Contact the Elderly Tea Parties

Lead service provider/commissioner

Name:

Contact the Elderly

Type of knowledge

Type of knowledge:

Project evaluation

Type of evaluation:

Survey

Prevention service description

The aim is to reduce loneliness and isolation among older people. In a 2014 survey of over 1200 of Contact the Elderly's estimated current 5000 guests in Great Britain, 55% identified loneliness and 51% cited mobility difficulties as the reason why they were drawn to attend the tea parties. Weekends, and Sundays in particular have been highlighted as particularly difficult times by older people consulted by Contact the Elderly, particularly because a lot of community activities are not available.

The tea parties are provided by a network of volunteers, of diverse ages and backgrounds. Volunteer drivers collect people from their homes to take them to a welcoming volunteer host's home for the afternoon. While hosts will change on a monthly basis, drivers remain the same, enabling relationships to develop between the older people and volunteers over time.

Intervention/service type:

Befriending, mentoring and peer support

Target client group(s):

Older people