Million elderly are 'lonely'
Updated on 31 October 2008
More than a million old people in the UK are suffering the misery of loneliness, a survey has revealed.
With a third of the UK's elderly population now living alone, including half of all women over 65, Help the Aged is campaigning to give lonely and depressed pensioners some Christmas cheer over the festive period.
The charity's research discovered that nearly half a million pensioners only leave their houses once a week, and a further 300,000 are entirely housebound.
Help the Aged is launching a campaign to provide 25,000 old people, who would otherwise be spending Christmas alone, with a Christmas dinner with friends.
The charity says that economic hardship increases loneliness and reports that over 2.5 million pensioners in the UK live below the poverty line.
Many old people could simply not afford to see friends and relatives over the festive period, let alone splash out on a Christmas dinner.
The charity says that a four-pound donation is enough to provide one lonely pensioner with a slap-up festive feast.
Amy Swan, Policy Manager at Help the Aged said: "It's such a tragic state of affairs when older people tell us that that the only person they see from week to week is the postman.
"Isolation and loneliness are not inevitable side-effects of the ageing process, but the life events associated with older age can leave people vulnerable.
"Poverty, bereavement, far-flung families and failing health can all play a part, and while living alone is for some a preferred life choice, for others it can be one of the key risk factors leading to someone becoming isolated and also lonely, particularly for older people."
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