Another important area of growth has been the growth of our Compassionate Communities team, who continued to develop networks with individuals, volunteers, carers, service providers and communities across North Edinburgh and East Lothian.
Volunteers donating time has helped otherwise isolated people remain connected within their community.
One of the key areas of focus for this team throughout the year was the creation of our new Compassionate Neighbours initiative. This approach works by enabling volunteers to offer their time, skills and company to local people who may be socially isolated, lonely, or have a life limiting condition. There have been some excellent successes to date and the quote opposite shows just how important the impact of this work can be.
Impact is not solely about numbers, however our Compassionate Neighbours teams have had a busy year, as highlighted below;
85 community members referred to the service and 67 matched with a volunteer compassionate neighbour
20 new volunteers recruited, which takes the total number of compassionate neighbours volunteers to 45
In total there were a staggering 888 contacts between compassionate neighbours and community members, helping us truly extend our reach and impact in the community.
Visits from my Compassionate Neighbour light up my week, I look forward to her next one the moment she leaves. She phones between visits, I struggle to hear on the phone now but just knowing she’s there, even for a moment, means the world to me.
