Concerned about increasing feelings of isolation in our communities, seven organisations – Age Concern New Zealand, St John New Zealand, Carers New Zealand, Student Volunteer Army, Royal New Zealand Returned and Services Association, Alzheimers New Zealand and The Salvation Army – got together in 2018 to set up the coalition and provide information, grow understanding, and advocate together to prompt action on loneliness.
Age Concern Rotorua manager Rory O'Rourke says having this website is an important step towards ending loneliness as long as the people most affected are able to access it.
"What the lockdown did show us was that many of our elderly were put in a position where they had to use technology to have contact with the outside world, especially family.
"Here at Age Concern we were in a position where we were unable to have our Accredited Visitor Service volunteers go and visit the lonely or socially isolated, so we divided up our members and volunteers and rang them each week to ensure they were being looked after by someone and having their needs met.
"We were pleased to note that the majority were having contact, not face-to-face, with either family, friends or neighbours."
He says Age Concern Rotorua has an Accredited Visitor Service where volunteers visit people identified by various organisations as being lonely and perhaps needing some support through regular visits. The Shopping Service is also a social occasion for its members.
Due to lockdown, Age Concern was also finding more of its clients were doing online shopping.
"I feel that, like elder abuse, loneliness is an unseen issue that will not go away by itself, so intervention is necessary and the website is a good start.
"At present there are about 10,500 over 65s in Rotorua and this number will grow exponentially over the next decade and loneliness will only increase.
"Maybe we need to think about an alternative accommodation option as at present we are trying to keep people in their homes for as long as possible, although there are fewer retirees actually owning their own home than there used to be.
"I read some recent research that stated elderly who live alone are 30 per cent more likely to get dementia than those who cohabit or live in retirement or rest homes with other people.
"This, however, does not exclude people from being lonely as we have several clients for our AVS who are in rest homes."
St John community programmes manager Julie Taverne says with an ageing population together with the current global pandemic, loneliness is something more and more people are experiencing, and a challenge for the whole community.
"We are proud to be part of the Let's End Loneliness coalition and excited to be involved in the launch of this website.
"The website will be a place for organisations to come together to work to end loneliness in New Zealand and provide our whānau with help, advice and options based on their individual circumstances."
One group particularly affected by isolation are the 70,000 New Zealanders living with dementia, and Catherine Hall of Alzheimers New Zealand believes everyone should feel safe, supported, loved and connected.
"Sadly, people living with dementia often find family, whānau and friends take a step back just when they need them most. We stand alongside our coalition partners and with all New Zealanders, to make sure no one feels alone."
Student Volunteer Army chief executive Sam Johnson says connection is always at the heart of what they do.
"We are really proud to be working alongside others to help end loneliness for younger and older people alike."
This site is a way of connecting with others to share ideas, challenges and successes, and other organisations working to end loneliness in New Zealand are encouraged to provide links to their own websites and information services.
For more information on loneliness and how to access support and services, go to letsendloneliness.co.nz
