Oldie Friendly Hackney

There’s a lot of talk in the media at the moment about loneliness and social isolation. Much of it focuses on the older generation but statistics tell us that it affects the younger generation as well. So, whatever your age group, there are a lot of people around you putting on a brave face but going about their daily routines with a big empty feeling inside.

Add to those feelings of loneliness and isolation some physical issues that tend to affect older people in greater numbers than any other age group – sight or hearing impairment, reduced mobility.

Then you find yourself with an age group that finds simple tasks like a trip to the shops, reading menus, hearing staff in cafés above the noise of music, obstructions in shop doorways such as bikes and dogs, very challenging indeed. Sometimes it’s just easier to stay indoors, reduce the amount of times you venture out, rely on the kindness of a neighbour to drop a few bits of shopping in to you. And before you know it, you’re almost completely cut off from your community. Perhaps the only conversations you hear are through the TV or radio.

Now imagine what you could do to make that older person feel welcome, to feel that you’d like them to drop in for a cuppa now and again.

What could you be doing differently?

If you work in a café take some time to look and listen to what it might feel like for an older person. Is the music loud? Is the menu font small? Are the chairs placed close together to cram as many people in as possible? Are there lots of 2-person tables which might encourage people to sit on their own, rather than communally? Are there queues at the counter which might make it difficult for an older person to stand for too long? Worst of all, do you have a “Toilets are for customers use only” sign in the window? How about making your place a bit more Oldie-Friendly and replacing that window sticker with one of ours?

Do your bit for Hackney’s Oldies?

Join the campaign on Twitter @OldieFriendly and be part of making our borough a happier, friendlier, more inclusive one.