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England & Wales

WEBINAR: Reducing Social Isolation in Old Age through Community Engagement

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Description:

Join us in this Webinar with Carol Grant on Loneliness and Social Isolation In Older People to discuss a growing problem of our modern age.

Feelings of loneliness and social isolation can affect people at any stage in their life, but are particularly acute for older people.

This Webinar will be presented by the author of that Briefing, Carol Grant and those attending will be invited online to discuss this with her and raise questions and comments about what can be done.

Carol Grant is a former journalist and Director of Communications at Shelter and the Local Government Association. She has been a consultant since 1998. She writes regularly for trade magazines and online. She’s an executive coach and mentor accredited by the Institute of Leadership and Management. She is a Trustee of Active Sussex, promoting health and wellbeing and physical activity for young people and adults.

The LGA together with Age UK have pointed out that “There is growing recognition that loneliness is a serious problem, with far reaching implications, not just for individuals, but also for wider communities, which merits the attention of local authorities.”  That same report highlighted that:

  • Over 1 million older people say they are always of often feel lonely3
  • 12 per cent of older people feel trapped in their own home4
  • 6 per cent of older people leave their house once a week or less5
  • 17 per cent of older people are in contact with family, friends and neighbours less than once a week, and 11 per cent are in contact less than once a month6
  • Over half (51 per cent) of all people aged 75 and over live alone7
  • A recent systematic review found that loneliness can increase the risk of premature death by 30 per cent.

The Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) are running a seminar in collaboration with GlobalNet21 in July to discuss this problem and to consider what action local authorities can take to engage with others to address it. They have already published a very good Briefing Paper on “Loneliness and social isolation in older people.”

 

Event run in association with GlobalNet
Event run in association with GlobalNet
Speakers:
Francis Sealey, GlobalNet21, a former producer at the BBC for The Open University, Francis has extensive experience of engaging with local communities and the use of social media. Carol Grant is a former journalist and Director of Communications at Shelter and the Local Government Association. She has been a consultant since 1998. She writes regularly for trade magazines and online. She’s an executive coach and mentor accredited by the Institute of Leadership and Management. She is a Trustee of Active Sussex, promoting health and wellbeing and physical activity for young people and adults. Carol authored the LGiU Briefing Paper on Loneliness & Social Isolation.
Who should attend?
This workshop provides a meeting point for leading stakeholder and community engagement leaders and professionals, sharing knowledge, tools and strategies to achieve success in creating mutually beneficial outcomes for both themselves, their stakeholders and the communities in which they operate. It will be of value to those working in local authorities, colleges and the voluntary sector and who are engaged in building bridges across communities.



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