launched in Newcastle
St Vincent’s Newcastle has just opened the doors to its new ‘Golden Years’ project, which is hoping to tackle loneliness in older generations.
The need for the Golden Years project came after the centre was made aware of some local elders who had spoken about their loneliness and need of a place to go and something to do.
Following this, the centre saw a gap in the local area for a safe space for elderly people to come together and decided to fill the hole by creating the new drop-in group.
Running every Tuesday from 12pm until 4pm, it is open to local people for a friendly get-together in a supportive and welcoming environment where new people can be met, and access to other services will be on offer.
“The creation of this new group came following a response to what local people told us they wanted. During this time we do quizzes and jigsaws, dominoes and we always have people floating around who can help with anything needed,” explains Centre Manager, Rebecca Stevenson-Read.
“If any older people come in and they need specific help with certain issues for example legal issues regarding their pension or even dementia support we try to help them as much as we can, but if we can’t then we will always sign-post in the right direction of help.
“Currently we’re looking for any volunteers who can specifically help with this group, we’re looking for kind and caring people who have got experience with elderly people. People looking for work experience in social care would be great, or someone who just wants to help out the local community. If you’re kind and caring then please do consider helping us out, even if it’s just for an hour during the session!”
Anyone interested in attending the Golden Years club can just drop-in to the centre on New Bridge Street when the club is running. For interested volunteers, please call the centre on 0191 261 6027, or drop in for an informal chat to see what the centre is all about.