September is Friendship Month and we thought we would reflect on what friendship means to those who use care services.
As you become older, your opportunities for socialising become more limited. It is harder to get out and socialise, leading many of our older communities to feel isolated and alone.
The same can be said for those who are vulnerable, living with a disability can make you feel isolated and again can limit your opportunities for socialising.
According to Age UK, half a million older people in the UK go at least five or six days a week without speaking to or seeing anyone at all. There is also research by Sense that shows up to 50% of disabled people will be lonely on any given day.
That’s why for someone using care services, their carer is so much more than just someone to make sure they are surviving. A carer can become their companion, their listening ear and someone to provide friendship. A carer can also help introduce others into more social situations, making sure no vulnerable or elderly member of our communities is isolated.
At Human Support Group, our carers go above and beyond to provide friendship to our customers. Whether that be listening to their stories, taking them to their favourite cafes, accompanying them to events – anything that makes them feel less alone.
We also provide home care support, to encourage a degree of independence for our customers. We then provide constant companionship that helps to build confidence, which can then be turned to encouragement for joining in social activities.
Our teams are working hard to fight against the UK’s battle with loneliness. We have over 25 branches across the UK to help local communities and we hope to eventually have more branches, to make sure nobody in the UK goes without the care they need.
Nobody should ever go without any form of contact, so if you want to help this fight against loneliness – we want to hear from you.
Becoming a carer is one of the most rewarding jobs available, you help support somebody and in return, you get to watch them transform into a happier version of themselves.
If you want to become a carer with Human Support Group, you can send us an application here. We would love to hear from you.
