Older people can be affected by loneliness and isolation whether they live in our cities or rural communities. Linking Lives UK want to be part of the solution to this problem as Scotland has an aging population, and our Health & Social Care system is at capacity. Our aim is to support faith communities to engage with us to demonstrate practical love in action by loving our neighbour.

As people age the quality and quantity of social interaction can diminish for reasons such as ill health, retirement, death of a spouse, transport difficulties, and mental health. This means some of our older population can feel lonely and cut off from the wider world causing a serious impact on their quality of life.

Working towards positive change, our National Development Worker for Scotland collaborates with churches and Christian organisations offering training to reduce the negative impacts of loneliness & isolation in the following ways: