AS LONELINESS and isolation increase among the elderly, a charity has set up an initiative, Best Sunday for Ages, to raise money to pay for befriending services.
The charity MHA provides care and support for 17,000 older people, including offering Live at Home schemes which connect older people living on their own at home with befrienders.
A survey carried out for the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness reported this week that three-quarters of older people are lonely, and more than half of those aged 75 and over now live alone, the Office of National Statistics says.
The charity has produced resources for churches to hold services to mark the Best Sunday for Ages on 11 June. MHA’s director of chaplaincy and spirituality, the Revd Dr Keith Albans, said: “Isolation is a growing problem in the UK. . . We are calling on as many as possible to get involved this year with Best Sunday for Ages.”
www.bestforages.co.uk/best-sunday