Back in the game: combating loneliness with Sport England
The British Red Cross and Sport England teamed up to help older people find a path out of loneliness during the coronavirus pandemic.
There’s no question that the Covid-19 pandemic knocked us all for six. Repeated lockdowns, time away from loved ones and months of uncertainty is enough to give anyone anxiety.
But for some people living alone such as older people, those in ill health and refugees, loneliness ran very deep.
Research carried out during the pandemic showed that 33% of adults hadn’t had a meaningful conversation in seven days, with the same number of people fearing their loneliness would get worse.
As the pandemic progressed, it became clear that people were losing the confidence to reconnect. And when loneliness becomes entrenched, it can become chronic and harder to overcome.
Enriching lives through exercise
The British Red Cross and Sport England teamed up to connect communities through physical activity and to help stop loneliness in its tracks.
Watch Colin and Farzana get active.
The programme aimed to reduce loneliness and isolation in people aged over 55 through exercise and activities that boosted wellbeing.
The scheme was underpinned by research from Sport England, which confirmed that while activity levels reduce with age, less active older people stood to gain the most from regular physical activity.
Delivered by our existing Community Connector volunteers, six services were located in Oldham, Newcastle, Blackpool, Blyth, Southampton, and Camborne and Redruth in Cornwall.
And over the course of the pandemic, the Connecting Communities through Physical Activity programme helped more than 800 older people reconnect with themselves, with each other and find a path out of loneliness.
Here’s how the scheme has helped four people in the Oldham area.
Farzana's story
I used to get anxiety when someone rang the doorbell. My heart used to beat so fast. But meeting Nazia changed my life.Farzana
Nazia is a volunteer on the British Red Cross Connecting Communities scheme in Oldham.
Due to the pandemic, Community Connector volunteers had to get creative with a mix of online and offline materials, and in-person visits to encourage people to stay active.
Nazia and her fellow volunteers were not short on inspiration. They sent service users NHS exercise sheets, pedometers for step challenges, online group exercise classes, housework or gardening (multiple benefits there), and some socially distanced group classes outdoors.
The aim was to find an activity to best suit the individual and get them in a healthy flow. For Nazia, that meant the great outdoors.
“It was pretty obvious that Farzana would enjoy physical activity”, said Nazia. “She had a real passion nature.
“When I met her, she had low self esteem and self confidence, and she wanted support with exercise, so we were able to set up some short term goals with her.”
The central part of the Community Connector programme are weekly phone calls. As well as providing a friendly ear and emotional support, Nazia was able to motivate and empower Farzana to stay on track with her exercise.
Before long, Farzana was getting out and about, taking long walks and enjoying beautiful local scenery.
“It was so good to get out and see the trees and leaves. After you exercise, your body relaxes and your mind is fresh,” she said.
“Before, I used to feel angry and irritated, but exercise has made such a difference. It really has changed my life.”
Colin's story
In the same area as Farzana, Nazia supports Colin. He’d been battling ill-health after a mini stroke.
“It was very lonely during the pandemic. A lot of people I spoke to didn’t want to carry on,” he said.
A phone call from Nazia changed everything. She said:
“I simply asked him if he’d like any help or whether he’d like to go anywhere.
“Colin told me he used to enjoy cycling and getting outdoors, so together, we were able to identify three short-term goals.
They caught up on a weekly basis, for a chat and to see how he was getting on with the cycling.
For Colin, the experience has been transformative. That little push from Nazia had given him back his freedom.
My bike was gathering dust and when I first got on it, I was anxious. But with the wind in my face, it feels like a gust of life has hit you.
Adel and Auntie Aileen's story
Adel was referred to the British Red Cross Community Connectors programme by early help teams.
She was feeling increasingly alone throughout the pandemic as her partner had suffered two strokes and she was unable to meet him due to the social distancing restrictions. Her mental health was deteriorating.
“Due to the pandemic, we were not able to meet Adel face to face. However, we were able to set up Zoom classes and support her that way”, said Nazia.
It was through these chats that Nazia discovered Adel had an 87-year-old auntie named Aileen.
“Through the Connecting Communities through Physical Activity programme, we were able to give them a ping pong ball and a bat, and they actually connected together.
“Adel and Aileen were in the same support bubble, and played ping-pong in their front room. It was really amazing to connect both of them,” said Nazia.
The games of ping pong brought Aileen and Adel closer and gave them both focus – something that they’d both been lacking during the pandemic – and some much needed fun.
“Aileen’s face lit up when this pack arrived with this ping pong ball. It’s something so simple but it just gave us that little bit of lift…well a lot of lift because we have such a laugh,” Adel said.
“When we play ping pong in the house we are very competitive. We see how many times we can hit it in the air and we play across the dining room table. It’s wonderful, and we’re both enjoying getting active.”