A NEW project has been set up in Leicester to help older people who may be feeling isolated by the coronavirus crisis.
The project, called Distant Socialising, has been set up by Leicester City Council and Leicester Ageing Together, to help people to feel connected to their community while in their homes.
Cllr Vi Dempster, assistant city mayor responsible for public health, said: “Emotional stresses we’re all under at the current time should not be underestimated. The things that we would normally do to protect our mental health or make ourselves feel better are not currently available, and so it’s absolutely crucial that as a council we look at how we can best fill that gap.
“Many people rely on activities in community centres, libraries and being connected to community groups and charities. With many of those closed and unavailable at the moment, we know there are some people who will be feeling isolated at home.
“It’s vital that we all follow NHS advice to stay at home, but it’s also really important that we support people who might be starting to feel isolated.
“This project will help people to feel connected. The idea is to support people to try out different hobbies, learn something new or simply have a chat with someone. In this way, we can all take positive steps to look after our mental health at this difficult time.”
To get in touch with the project:
- Call 0116 249 8850 from 9am-12pm and 1.30pm-4.30pm from Monday to Friday. You can leave a message at other times. On Tuesday mornings a Gujarati speaker is available and on Thursday afternoons an Urdu speaker. At other times we can arrange for someone who speaks your first language to contact you if you leave us your telephone number.
- Email hello@leicesterageingtogether.org.uk
- Visit the website: www.leicesterageingtogether.org.uk where there are links to interesting things to do, or search Leicester Ageing Together on Facebook.
You can get the latest information and advice relating to coronavirus by visiting leicester.gov.uk/coronavirus and by signing up to the Your Leicester e-newsletter.
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