~Lewisham Against Loneliness ~ Patrick’s amazing journey from isolation to volunteer of the year!~

Last week we had the pleasure of chatting with Patrick, last years winner of our ‘Outstanding Volunteer Award’, who told us about his amazing journey from a long spell of isolation and loneliness to becoming an active volunteer and group leader in his community.

Having had Glaucoma since birth, Patrick suffered from a complete loss of sight in 2004, bringing his career managing listed buildings for the English Heritage to an abrupt end. Despite having lived in Lewisham for nearly twenty years, he became very isolated as a result of this major life change. His freedom to get out and about socially became limited due to his reliance on community transport schemes like Dial-A-Ride. And with nearly all his friends still working full-time he began to feel increasingly lonely, entering into what he describes as “a dark place”.

It wasn’t until 2013, after mentioning his loneliness to the Lewisham Visual Impairment team, that he was referred to Community Connections Lewisham for support. Following a home visit from one of our Community Facilitators, Patrick was introduced to a number of social groups that he has continued to attend in the decade since! He became a regular member of Rushey Green Time Bank, as well as joining weekly men’s group “Headlines”, where he and other likeminded men would meet for tea and chat about current affairs.

Since we first met Patrick, his confidence, motivation, and social connections have grown enormously. Having a visual impairment inspired him to connect with many other visually impaired residents and eventually form his own support group, which now has 19 regular members and meets each month at Wetherspoons, Forest Hill. Alongside this he’s made a huge impact on the lives of lonely and isolated residents by volunteering for our Befriending service.

In 2018, whilst travelling with our community transport scheme, one of our drivers encouraged Patrick to volunteer as a befriender due to his great rapport with other passengers. ‘I’ll give it a try, why not!?’ was Patrick’s response and he’s never looked back since! He has now been giving telephone befriending support regularly for the past six years, currently phoning 7 residents a week!

Whether listening to stories about visits to famous graves, or helping someone arrange insulin deliveries from their pharmacy, Patrick’s commitment to volunteering makes such a positive impact on their lives, with one befriendee saying “Patrick is a life saver; he really brings me out of my shell”. He loves the variety of calls he has and reminds us how volunteering has helped alleviate his own loneliness too, saying “when covid struck, befriending really helped me continue to connect. With most of my befriendees being older and having lots of life experience, they really teach me a thing or two!”.

Asked what he would say to someone in his former situation, Patrick replied “Don’t let being visually impaired stop you from going out. Contact places like Community Connections Lewisham, who will support you on the road to recovery”.

If you would like to find out more about our ‘Lewisham Against Loneliness’ campaign, or support the campaign by volunteering, giving or sharing then you can do so by following the link here: https://linktr.ee/communityconnectionslewisham

Published 16/02/2024

‘Lewisham Against Loneliness’ campaign begins!

Today we proudly launch ‘Lewisham Against Loneliness’, an ambitious new campaign aimed at tackling loneliness and social isolation across the borough.

The campaign, which runs until the end of February, will raise awareness about the different forms that loneliness can take, its various causes, and the many ways it negatively impacts a person’s health. At the same time we will be celebrating the positive impact of volunteer-led Befriending as a means of tackling and overcoming this growing problem.

‘We’ve never met but she’s honestly one of my best friends!’ – John, Befriendee (about his befriender Janet)

Our own service Community Connections Befriending, which we took over from Voluntary Services Lewisham last summer, has successfully been matching volunteers with residents experiencing loneliness for the past 50 years. Yet it is now in urgent need of funding if it is to be sustained throughout 2024. As part of our campaign we have set ourselves a target of £3,000, which we’re hoping to smash through a series of winter fundraising activities and our Just Giving donation page.

Over the past year our volunteer-led services team have recruited and trained over a hundred local volunteers to act as Befrienders to some of Lewisham’s loneliest and most vulnerable residents. Thanks to our brilliant, dedicated volunteers, 84 residents (‘befriendees’) have now been matched, enjoying a weekly phone call and/or meet up with their befriender to chat about anything and everything!

Stay tuned for more news, including inspiring stories, weekly challenges, and fundraising updates!

WAYS YOU CAN SUPPORT THE CAMPAIGN:

DONATE to our Befriending service at our Loneliness Campaign Just Giving page.

