Pioneering “Buddy Scheme” brings together students with older people with Dementia to fight loneliness
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“๐๐ฒ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฒ, ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ. ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ธ. ๐ก๐ผ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐. ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ – ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ฝ ๐บ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ!”
Pioneering volunteering โbuddy schemeโ that brings together students with older people who have dementia. The project is being run by student.com to raise awareness about mental health and tackle loneliness. Itโs been such a huge success that itโs about to be rolled out to other big cities across the UK.
Yorkshire’s volunteer initiative brings together students with older people with Dementia to fight loneliness
“Being a few thousand miles away from home, sometimes I felt homesick and when I interact with Liz, she reminds me of my grandparents”
– Dimitri
“Before Dimitri came to see me, I had a boring life. It was blank. No excitement. He shows me different things about the world. Including Facebook” – Liz
Seniors and Isolation
The effects ofย isolationย and loneliness can have severe negativeย impactsย on the health ofย seniors. One study found that lonelyย seniors have a 59% higher risk of physical and mental health decline, and a 45% greater risk of death. Loneliness can also cause seniorsย to spend more time indoors, and avoid physical activity.
Age is just a number, not a barrier for friendship
It’s easy forย older peopleย to feel they are either invisible or a burden. Often, the most important thing we can do toย cheer people up is simply listening to them. Asking pertinent questions helps, too.
The initiative garnered thousands of likes and shares around the globe. With comments like:
The buddy scheme is a great initiative that a lot of aged care or home care facilities worldwide can replicate.ย ๐ท๐๐’๐ก ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐กโ๐๐๐’๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐ค๐๐๐๐; ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข’๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐ค๐๐๐๐!
Sources:
BBC
https://www.welbi.co/single-post/the-dangers-of-senior-loneliness-and-isolation