General Chat

Let's not overlook the lonely elderly Bulgarian & Romanian nationals who will soon become eligible to live & work in the UK.

What about the lonely and elderly Romanians and Bulgarians who are left behind when their younger family members leave to try and make more money to help them?


It must be awful to have to accept your sons and daughters and maybe grandchildren too will be living many miles away to try and improve their lives. Not every person coming here is out to fleece the system.

Lizx

The lonely and elderly Romanians and Bulgarians are more likely to have been left at home in Romania and Bulgaria if their children emigrate to earn more money!

Although the Samaritans is a wonderful organisation, I was under the impression that they waited for the person to phone them, rather than instigate follow up calls. Silverline, according to the TV news programmes, will call back the lonely elderly once a week for a chat.

I'd imagine that there many elderly people living alone who don't want to 'bother' their families for a chat or to tell them how they are feeling. After all, as parents, they still feel they have to be the 'strong' ones and would see it as a weakness to admit that they weren't coping emotionally.

A friendly if anonymous voice on the phone could make all the difference in their lives

Good morning Det Samaritans will give follow ups with the the permission of the callers by asking if they would like them to call back.

I am thankful that I enjoy being alone, which is different from being lonely. I do wonder how long I will feel this way. I have friends of similar age and one only wants to stop in and watch her favourite tv programs. The other hasn't been out of her bedroom in a few years. She could afford a stair lift but doesn't want to make an effort as her husband takes care of her needs. What happens if he dies? I have tried to put it to her in a gentle sort of a way but nothing seems to motivate her to try other things. I have suggested a lap top but all ideas are rebuffed. Are some lonely people there by their own doing, have they gone through life not making the extra effort to say good morning to others because they didn't need anyone else. Now they are lonely they still expect others making that connection. I would love my children to live near to me, the same as I lived near to my Mum but it isn't going to happen. If I relied on them for company I would be a lonely person. I accept that they have a life which doesn't include me every day. If people don't have some interest in their lives, what are they going to talk about to these callers. In principle it sounds a great idea and I hope it work.

One thing that has remained with me was something somebody said in a 'letters to editor' in a magazine some years ago. One thing they really missed when getting old that there was nobody left to call them by their name. I suspect that doesn't happen so much these days when there is more familiarity from nurses, etc but it always struck me as sad.

I think the internet is great for those of us who use it. Because of my hearing problems, although I can hear when the phone is on speaker, it is very tiring because people tend to drop their voices occasionally, even if they know you can't hear, so you have to concentrate hard to listen to a conversation. so the Silver Line would probably not be for me, or people like me. the Internet is great because I don't have to rely on speech.

But it is a great idea that somebody has bothered to think about all those who are lonely. I do hope it works. It will need to be publicised well though to get people to phone. and some older people will be too proud to admit that they need somebody to talk to. I don't know how you get around that.

Independent Age Charity

We provide an information and advice service for older people, their families and carers, focusing on social care, welfare benefits and befriending services. This is integrated with local support, including one-to-one and group befriending schemes.

http://www.independentage.org/