A daily newspaper’s campaign to tackle the growing problem of loneliness has won the backing of TV personality Esther Rantzen.
The Yorkshire Post launched its Campaign to End Loneliness in an effort to tackle a problem which affects more than 91,000 older people living in the region.
It has now staged a regional summit on the issue attended by almost 100 experts in the field of social care, the voluntary sector, the NHS and local authorities.
At the same time the campaign secured the heavyweight support of Esther Rantzen, founder of the older person’s helpline The Silver Line who proclaimed The YP campaign as “brilliant.”
She told YP reporter Lindsay Pantry: “The Yorkshire Post is brilliant to draw attention to it, because this isn’t like other epidemics.
“The basic cure is company, and if you reach out to people who need us we will be able to create a transformation in the lives of older people in this country,”
Writing in The Yorkshire Post this week Kate Jopling, director of the Campaign to End Loneliness, said the summit marked a significant milestone in the push to drive loneliness out of the shadows.
In what she said was a clear sign that the YP campaign is bearing fruit, the Royal Voluntary Service has seen the number of potential volunteers calling to offer help to a lonely person double.
Nicola Furbisher, managing editor of the The Yorkshire Post, who opened the summit, said: “This is an issue we cannot ignore. It is a hidden epidemic – and we all have a role to play in banishing it from our communities.
“It’s not just about organisations and stakeholders, it’s about neighbours, families, businesses, doing what they can to support lonely people across Yorkshire.”
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The JP newspaper I used to work for became a weekly from a daily a couple of years ago. For many older people that daily delivery through their letterbox, or a trip out to buy their paper to catch up on local news, was a highlight of their often very lonely day.
So I find this campaign sticks in the craw somewhat, however laudable and well meaning it is.
And what about all the old people who used to pop into JP office receptions regularly to place BMDs and have a natter with staff who became friends… they have to ring a faceless call centre now, miles away.
Community IS important but let’s face it, JP has done its utmost to banish its newspapers’ presence from touching distance of the people.
“Businesses doing what they can to support lonely people across Yorkshire”, pah. It’s almost as hypocritical and ironic as the JP “Shop Local” campaign.
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Well said Scribbler … and what about the staff that now have to work from home, alone with no colleagues or office banter? JP tries to look good in their communities with campaigns such as this and Shop Local, whilst continuing to reduce and alienate their workforce. Older, lonely readers are far from the minds of JP. Digital first!
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