Demand sees visitor service call for help

Age Concern Accredited Visitor Service volunteer Mary Bernhardt enjoys a quick chat on the phone...
Age Concern Accredited Visitor Service volunteer Mary Bernhardt enjoys a quick chat on the phone most days to one of her many friends. Photo by Dan Hutchison.
A call for help has gone out to the Mosgiel community as Age Concern seeks to ensure the safety and social needs of residents are being met.

Age Concern's Accredited Visitor Service co-ordinator Tristan Kavanagh said there was a growing waiting list of older people in the wider Mosgiel area who were socially isolated.

''We have got people that are sitting there waiting to be matched up with somebody.''

She knew of ''eight or nine'' people who needed visitors or a chat on the phone and she said there were a lot more in need who had not come forward.

Loneliness affected a person's health, made them more vulnerable if they got ill and often meant they sought rest-home support earlier than they might otherwise.

Volunteer Mary Bernhardt has been volunteering with the service since 1999 and said it was about more than just helping someone.

''You make new friends.''

She does some visiting but most of the time she just picks up the phone to say a quick hello or to chat for half an hour.

''It depends what the person wants. A few have just wanted a wake-up call.''

Generally each volunteer is matched up with just one person.

Ms Kavanagh said volunteers made an ''immeasurable difference'' to people's lives and ''mutually beneficial'' friendships developed as a result.

Some of the feedback received from Age Concern included people feeling ''happier and less lonely'' because of having a visitor.

One person described feeling ''isolated, with no light at the end of the tunnel'' because they had no family or friends to talk to.

In central Dunedin, the service has benefited from a surplus of volunteers, especially during the academic year, but further afield there were real problems getting enough visitors.

Ms Kavanagh said they needed people in the Mosgiel, Waldronville, Green Island and Abbotsford areas. Volunteers were also offered training and support.

For more information about the service, phone 477-1040.

Add a Comment

 

Advertisement