loneliness – We are with you

The Great Winter Get Together – helping each other tackle loneliness

December 9, 2020December 9, 2020Kirklees Council

The Great Winter Get Together is a month long series of activities run by the Jo Cox Foundation, lasting from 14th December 2020 to 18th January 2021. Taking forward Jo Cox’s vision of a “less lonely, more connected world”, the series of five themes are all about tackling loneliness one connection at a time.

The Great Winter Get Together

Say Thanks – 14th December to 20th December

Say Thanks is about shining a light on local heroes who have helped people throughout the coronavirus pandemic. There are postcards you can download, print and send to let those people know just how much they are appreciated, and images for sharing on social media.

Say Thanks

Reach Out – 21st December to 27th December

More than ever before we need to support one another. This week is about encouraging people to connect with someone they’ve lost touch with, whether it’s an old friend or ex-colleague. If you’re not sure where to start, there’s a toolkit to help you with ideas.

Reach Out

Reaching Out Toolkit (PDF)

Show you care – 28th December to 3rd January

Acts of kindness go a long way to showing someone you care. This is about bringing a smile to someone’s face, which can also make us feel good about ourselves. There’s a downloadable Kindness Calendar for each day of the week, with suggestions on things you can do to give someone a lift or contribute to making a kinder, more giving society.

Show you care

Kindness Calendar (PDF)

Understand Loneliness – 4th January to 10th January

The changes many of us have experienced during the last year have been difficult, resulting in increased loneliness for many people in our communities. Loneliness has had an impact on our mental health and wellbeing. In partnership with the Marmalade Trust, a charity dedicated to raising awareness about loneliness, the foundation have produced a toolkit to help improve our understanding.

Understand Loneliness

Understanding Loneliness Toolkit (PDF)

Help Out – 11th January to 17th January

Volunteering is a great way to help support the most vulnerable in our community. Help Out is about finding out what you can give, whether that’s an hour, an evening or more, it all helps. Help Out is supported by the Royal Voluntary Service and there’s a toolkit to help you figure out how you can help this winter.

Help Out

Helping Others Toolkit (PDF)

The Great Winter Get Together

Looking after each other’s wellbeing during Covid-19

Be part of the Great Get Together 2020

June 17, 2020June 18, 2020Kirklees Council

The challenges people have faced over the last few months have not fazed or diminished our sense of community. Neighbourliness is thriving week after week in our local places, where we’re helping each other and finding new ways of connecting.

A way we can all celebrate community and neighbourliness is by joining in with the Great Get Together, which takes place from 19th to 21st June 2020. Whilst there won’t be any public gatherings or large events this year, we can all reach out across the weekend with acts of compassion and connection in a safe way to celebrate the power of community.

On your street

Here are just a few of the fun activities you could help arrange with neighbours on your street over the weekend:

Community singalong: pick a song, share lyrics, and schedule a time to step outside and sing together.

Have your own Bake-Off: bake and present your masterpiece to your community for judging

Share a garden: grow one type of vegetable and get the community to do the same. Share what you grow and perhaps use it to make the same recipe.

Design a Treasure Hunt (think of things to hide in your windows and gardens that children could find on their daily walks).

Wishing Trees: encourage everyone to leave a wish for the future.

Community recipe book: share a recipe per household and create a recipe book.

There are lots more ideas on the Great Get Together website:

The Great Get Together – FAQs

More in Common

More in Common Batley & Spen are part of the Jo Cox Foundation and remain the key partner in organising the Great Get Together. The group works year round to build strong and compassionate communities where everyone has a sense of identity and belonging. They are also a vital part of the community response in Kirklees, as one of our community anchor organisations.

There will be a More In Common assembly for schools in collaboration with a number of local head teachers on Friday 19th June. On Saturday 20 June, a regular Community Service event goes virtual with a community quiz to follow. Details of how to watch and take part in these, and many other events organised locally in the community will be shared on social media channels.

More in Common Batley & Spen

More in Common Batley & Spen – Twitter

Jo Cox Foundation – More in Common

Art Projection – Wall of Gratitude

There is a planned digital art projection in Dewsbury town centre, featuring the work of artist, Ian Berry and messages of thanks, thoughts, hopes and prayers from people across Kirklees. Ian’s work and shared local images will be projected onto a building in Dewsbury town centre, on the evening of Friday 19th June after dark. The public are not being encouraged to attend in view of social distancing. Instead, a film will be created that will be shared on social media platforms. There is also a longer term plan for an outdoor exhibition to support the re-opening of local towns following lockdown.

Run for Jo

On Sunday 21st June people across the country are being encouraged to take part in the Run for Jo by doing a 2.5km or 6.5km run in their own community. Hundreds of people are also training for the run on the Strava running community.

Run for Jo

Activities for Loneliness Awareness Week

It is important to remember that this week is also Loneliness Awareness Week. You might want to consider doing something to make sure those neighbours who are more isolated or unable to participate outside can remain a part of your community. Here are a few virtual activities you can organise:

Take a walk for someone who can’t – call someone isolated on your daily walk and describe what you see, smell, hear and feel.
Organise a telephone tree to reach those most isolated.
Call an old friend.
Host an album listening party.
Have a virtual Open Mic night.

Loneliness Awareness Week

Loneliness Awareness Week is about encouraging people to speak about it openly and understand loneliness, one conversation at a time.

Let’s Talk Loneliness – Get involved

Loneliness Awareness Week (15th to 19th June)

June 15, 2020June 16, 2020Spencer Wilson

Loneliness can be difficult to talk about. It’s hard for people to say sometimes that they feel lonely. It shouldn’t be, but it is. The last few weeks in lockdown will potentially have highlighted to some of us what loneliness is who haven’t previously given it a second thought. There are others who may well have felt lonely even before lockdown.

Writing something to share that dwelled on all the effects loneliness can have on our mental and physical wellbeing didn’t feel quite appropriate. What so many Mutual Aid Groups, volunteers and neighbours have been doing over the last few weeks is a demonstration that loneliness and isolation is being tackled, that we are aware and collectively we are doing something about it.

Tackling loneliness may have been disguised as the shopping you’ve done for a vulnerable neighbour, or picking up that prescription from the pharmacy, because the other part of that action is the conversation you’ve had with those people and making sure they’re okay. Small human interactions can make all the difference.

How many of you have seen or helped out celebrating an older person’s birthday who lives on your street? How many of you have clapped for carers on a Thursday evening, then exchanged words with neighbours you haven’t really talked to before?

The actions of groups, volunteers, friends and neighbours have helped to reduce isolation, and have demonstrated the caring nature of people and communities. Together we’ve done that.

Yet there is still a need for vigilance and awareness beyond our own neighbourhoods. There is always potential for individuals to fall through the gaps, but there are also local volunteer befriending services who do amazing work to catch those people.

The challenge for us all will be to maintain our neighbourliness beyond lockdown and to keep talking to each other, to keep visiting those who may be more vulnerable, whether that’s an older person or someone who you know that isn’t as socially mobile as they would like to be.

You might have been inspired yourself to sign up to be a volunteer at the befriending service, or know someone who you think might want to do that. We should all encourage that as an option. But we should all keep doing what we’re doing.

If you want to read more about the Befriending Partnership in Kirklees, read our blog:

Befriending Partnership

If you are interested in being a Telephone Befriender with full training and support please email: befriendingpartnership@yccuk.org.uk

If you, or someone you know, would like telephone befriending support please let us know via our Covid-19 Community Response online form, or call our Freephone helpline: 0800 4561114.