VOLUNTEER – Can you spare 1-2 hours a week to provide company to a lonely resident? Find out what it involves and apply to volunteer HERE.

FOLLOW our social media campaign to receive updates and spread the word. You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter X

Published: 01/12/2023

Drop-In Launch at the Lewisham Irish Centre: Multiple support services all under one roof!

On Thursday 12^th October we enjoyed a busy, bustling morning celebrating the official launch of our weekly community services drop-in! A morning of coffee, croissants and chat, the launch provided an ideal opportunity for attendees to meet other Lewisham residents whilst discovering the variety of services now on offer. We’re especially grateful to the Lewisham Irish Community Centre for hosting us, and for providing this precious weekly space where we and our partners can join together and serve the community.

Since relocating this spring, it’s been inspiring to see our drop-in grow steadily in size and scope. Regular attendees now come along each week to enjoy some friendly company, and boost their wellbeing through fun, creative activities like painting, writing and board games. Others come along for one-to-one appointments with our friendly, knowledgeable team, who help them explore and access what’s available in their neighbourhood. This might be anything from social clubs and exercise classes to adult education courses or financial advice services. Whatever the need is, we do our very best to help Lewisham residents find what they’re looking for and start tackling issues like loneliness, social isolation and/or economic hardship.

The spacious building we now occupy has allowed for a whole host of partner organisations to begin working alongside us each week! Last Thursday’s launch event celebrated this in style by bringing them all together under one roof. We had taster sessions in seated Zumba (a weekly fixture at the Irish Centre), sewing tutorials from Make Mee Studio, and a range of information and advice stalls led by our growing roster of specialist partners. To date, these include Lewisham Local (volunteering opportunities), Together for Wellbeing (mental health support), CGL (drug and alcohol support), Brook (sexual health), SELCE (energy advice) and Imago (support for carers). We’ve also been pleased to welcome other Age UK Lewisham & Southwark services, such as our Information & Advice team, and low-cost toenail cutting service ‘Happy Feet’.

A great morning all in all, which we hope will spread news of our drop-in to many more residents who stand to benefit. Don’t forget, we are there every Thursday from 10:30am-12:30pm. It’s completely free and open to all Lewisham residents aged 18+ (no appointments needed!).

Read further at our Drop-In page, or stay updated by following us on social media.  

Published: 16/10/2023

Christmas lunch at the Catford Constitutional ~ an ‘absolutely wonderful afternoon’ for older Lewisham residents

On Monday 19^th December, we partnered with the newly opened Catford Constitutional Pub to offer a heart-warming afternoon of free Christmas themed entertainment and dining for a group of Lewisham residents aged 50 and over.

Around forty local adults signed up and came along, including a number of regular service users who’d shared with us that they would be spending this Christmas alone. They were invited to take a load off and meet new people in the area to celebrate Christmas. New connections were born and old friendships rekindled over a gourmet parsnip soup, impressive turkey roast and a warming Christmas pudding.

Walking in to a pub alone and sitting down for a meal with a group of people you’ve never met before can be a daunting experience, especially for anyone feeling socially isolated or struggling with issues such as their mobility and/or mental health. Yet the flowing conversation in the room seemed to echo an atmosphere of warmth and connection, which is also a testament to the diligent hospitality and kindness of the staff at the Constitutional. Working in partnership with their team has been a real pleasure and we look forward to co-hosting more community events with them in 2023.

A delicious three course meal was accompanied by a time of Christmas carolling, led by the talented and charismatic guest musician Kat. One attendee expressed having an ‘absolutely wonderful afternoon’, one that she was ‘most grateful for’.

It is heartening to think of the greater sense of community cultivated through the simple act of eating and talking together. We hope that through this small offering of music, food and company, those who came were able to take a positive memory away with them in to the Christmas season, and a reminder that opportunities for connection are out there!

Words by Becky Kerly (Community Facilitator)

Published: 03/01/2023

Age UK Lewisham to take on Community Transport and Befriending Services from next month

We’re excited to announce that Age UK Lewisham & Southwark will soon be incorporating two existing services into our work. Access Lewisham Community Transport and Lewisham Befriending, both of which have been run successfully for decades by our long-standing partner Voluntary Services Lewisham (VSL), will transition to the Age UK Lewisham team from the end of July. We were recently given the green light by VSL’s Trustees to take on their delivery following the sad news that VSL would be closing after more than 50 years of proud service.

