A BEFRIENDING service has aimed to keep people have not suffered from loneliness during lockdown.

Dozens of befriending services have adapted from face-to-face visits to a phone call to make sure everyone feels part of the community, even if they are isolated and shielding.

Callers have helped to tackle those feelings of loneliness by simply giving people a ring and asking how they are.

And that empathetic voice at the end of the phone simply asking how the day is going is a lifesaver to some.

Next week the country will mark Loneliness Awareness Week, June 15 to 19, a campaign to combat loneliness by the Marmalade Trust which works with partners including The Great Get Together and the Jo Cox Foundation

It’s estimated that two million people in the UK over the age of 75 live alone and half of those can go an entire month without speaking to another person.

Especially during the Covid-19 pandemic when the population has been in lockdown, the effects of loneliness can be even more profound.

People who usually get conversations and smiles from health professionals, shop workers or just out on a daily walk have not been able to get that during lockdown.

So far, North Yorkshire has risen to the challenge – with 86 percent of those asked claiming they’d checked in on a neighbour during the pandemic.

North Yorkshire County Council has been working with and supporting 23 community organisations the length and breadth of the county since March to create a volunteering network in every locality. Along with collection and delivery of shopping and medicines, books and magazines and materials to support hobbies, this has also included regular social contact via telephone, FaceTime, Skype or other methods that avoid physical contact with people who are self-isolating.

Marie-Ann Jackson, head of the County Council’s Stronger Communities programme, said: “If there’s one positive to come from coronavirus, it’s seeing the incredible resilience of our communities. Earlier this year we launched a campaign called Salt of the Earth to celebrate kindness in North Yorkshire.

“Many of the stories we’ve featured show how small acts of kindness can make a big difference in helping to combat loneliness and we have seen an abundance of kindness during COVID-19.

“For many this crisis has actually brought their neighbourhood closer together.

"People have connected with someone else because they either needed or offered support.

“Getting involved with your community really helps to nurture your connections with others and it doesn’t need to be onerous. It might be as simple as asking someone if they need help with their shopping, walking a dog for someone who can’t get out or offering a socially distant cup of tea.

“You could reach out to a local voluntary group or just post a note through a neighbours door to see if they need anything. When we asked 500 people, 86 per cent said they had helped a neighbour during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I hope the legacy of coronavirus is that people keep the connections they have made and that North Yorkshire communities continue to grow even stronger.”

Loneliness can be linked to early death and an increased risk of strokes, heart disease, depression and cognitive decline. People who feel lonely are more than twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s and dementia than those who don’t.

That’s why services like telephone befriending or small acts of kindness like safely checking in on elderly or isolated neighbours can mean the world and especially during the pandemic when many have missed their normal social contacts of friends and family because they have had to self-isolate or have been shielded.

Marie-Ann added: “By understanding loneliness, we can help ourselves and others manage emotions around it. The more we talk about it, the more it is normalised and can be spoken about openly.”

For information about getting involved in your community including our Salt of the Earth campaign and for a link to North Yorkshire Connect, a directory of community groups and voluntary organisations offering help and support, go to www.northyorks.gov.uk/community-and-living.

Those in need of help who don’t have anyone else to call on, or anyone concerned about the welfare of someone else should contact North Yorkshire County Council’s customer service centre on 01609-780780. The centre is open seven days a week 8am to 5.30pm.

For more information about Loneliness Awareness Week and the Marmalade Trust go to: https://marmaladetrust.org/LAW.