A national charity is launching a free telephone be-friending service for older LGBT+ people who are especially vulnerable to loneliness, given decades of stigma and discrimination.
Re-engage, a charity dedicated to combating loneliness and social isolation in those aged 75 and over, hopes its new rainbow call companions, launched today, (March 14th) will create a safe environment where people feel comfortable having open conversations. The service is specifically for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender + people aged 75 and over who would like to speak to someone who’s also LGBT+. The same volunteer will phone each week to provide much needed friendship and conversation.
With the charity’s commitment to reaching a more diverse population of older people, it conducted interviews and an online survey to carry out research to better understand how it could provide services to older LGBT + people based on their specific needs.
Research shows that as an older LGBT+ person, you are more likely to live alone, be single and less likely to see your biological family regularly. You are also less likely to have intergenerational relationships and children, which can often lead to your ‘family of choice’ dwindling or increasingly unable to support you as you age together.
Re-engage CEO, Meryl Davies, told QX: “It’s not surprising to learn that a lifetime of exposure to discrimination and stigma can lead to high levels of stress and a strong sense of isolation. All too often, isolation is seen by older LGBT+ people as the price they have had to pay for their sexuality. Rainbow call companions is an important milestone in this amazing charity’s commitment to reaching deep into communities and finding the older people who really need us.”
Julian, from Southsea, who has signed up to become a rainbow call companion volunteer, said: “Much progress has been made in attitudes towards sexuality and gender identity, but many older LGBT+ people continue to live a life behind closed doors. It was a very different time back then.
“I am thrilled to be part of rainbow call companions. It’s a two-way street and I’m looking forward to sharing stories, listening, learning, supporting and building up a rapport with someone who may have no support network or safe place where they can be themselves.”
Celebrities, including Sue Perkins, Miriam Margolyes and author Ali Smith, are backing the much-needed scheme to help older LGBT+ people feel valued and free to be open about their identities.
If you would like to be matched with one of their friendly rainbow call companions, or know someone aged 75 and over from the LGBT+ community who could benefit from a weekly chat, call 0800 716 543 (freephone) or email samuel.higgins@reengage.org.uk
About Re-engage:
Re-engage is a charity that is positive about older age and committed to fighting loneliness so that people can have social lives and friendship groups however old they are. They inspire and enable meaningful connections and shared experiences within communities across the UK for people over 75 facing loneliness and social isolation. Their volunteers work together to create better communities and help to enrich the lives of their members by giving them something to look forward to.
About Rainbow call companions:
Following the success of their call companions service, they launched rainbow call companions: a free telephone befriending service for LGBT+ people who live alone and feel they would benefit from a friendly phone call every week or two. This is a service specifically for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender plus (LGBT+) people aged 75 and over, who would like to speak to someone who’s also LGBT+.
Research:
Their research report will be published on 14 March. They learned about how lonely it can be in a crowd: “I was accepted[…]. as long as I didn’t talk about it. [It was like] ‘We don’t mind you being there but just don’t talk about it’.” and about fear of growing older “We hear some very sad stories of people in care homes who can’t be out. […] I fear if I ever have to go into an old people’s home. There must be people who go back into the closet.”
They’ve learned that people would value a service for LGBT+ older people. But the indirect finding was that there is no obvious place to promote this service to LGBT+ people who are over 75. So, even though there was not a particularly high demand for a telephone befriending service, we’ve decided to set up rainbow call companions to get the ball rolling and, critically, help us to find and learn from more older people.
General Statistics:
There are 5.4 million people in the UK who are over 75, and 2.2 million of them live alone.
There are 1.2 million chronically lonely older people in the UK.
Over half a million older people go at least five or six days a week without seeing or speaking to anyone at all.
Being lonely is miserable, but it can also have a very damaging effect on physical health and mental wellbeing: lonely people with poor social connections are more likely to suffer from dementia, heart disease and depression.