Since their establishment in 1969, VSL have faithfully supported residents of Lewisham through volunteer-led projects including their community transport scheme, befriending network and mental health drop-ins. Our close relationship developed through acting as delivery partners for our pre-Covid Community Connections service. During the tumultuous early months of the Covid-19 pandemic we quickly joined up with them in leading the Covid-19 Community Support Hub, arranging urgent food deliveries and befriending referrals for Lewisham’s most vulnerable residents. It has been a pleasure to work in partnership with them over the past decade and we are sad to see them close.

Lewisham Befriending

Ever since VSL opened their doors they have been matching volunteer befrienders with housebound and isolated residents struggling with issues including loneliness, bereavement and mobility loss. Since last year the project has been run by Sandra McGregor, who we’re delighted to say will be joining our Age UK team and continuing as Project Coordinator. Sandra began working with VSL in 2011 and was responsible for setting up their first ever befriending drop-in in Deptford. Later, during the fraught early months of the pandemic she took a leading role in expanding the project’s volunteer pool, which now boasts 250 befrienders. We greatly look forward to having her on our team and benefitting from her wealth of knowledge and experience!

After launching Community Connections Lewisham in September 2020, the VSL befriending scheme became one of our first key partners and in the last financial year alone our team referred 319 service users to the service. At the same time our research has revealed an overall scarcity in befriending services across the borough. The work we do has made us acutely aware of the huge impact that befrienders can make to the wellbeing of the people they visit, and taught us that we need more of them! We feel privileged to be taking on responsibility for this vital project. Its continuation and growth will ensure that our target group can receive the benefits of a friendly weekly chat. At the same time it will mean more volunteering opportunities for local adults who want to support their community, and improve their own wellbeing and employability skills in the process!

Access Lewisham Community Transport

Alongside befriending we will also now be taking on the community transport scheme, known up until now as ‘Access Lewisham’. Using a large minibus and a team of volunteers driving their own vehicles, the scheme provides a lifeline to disabled and vulnerable residents needing support to get around the borough. This might be for getting to and from weekly social groups or a local day centre, or it could be for more practical needs such as attending hospital appointments, vaccination centres and being escorted to the supermarket.

Pictured left: Stewart, one of the transport teams regular drivers

From 2018-2019 I had the pleasure of volunteering myself for the service, learning to safely escort passengers from inside their homes to the minibus and then into their local day centre. I received great training in things like Passenger Assistance and First Aid, but the most impactful thing was the insight it gave me into the many barriers faced by elderly and vulnerable residents. The regular passengers I met faced a range of challenges such as being wheelchair-users, visually impaired or living with a dementia diagnosis, and the majority of them lived alone. It was clear how indispensable the transport service was in enabling them to access their community. 

One of the regular drop-off points for the service has been the Albany Centre in Deptford, where many older residents gather on Tuesday mornings for ‘Meet me at the Albany’ groups run by local charity Entelechy Arts. Pictured below from left to right is Carmen, a regular attendee, along with Lauren (volunteer), Stuart (VSL driver) and Jasmine (Entelechy Arts Relationship & Access Coordinator). Carmen uses the transport project each week to get to her group and says of the service ‘The drivers are excellent, all of them. Very, very nice. There’s nothing that’s too much for them to do to get you in and out of the car’

‘We really rely on the transport service for getting people to the Meet Me groups. It’s not only affordable but the drivers are patient, meet you at the door, and support you in and out of the car. It’s also lovely to see how the drivers have built up such a rapport with our members – I’ve heard that some of the members even do a karaoke on the way to choir (hopefully not distracting the drivers too much). I’m so grateful for all that VSL has done for the Meet Me groups, and so glad that Age UK will be continuing this vital service’ ~Jasmine, Entelechy Arts

Unlike the befriending project, the Access Lewisham project has no current staff lead, so we’re busy recruiting a full-time Transport Coordinator to oversee the team of drivers and manage new bookings.  With the minibus wheels already in motion and over 30 return trips happening each week, we are working hard to ensure a quick and smooth transition and hope to have the coordinator start as early as next week! Also joining us from VSL is Tracey Pauline, who has been the Finance Manager there for the past four years and will soon be joining the Age UK Finance team. 

