Summerhill's Senior Help Line opens 14th centre
12th May, 2010
Service answered 13,000 calls last year
The Senior Help Line. the listening service for older people that began in Summerhill, has opened its 14th centre in Ireland and extended its opening hours on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 10am-10pm.
On Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the Senior Help Line is open from 10am to 4pm and 7pm to 10pm. The LoCall national number is 1850 440 444.
Senior Help Line is a national confidential listening service for older people by trained older volunteers. The service is a national programme developed and administered by the Third Age Foundation, a community organisation working for the empowerment of older people, based in Summerhill.
The extended hours have been made possible by the opening of a new centre in Naas, Co Kildare, and the commitment of the Co Wexford volunteers who have taken on extra hours.
Senior Help line has seen a consistent increase in caller volumes since its opening over 10 years ago. Last year the help line received in excess of 13,000 calls from older people all over Ireland.
Loneliness continues to be the largest single issue, with almost one in two of all callers either stating or implying loneliness as a reason for their contact in 2009.
Thirteen per cent of callers cited health concerns, with 12 per cent disclosing family problems as their reason for getting in touch. The economic downturn was also reflected, with four per cent of callers presenting with financial problems,
Calls reporting such financial worries included concerns over managing on a pension, fears of losing a medical card, cutbacks to community services such as home helps, worries about security of pension and investments, and anxiety regarding the economic difficulties being experienced by adult children, including fears about their unemployment or ability to pay their mortgage.
Calls reporting elder abuse or expressing fears about elder abuse peaked in midsummer 2009. Overall elder abuse calls rose to three per cent, though this increased percentage point also reflects a number of people who phoned frequently over a period of crisis. More females than males reported elder abuse. Elder abuse can be physical, emotional, financial, or linked to neglect. Some 49 per cent of elder abuse calls in 2009 reported emotional abuse, 24 per cent of abuse calls reported financial abuse, 19 per cent of abuse calls reported physical abuse and eight per cent of abuse calls reported neglect.
Bullying and control is often a factor in elder abuse, and some callers need support in seeing that the behavior they are suffering under is abusive and unacceptable.
"The increase in call numbers year on year and the issues raised on the help line shows how much our service is needed. We are the only peer listening service for older people in Ireland; we are open every day of the year including Christmas Day," said Mary Nally, chairperson of the Third Age Foundation and chief executive officer of the Senior Help Line.
"We are delighted that the service continues to expand and that we are now available to callers from 4pm to 7pm, offering a 12-hour service three days a week. Our plans for 2010 are for continued expansion, and by the end of this year, we expect to be able to offer this 12-hour service seven days a week. Our ultimate aim is that every older person in Ireland will know our LoCall number, and when they phone us, will get the helpful and empathic response they need," she added.
SOURCE: MeathChronicle.ie
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