Wellbeing Project in Filey and Whitby helps to kick isolation to the kerb

“Not Just Me” is based in Filey and Whitby and is there to support people aged 65 and older who are experiencing poor mental health and isolation.

The Campaign to End Loneliness found that almost half of adults had experienced loneliness and with research highlighting loneliness being as damaging to health as smoking, the need to bring people together to connect is more important than ever.

Despite being one of the biggest public health concerns in the UK, there is still a huge reluctance for people to say they feel isolated or lonely.

Research by Kantar found that over 4.5 million people aged 65 and over said they felt lonely with 2.6 million speaking to less than three people they know in a typical week. If you are lonely, you are not alone and we want to help change that.

Funded by the Woodsmith Foundation, ‘Not Just Me’ provides some short wellbeing sessions with an outreach worker before matching people with a volunteer ‘Sidekick.’

Volunteers will be helping their match to socialise, providing a listening ear and encouragement to build confidence towards becoming a Sidekick themselves. There will also be a weekly get together in Filey every Wednesday and Whitby every other Thursday where people can have a chat, a cuppa, take part in activities, most importantly, tell us what they want to do!

Sophie Hall, CEO of SWR Mind said “If you are 65 and over and feeling isolated, please just give us a call and see if this might be the right opportunity for you. Whether you are matched with a volunteer, become a volunteer or just pop along to the social groups. Things can change if you can just take that first step and reach out.”

All volunteers will undergo a basic training workshop and enhanced DBS check before starting a match and will have a range of opportunities for other training and volunteer get togethers to meet up with others in similar roles.

The next training dates for Whitby Sidekick volunteers takes place on Tuesday August 8 between 1.30pm and 4.30pm. Filey training will be on Tuesday August 1 between 1.30pm to 4.30pm .

If you can’t make the training session nearest to you, you are more than welcome to attend in the other area if you are able to travel.

If you would be interested in joining the volunteer team you can fill in an expression of interest form at https://www.swrmind.org.uk/work-with-us/volunteer/ or call and leave your contact details on 01723 339838 and a coordinator will be in touch for a chat.

If you would like support from this service or to find out more information, call us on 01723 339838 or email [email protected]