We look forward to welcoming Sandra, Tracey and the new Transport Coordinator into our team as we take on this exciting new challenge.

Want to volunteer with us?

We are very eager to recruit more volunteers as we take on the delivery of these vital services. They would simply not be possible without the hard work and dedication of volunteers! If you are interested in volunteering as a befriender or driver, or just want to find out more, then please get in touch soon by emailing Sandra McGregor at befriending@vslonline.org.uk

Donate to the project

Your donation will help us to sustain and grow these Transport and Befriending services, and therefore help us to continue tackling isolation among Lewisham’s most vulnerable residents. 

£10 will enable us to transport a vulnerable resident to a local activity group or to do their weekly supermarket shop

£25 will pay for our Volunteer Coordinator to provide an essential training session to a new volunteer befriender

Please donate whatever amount you’re able to give at our JUST GIVING PAGE here. Thank you!

Published 23/06/2022

“Loneliness doesn’t discriminate”

This week marks ‘loneliness awareness week‘, created and hosted by UK Loneliness charity Marmalade Trust and now in its 6th consecutive year. Here in Lewisham CCL is dedicated to supporting residents to overcome loneliness and isolation through connecting them with relevant social groups and services in their local community. It’s at the heart of what we do as a social prescribing service.

Loneliness is something that virtually all of us have or will experience at different times in our lives and for a variety of different reasons. It can be easier to ignore or dismiss than a physical condition, yet it’s a sad reality that long-term loneliness has the same impact on mortality as smoking 15 cigarettes per day, increasing our risk of numerous health problems including depression, coronary heart disease, stroke, and dementia.

During last month’s networking event we talked about the negative impact of loneliness on people’s health and wellbeing. We emphasised how the support of GPs and medicine is not enough by itself to prevent health decline, yet local NHS services report that 20% of patients consult their GP for problems that are primarily social rather than medical.

The positive news is that the work of CCL and other social prescribing services are here to help people address the problem of loneliness. Over our helpline we support an average of 600 callers per month to find local social groups and support services that are right for them. In doing so we are using social prescribing both to reduce existing loneliness and as a preventative measure to stop it from taking root in people’s lives.

Published 16/06/2022

CCL’s first Partnership Networking Event – 12th May 2022

On the 12th May we held our first ever Partnership Networking event, generously hosted by the Lewisham Irish Community Centre in Catford. It was a great opportunity to bring together professionals from all of our amazing key partner organisations, as well as from the statutory sector and local voluntary community groups.

We used the morning to outline CCL’s vision and how it works in practice, as well giving our guests the opportunity to connect and network with each other. Using talks, a Q and A, and a screening of our promotional video, members of our team promoted the health benefits of Social Prescribing, clarified how our service works, and shared news of what we’ve achieved so far. This was followed by a highly interactive quiz and a delicious vegan lunch, both aimed at encouraging networking among our partners.

Probably the biggest highlight of the event was the presence of three of our own service users, all of whom have made huge progress in overcoming difficult circumstances through connecting with groups and services in Lewisham. One of these courageously came up to give a live interview, telling us all about the barriers she’s faced and positive difference it has made to her life to have been connected with social groups and practical services she now engages with regularly.

Client Interview: Meeting with Ifte on ‘Social Prescribing Day’

New Weekly Drop-In ~ Opens 17th March at PLACE/Ladywell

CCL Promotional Film – Coming Soon

CCL is excited to announce a new promotional film, due to be published in February 2022. Two days of filming were completed in October and November with director Michael van der Put of ‘Broken Hearted Youth’, a Lewisham based film and theatre company for young people. It will feature informative and heartfelt interviews from members of our staff team, as well as candid footage of social groups that we regularly connect our service users with.

We intend to share the film far and wide, across a range of digital platforms as well as through airing it at local groups and face to face community events. We want it to reach the many Lewisham residents who have still not heard of us but could really benefit from our support. We know from experience that a good number of these individuals may still lack the internet skills and/or access to discover it independently, yet we anticipate the video reaching their family members, carers and professional supporters too. For those already aware of our service, the video will provide a clearer picture of exactly how our service works and how to be referred. We hope viewers will be pleasantly surprised by how many different areas of support we help with! 

