LouiseGaubert1

I can't believe that Campaign 2 is at an end! It's gone so quickly and it seems no time at all since we got started! But here we are at the end and I wanted to sum up how it's all gone.

I've had a great couple of weeks delivering all of the leaflets I've had printed that detail all of the social clubs, events and activities that are available for older people in Torquay and the surrounding towns. I've managed to get the leaflets out to lots of places that engage with and work with older people and I really hope that they reach people who will find them useful. It's a resource that's definitely been missing from the local community and I've really glad that I've had the opportunity to be able to fill that need and that gap and provide something that responds to what older people in the community told me that they wanted.

One of the first places I took my leaflets to was to the group of 30 older people who I ran my focus group with, and it was really nice to go back and see them again after getting to meet and speak to them previously, and have them provide such useful suggestions which really shaped my campaign. To be able to tell them that I had gone away and, after the discussion I'd had with them about the need for a resource detailing social activites, actually researched and produced this and could now hand it over to them, was a great feeling, and the feedback I got was so positive that I knew I'd done the right thing. They really like the leaflets and I left lots of extra with them, and encouraged them to give them to any other older people who might find them useful.

During that week I also went back and visited the local AgeUK offices who took lots of leaflets, as well as distributing leaftlets to the local AgeUK charity shop, and a regular drop in room that the charity has at a local library and community centre. Other places and organisations who will be handing out and making my leaflets available to older pepole in the local area are:

-local charity Karing, who work with older people

-local charity folks@home, who work especially with isolated older people

-The Precinct Centre, a day centre for the elderly

-Torquay library

-Paignton library

-Torquay Citizen's Advice Bureau

-Torbay Voluntary Service

-The Windmill Centre, a community centre in Torquay

So hopefully these leaflets, through these organisations, will reach older people and give them information about and the option to join in with existing social groups and events in the area to combat loneliness and isolation.

I also distributed the postcards we were supplied with about the issues tackled by the campaign to these organisations, which will hopefully raise awareness amongst members of the community

This campaign has been so eye opening, and at times so moving, because of the numerous personal stories I've heard of older people's experiences of loneliness. It's really opened up a whole issue that is rarely talked about, and is very much a hidden problem that most people who are not directly affected by it, especially younger people like myself, don't even think about, but which is a huge problem and the painful reality for a lot of older people. It's been an amazing campaign to work on because this issue needs to be spoken about in communities, in the public domain, and tackled by generations, groups and individuals coming together and reaching out to one another. I certainly won't forget the people I've met and the stories I've heard during the campaign, and will certainly think about what I can do in the future in my own life to combat this issue.

It's been another fantastic Team v project and I'm looking forward to starting on the next!