Social interaction can protect older people’s mental health, helping to do their shopping will prevent falls and injury and keeping an eye on their health will stop them developing serious health problems and ending up in hospital.

Figures show:

*   over a million people over 65 feel trapped in their own homes;
*   more than 180,000 have gone for a whole week without speaking to friends, neighbours or family;
*   nearly half of all older people (about 4.6 million) consider the television as their main form of company; and
*   more than 50 per cent of over 75s live on their own.

Phil Hope said:

"Many older people live alone. For some that’s a choice, for others it means they feel isolated. We are a very caring nation so I’m asking people to make a resolution to look in on their older neighbours more often, to help them with shopping or to simply pop in for a chat. 

"Our major aim for the New Year is to build on the care that’s embedded in our society. We’ll be creating a National Care Service which everyone will be able to rely on when they get older."

The Government is already driving forward measure towards making our system of care simpler, fairer and more affordable including helping people to be more independent.

There are many ways to find out about volunteering opportunities:

For more information about volunteering and how to get involved visit

http://www.volunteering.org.uk/IWantToVolunteer

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