South Shields care home is helping to beat loneliness

Community-spirited staff at Garden Hill Care Home, based in St Michael’s Avenue, South Shields, are helping to forge new friendships and break the worrying cycle of isolation for older people by hosting a monthly Silver Social club.

The club - which holds its first meeting with an Easter-themed coffee morning event later this month - will feature a wide variety of activities and entertainment for attendees to enjoy.

As well as inviting people from the local community to attend, the team at the home is also extending an invitation to community groups, organisations and charities who would like to get involved with the monthly club.

Studies show that two fifths of older people, about 3.9m people in the country, say television is their main source of company, while loneliness can be as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

Care home bosses were therefore eager to take action in order to not only provide a much-needed social outlet for people spending too much time on their own but to offer a health boost.

Lindsay Donoghue-Flockhart, Home Manager at Garden Hill, said: “No matter your age it’s always fun to try something new so we like to offer a wide range of activities, entertainment and events for our residents.

“We thought that launching the ‘Silver Social’ would be an excellent way for residents to meet new people and also provide a great way for the elderly in our community to make new friends and socialise while enjoying some activities and entertainment that they may otherwise not be able to experience.”

For more information regarding the Silver Social club, people can contact the home on 0191 283 3965

More information is also available by visiting www.mmcgcarehomes.co.uk/our-care-homes/garden-hill/silver-social-club.

The first club meeting, which is free to attend, gets underway at 10.30am on Monday, March 28.