North London Cares and South London Cares

Lead service provider/commissioner

Name:

North London Cares and South London Cares

Type of knowledge

Type of knowledge:

Project evaluation

Type of evaluation:

Survey

Prevention service description

NLC was founded in 2011 in response to the growing isolation, disconnection and mistrust which manifested itself in London in the August of that year. The vision of connecting young professionals to potentially isolated older people on their doorsteps was a direct response to the globalisation, gentrification, migration, spiking house prices, digitisation, and other trends that have come to define modern London.

The NLC and SLC community networks aim to bridge the cultural gap between older people – who have often lived in the same place for a lifetime and who feel a vivid connection to their localities, but who increasingly feel that their communities are changing beyond their recognition or understanding – and the young professionals who best represent those rapid changes. They do this by promoting the sharing of time, skills, personality, cultural exchange, new supporting relationships and fun, and by bringing people together who may not naturally interact for the benefit of all participants.

Intervention/service type:

Support at home; Befriending, mentoring and peer support; Community services; Low-level support; Social prescribing

Target client group(s):

Older people