Older persons charity, ALONE, completes Volunteer Training in New Ross
7th May 2015 ALONE have just completed Volunteer Training in New Ross for those involved in setting up a new Befriending Service for older people. The training is part of a larger nationwide plan to build a national network of befriending services for older people. The first training was completed last Thursday in the Legion of Mary Hall
ALONE believe that combating loneliness should be viewed as a preventative health measure by the Department of Health as loneliness puts you at higher risk of dementia, cardiovascular disease and decreased immune system responsiveness. In Ireland, almost 1 in 3 older people live on their own (29%), and 7-9% of older people suffer from chronic loneliness.
Sean Moynihan, CEO of ALONE commented, “Befriending is a health intervention and we believe it should complement mainstream health services and help older people remain independent in their own homes. The Befriending Service is a model that works because it is cost effective and represents the community looking after its own. At a time when many vital community supports and services are disappearing we believe that such a model is more important than ever. The training programme in New Ross is part of a nationwide plan to ensure consistent and high quality befriending services for older people across Ireland.
“The first ALONE training workshops in New Ross were attended by; Martin Burke, Tom O’Shea, Helen Phelan, Kathleen McGuire, Aileen Flynn, Frances Flanagan, Frankie Kirwan, Hazel Murray, Willie Delaney, Pat Fallon, Hilary Murphy, Claire Walsh, Hugh Maddock, Mary Murphy, Anthony Kehoe, Sr. Cecilia, Sr. Ella, Brendan Kelly and Tony Blackmore.
ALONE are also working to develop a National Befriending Network with over 50 Befriending Services for older people across the country and hope that these training workshops will be first steps to developing a quality befriending infrastructure for older people in Ireland.