‘You don’t have to do this alone,’ says British Red Cross, as new young volunteers join push to tackle loneliness with Covid-19 rules tightening

• DCMS-funded British Red Cross programme launched to support people most likely to be lonely and cut off – including older people, those in ill-health, people from BAME communities, young people, those without internet or phones, and refugees.
• Delivered by the charity’s Generation Digital Volunteers, Connecting Communities and refugee services teams, the programme helps people get in touch with others even when they can’t meet up in person.
• As well as helping people access phones and data packages, the British Red Cross is supporting people online with its team of dynamic young volunteers – and there are free mental health and wellbeing tools to help reduce loneliness that anyone can access.

As coronavirus restrictions tighten once more, the UK’s leading crisis response charity is urging people to reach out to others and offering to help those who feel lonely and cut off to keep in touch with people, digitally.

As part of the scheme, specialist support will be available from a team of 90 new young digital volunteers, aged 16 to 25, who will be available to chat and talk people of all abilities and levels of confidence through the digital landscape.

The British Red Cross has teamed up with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to launch the Tackling Loneliness Digitally programme that will offer a range of support and advice to people in England who feel lonely and isolated, especially in light of the Covid-19 pandemic and the limits it has put on people’s ability to meet up with others.

The programme, which will be delivered by the Red Cross’s Generation Digital Volunteers, Connecting Communities and refugee services teams, will see those who need smartphones and data packages helped to access them, while others will be supported as they venture online and learn how best to keep connected with family and friends.

People who want help will be able to call the British Red Cross coronavirus support line for a chat and, where they would like a little extra support or a boost in confidence, digital volunteers will be able to support them through their online journey. The support line will be operating from Monday to Friday, 10am to 12pm midday. You will also be able to leave a voicemail, and we will call you back as soon as possible, within business hours up to 5pm.

Where people are already online they can access a range of brilliant tools and resources – including online classrooms – designed to help boost confidence and improve wellbeing.

This is all alongside the traditional one-to-one support – most of which has itself been delivered by telephone or online through the coronavirus crisis – provided by Red Cross community connectors who help people in Durham, Stockport and Plymouth (all ages) and Blackpool, Oldham, Southampton, Newcastle, Blyth and Camborne and Redruth (over-55s).

British Red Cross executive director for UK operations Norman McKinley said: “You don’t have to do this alone.  No one should be left feeling lonely and without anyone to turn to in this crisis.  It’s more important than ever – as new coronavirus restrictions further limit everyday interactions – that we all reach out and try to stay in touch.

“Tackling Loneliness Digitally will help the people who our research shows are most likely to be feeling lonely and cut off from others to reconnect with friends and family.  We’ll also be helping people access the tech and data that gets them online and back in touch with those they love.

“People can find out how to access help using our support line and our team of young digital volunteers are working hard to introduce people to the sort of technology that can help keep everyone connected.  We have a number of free online tools and resources that anyone can use to reduce loneliness and improve their own wellbeing.”

Tackling Loneliness Digitally is targeted at the people who are shown to be most likely to be feeling lonely while having limited access to digital technology – including older people, those in ill-health, people from BAME communities, young people, those without internet or phones, and refugees.

British Red Cross research conducted in May during the last full lockdown period showed that more than a quarter of adults (28 per cent) worried no one would notice if something happened to them and a third of people feared their loneliness would get worse.

Overall, 41 per cent of adults reported feeling lonelier than before lockdown, with 33 per cent saying they hadn’t had a meaningful conversation in the last week, and 37 per cent saying their neighbours were like strangers to them.

If you are feeling lonely access our online loneliness resources at www.redcross.org.uk/loneliness-resources. The national support line will also be operating from Monday to Friday, 10am to 12pm midday. You will be able to leave a voicemail, and we will call you back as soon as possible, within business hours up to 5pm.

ENDS

• For more information contact Paul Scott on 07834 525650 or at paulscott@redcross.org.uk
• For urgent out-of-hours media enquiries please contact 07710391703 or email press@redcross.org.uk

Note to editors 

Tackling Loneliness Digitally

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport has provided £610,000 of funding for the Tackling Loneliness Digitally programme which supports people shown to be most vulnerable to loneliness and lacking access to digital technology.  Focussing on people most likely to be lonely and cut off – including older people, those in ill-health, people from BAME communities, young people, those without internet or phones, and refugees – the programme aims to help those who lack confidence online to use the tools available to help keep them in touch with family and friends.

Generation Digital Volunteers

Young digital volunteers aged 16-25 support vulnerable people to become more confident online and feel less isolated and lonely.  Working with people with limited digital skills, the volunteers help those they support to better understand how to use the internet to access social media and other communications platforms such as Zoom and FaceTime.  They also show how digital tools and resources can help reduce feelings of loneliness and offer advice about protecting yourself and others online.  The young volunteers are also working to decrease any feelings of loneliness and isolation they may experience in this crisis by running peer-led support activities.

Connecting Communities

Connecting Communities is a British Red Cross programme that offers up to 12 weeks of one-to-one support for people feeling lonely or socially isolated.  Established in 2017 after our Trapped in a Bubble report helped set the agenda in the effort to tackle loneliness, it supports people in Durham, Stockport and Plymouth (all ages) and Blackpool, Oldham, Southampton, Newcastle, Blyth and Camborne and Redruth (over-55s).

British Red Cross Refugee Support and Restoring Family Links

The British Red Cross supports vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers, providing refugee services in 58 towns and cities across the UK.

We offer care and support when people arrive in the UK after a political or humanitarian crisis as well as helping to trace and reunite separated family members.

British Red Cross

For over 150 years, the British Red Cross has helped people in crisis, whoever and wherever they are. We are part of a global voluntary network, responding to conflicts, natural disasters and individual emergencies. We enable vulnerable people in the UK and abroad to prepare for and withstand emergencies in their own communities. And when the crisis is over, we help them recover and move on with their lives. redcross.org.uk