers visiting lonely people in Market Drayton recently celebrated its first birthday.
A successful 'Co Co' scheme has been running in the town for just over a year, following the example of Hodnet's scheme which has been going for three years.
The Severn Hospice's Compassionate Communities initiative aims to address isolation among people living alone. It was founded in January 2010.
Run in conjunction with medical practices, there are now 24 Co Co projects around Shropshire and beyond.
Co Co volunteers provide companionship by visiting needy people on a weekly basis. They are trained and DBS checked, and preferably share interests with the lonely people they visit.
Market Drayton's Co Co scheme is headed by Chrissie Jupp, community and care co-ordinator at the Maer Lane Medical Practice.
She said: “We all want to be healthy and live connected lives, but when illness strikes or frailty and old age come onto our horizon things can change rapidly, bringing loneliness, isolation and lack of self-worth and purpose.
"The medical profession can seek to help the body to work better – but that is only part of the picture.
"A regular visit from a Co Co volunteer not only helps our patients to re-discover, re-connect and start to enjoy life again – it also gives great enjoyment to the befriender themselves.
"One volunteer always tells me 'I get so much more than I give'. Everyone gains.”
The Hodnet Co Co has been in existence for three years and covers the area served by Hodnet Medical Practice, including surrounding rural areas and villages.
Friendly
Co-ordinator Mary Hardy said: "Having visited elderly people myself in the past, I could see the value of a relational, local scheme where care is expressed in a simple way that can bring so much benefit to the recipient.”
The Severn Hospice Community Support Strategy has also provided training for a sister scheme called Feed the Birds.
It is a befriending scheme for bird lovers, funded by the National Lottery Communities Fund and hosted by Shropshire Wildlife Trust.
The idea is that people who live alone but struggle to get out and feed the birds in their garden are visited by a volunteer on a weekly basis.
The volunteer will top up a bird feeder which is provided by the project, check in with the client and chat to them about what they have seen and how they are feeling generally.
Diane Monether, who co-ordinates Feed the Birds in Shropshire, wants to train a hundred volunteers across the county.
She said: "Feed the Birds is a simple concept, but has far reaching impact.
"Volunteers visit weekly, providing a friendly face and conversation about garden birds rather than health care and domestic struggles.
"Clients are any age and with a range of conditions."
To contact the Market Drayton Co Co, call Chrissie Jupp on 01630 692921.
For the Hodnet Co Co, call Mary Hardy on 07849 835687 or visit https://hodnet.org.uk/main/?p=16016
To learn about Feed the Birds, contact Diane Monether on 01743 284271 or dianem@shropshirewildlifetrust.org.uk