With CCL having re-launched in September 2020, it seemed the perfect time to create a film that could explain how our new service works using recent client success stories, as well as advertise our new Monday-Friday phone line (0330 0583 464), established as a permanent fixture after proving so essential to our work during the first six months of lockdown.

It would also give us the opportunity to visually showcase a variety of social groups across the borough, many of which we have developed partnerships with over the past year. The majority of these began running face to face again last summer after many months of closure, meaning we finally had the opportunity to capture them and their members in action!

Since CCL connects people with such a vast range of activities and services, one of our biggest challenges was deciding how to cover as much of our work as possible whilst still maintaining a simple, coherent narrative that would capture the viewer’s attention. Getting our entire message across in the short space of 3 minutes turned out to be quite challenging! Who knew?!! With the helpful guidance and feedback of our director Michael, we were gradually able to fine tune the content, style and focus of the video. Inevitably, some important areas of our work were not covered, such as educational and employment based support for younger adults and adults with learning disabilities. Ultimately, we decided the main focus would be on social activities for older Lewisham residents, since they make up the majority of our client base and because tackling social isolation is at the very heart of our work.

In the weeks before filming, we invited over 200 groups, community centres and other voluntary organisations to express their interest in being featured. Of the many that were keen to participate we were able to film and photograph about ten groups across the different neighbourhoods in Lewisham, whilst also capturing iconic landmarks along the way, such as the Horniman Museum and the faithful Catford Cat!

A few of the fantastic groups included are the ‘Queens Walking Group’ for women, ‘Grove Park Community Group’, and ‘Wild Cat Wilderness’, a community green space that supports people’s mental health through volunteer gardening. We are grateful to all of them for their enthusiasm and support, and could not have made this film without them.

We can’t wait to share the video with you – Lewisham has so much to offer and we hope this will inspire you to get in touch with us soon and begin exploring what’s out there for you!

Published 07/01/2022

VSL Christmas Project 2021

The Voluntary Services Lewisham (VSL) Christmas Project is running again this December and has been included as part of the Lewisham Mayor’s Christmas Appeal 2021. VSL have been supporting disadvantaged Lewisham residents at Christmas for almost fifty years and last year alone they provided gifts and food hampers to almost 3000 children, families and isolated adults. In light of the post-covid economic downturn we face, the need for this year’s project is expected to be greater than ever.

For families and individuals facing economic hardship, the joy of the Christmas season can sadly be overshadowed by the extra financial pressure it brings. Many of the service users CCL supports share with us their worries over things like rising heating costs, benefit reductions and the difficulty of securing steady employment. Too many residents simply cannot afford to lavish gifts or celebratory meals on their loved ones. To help relieve the burden, this year’s VSL Christmas Project will be providing toys for children, vouchers for teenagers and young adults, food vouchers for all families and food hampers for vulnerable individuals and couples. For those facing extreme hardship they will also be delivering Christmas meals cooked by Lewisham Salvation Army (up to 2 per household) on the 23^rd December.

Would you like to receive support?

A referral will need to be made for those wanting support, and this will be given on a first come first served basis. As a partner of VSL, Community Connections will be happy to refer you if you are struggling this Christmas. Please call us as soon as possible on our Monday-Friday helpline 0330 0583 464.

Are you able to help?

Even just a small donation can make a big difference to local members of our community experiencing hardship this Christmas. If you would like to make a financial donation to the VSL Christmas Project 2021 you can do so by visiting: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/vslchristmas2021

In addition to financial donations they are also seeking contributions of toys, books, and other gifts for children. New toys and gifts can be donated by dropping them at any of the following locations:

Voluntary Services Lewisham, Lewisham Central Community Hub, Leemore Centre,  29-39 Clarendon Rise, London, SE13 5ES, between 10am and 5pm Monday to Friday.

Lewisham Salvation Army, 12-14 Lewisham Park, London SE13 6QZ between 10am and 5pm Monday to Friday 

Magi Gifts, 193 Brockley Road, London SE4 2RS

Jay’s Budgens, 400-406 Brockley Road, Crofton Park, London, SE4 2DH

Co-op Food, 383 Brockley Road, Crofton Park, London SE4 2PH

For more information about VSL’s Christmas Project and their other great year-round work please visit their website www.vslonline.org.uk.

