Call centre workers from Scottish and Southern Energy Power Distribution are helping to ensure that older people facing the festive period on their own aren’t lonely this Christmas.
For the last 8 months 14 SSEPD staff have been making friendship calls to older people as part of Age UK’s ‘Call in Time’ befriending service. According to the charity 1 million older people go a month without talking to anybody. To combat this it has set up the corporate friendship scheme where volunteer callers from companies are paired with an older person.
One of the SSEPD callers who will be phoning her friend Alice this Christmas is Carolynne Woodgate, from Southern Electric Power Distribution’s Emergency Services Centre. She said:
“I’m delighted to be paired up with Alice. We’ve been chatting for almost four months now, and right from our first call it had felt like we had known each other for years – there was no awkward silence and we just got on really well from the start. We talk about a whole load of things and both make each other laugh. She describes me as ‘the star in her sky’.
“There were two weeks when we couldn’t speak because Alice was unwell and I missed her so much. As soon as we put the phone down I always look forward to our next chat.
“I will definitely without a doubt be calling Alice on Christmas Day and sending her a Christmas card. The thought of her being alone at Christmas worries me greatly but I’m glad that I can call her to make sure she’s ok and wish her a happy Christmas.”
Colin Nicol, Managing Director for Scottish and Southern Energy Power Distribution, is committed to tackling an issue that he recognises could be faced by many of the company’s 3.7million customers. He said:
“Suffering from loneliness, or any kind of vulnerability, and not know where to turn is a prospect that could affect anyone. That is why we work with charities, including Age UK, to train our call centre staff to identify signs of vulnerability, and signpost customers to any free help and support on offer.”
Article continues below this advertisement “Something as simple as a weekly phone call can make such a huge difference to someone who is lonely, and I’d like to support our staff to help those most in need. Juggling the often conflicting demands of work and life can mean that these acts of kindness can fall by the wayside, which is why SSEPD offers all its employees the opportunity to do voluntary work during company time, including the friendship calls that are made as part of Age UK’s ‘Call in Time’ scheme”.
The group of SSEPD volunteers have together clocked up more than 80 hours talking to the older people they have been paired with. The company is now recruiting more volunteers for the scheme, and has donated £200,000 to Age UK this year to help the charity combat issues faced by people in later life.