Published 30/11/2021

‘Community Calling’ scheme

Community Connections Lewisham has recently been issued with 100 donated Smartphones (phones with internet capability), to be distributed among Lewisham’s poorest and most digitally excluded residents. Individuals referred to the scheme will each have a free 4G smartphone delivered to their homes and receive an internet bundle of 6GB data per month for one whole year, including unlimited calls and texts. Accompanying this, we will support each recipient to access digital learning support in the borough, enabling them to learn new skills and make the most use of their new device.  

The London wide scheme, known as Community Calling, was set up by the charity Hubbub and called upon Londoners to donate any working smartphones they no longer needed. Thanks to an amazing public response the scheme has so far re-homed 3,000 refurbished smartphones and aims to reach its target of 10,000. Community Connections Lewisham is therefore one of many London charities and statutory organisations that have been privileged with the task of distributing these phones to the people in most need. 

The aim of this scheme and why it is needed 

The aim is to increase ‘digital inclusion’ among vulnerable adults in the borough. By this we mean equipping people with the tools, knowledge and skills to use the internet. The digital age we live in, as well as long-term closure of face-to-face services due to Covid-19, has meant that elderly and vulnerable adults (many of whom are still shielding indoors) are increasingly reliant on the internet to access crucial services and community activities. And yet many of these individuals feel left behind and excluded due to their lack of IT knowledge and equipment. During the height of the pandemic we received many calls from residents who were confused and stressed by the process of suddenly having to order their shopping online. And amidst the current economic crisis we continue to see high numbers of people who need to apply for benefits yet struggle to find the relevant information and complete forms over the internet. Equally, with many people still having to shield indoors we have sadly witnessed an increase in loneliness, anxiety and depression. Exclusion from the internet has only worsened the effect of this by preventing people from engaging face to face with loved ones or health professionals online, or participating in online social activities.  

Our hope is that by learning to use their smartphone each recipient will enjoy increased independence, safety and connection with local services. This might be through learning to carry out essential online tasks like completing forms, booking GP appointments, or using online shopping and banking. Equally, we hope to see their personal and mental wellbeing enhanced through learning to use Zoom and WhatsApp to talk regularly and face to face with loved ones in an affordable way, or learning how to surf the internet to find out about activities in their neighbourhood.  

It is also a sad reality that the clients we support, the elderly in particular, are the biggest target for online scams. Financial losses from investment scams increased by 42% during the pandemic compared to the previous year, with over 6,000 recorded cases of Covid-related fraud and an estimated £34.5 million being stolen. Criminals have exploited the Covid-19 pandemic to defraud those who they deem to be the least ‘tech savvy’ as well as those who may be more trusting and emotionally vulnerable due to loneliness and poor mental health. One of our aims in delivering this scheme is therefore that vulnerable residents are not just equipped with devices but have the opportunity to learn how to use the internet safely and become more aware of scamming techniques. 

The role of our partners 

We are able to organise a quick delivery of the phones thanks to our ‘key partnership’ with the local charity Good Gym. They provide volunteer ‘runners’ who sign up to practical tasks as a way of helping less able members of their community whilst getting the benefit of exercise in the process. When a person is referred to Community Calling we arrange for one of these volunteers to collect the phone from our office and deliver it straight to their home.

To make the scheme effective, we also refer people regularly to community organisations that offer digital training and support. A main example is local IT support hub ‘Catbytes’, also one of our key partners. Along with supplying and setting up digital equipment, Catbytes offer 1:1 support and weekly social drop-ins where people can learn to use their devices, navigate the internet, and protect themselves from online fraud.  

How to refer and eligibility 

Referrals can be made by professionals or by family and friends, or individuals can refer themselves. This can be done by phoning our support line on 0330 0583 464 or by filling in a simple referral form at our website: Make a Referral – Community Connections Lewisham

We do our best to prioritise urgent cases, but due to the high demand for our service please note there is a waiting time of approximately 4 weeks.  

To be eligible, it is a requirement that the recipient is an 18+ Lewisham resident who does not have any internet access, does not own a smartphone and is eager to learn how to use one. Priority will be given to those on low incomes and those with an urgent need for internet access. 

Published 15/04/2021