Posted on: 15 March 2019
Wakefield Trinity Community Trust, Leeds Rhinos Foundation and Yorkshire Cricket Foundation are among the sports organisations getting behind West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership’s new ‘Looking Out for Our Neighbours’ campaign to prevent loneliness and social isolation.
Harrogate Town Football Club, Halifax Town Football Club, Yorkshire Sport Foundation, Featherstone Rovers Foundation are also among the 300+ organisations that have pledged their support to take part in the campaign which launches on 15 March across the area.
Backed back Jo Cox’s sister, Kim Leadbeater, the ‘Looking out for our Neighbours’ campaign encourages local people to do simple things to look out for one another to help improve the wellbeing of other residents in their area.
Craig Shepherd, Wakefield Trinity Community Trust’s General Manager, said:
‘There are over 60,000 elderly residents living in Wakefield who are lonely and feel isolated. We have an opportunity to appeal to the good nature of the people around them and encourage people to look out for their neighbours. This could be in simple ways, like a daily conversation, or even going the extra mile and contributing some time to complete jobs for them. Whatever small amount of time you can provide to your neighbours around you will be appreciated more than you will ever know. Wakefield Trinity Community Trust are delighted to support this project and we will do all we can to raise awareness.’
According to research from The Health Foundation (December 2018), social isolation can increase the risk of having a stroke by a third, and older people who live alone are 50% more likely to visit A&E than those who live with others.
Findings published in Age UK’s new report ‘All the lonely people: Loneliness amongst older people’ (2018) show that the number of older people who are lonely is rising quickly. This could be a major public health concern because if loneliness is not addressed it can seriously affect people’s health and well-being.
Gary Hetherington, Chief Executive of Leeds Rhinos and Trustee of Leeds Rhinos Foundation said:
The ‘Looking out for our neighbours’ campaign is a wonderful initiative that I am proud to support. Through Leeds Rhinos Foundation we run many projects which aim to bring our communities together and improve people’s health and wellbeing.
Rhinos Active Social, which is a free programme for over 55s, was set up to tackle social isolation and encourage people to stay active and has been a huge success. The In Touch Dementia Support group for people living with dementia has been another valuable resource in our community for people to enjoy afternoons of reliving fond memories of Rugby League at Emerald Headingley Stadium. It is fantastic to see so many organisations across the city coming together to tackle this issue and I think this collaborative work will help make a positive impact.’
Beth Cook, Health and Wellbeing Manager, Yorkshire Cricket Foundation said:
‘The Yorkshire Cricket Foundation are delighted to support the Looking Out For Our Neighbours campaign. As a charity working within Yorkshire’s communities, we aim to improve the lives of those living in Yorkshire, with several of our projects tackling loneliness head on. Loneliness can affect anyone, at any time, so it is important that we raise awareness of how small acts of kindness can have a lasting impact on people’s lives. It is important that we use the power of sport, and the affinity with the white rose, to embed this messaging within the communities we engage with’.
Amy Hardman, Featherstone Rovers said:
‘We are delighted to be a part of this great initiative, as a strong family club we feel we are the heart of the Featherstone community and we have a responsibility to support local residents. We are hoping that being involved with the ‘Looking out for your neighbours’ campaign will help us to reignite the community spirit that has always been so passionate in the past’.
Iain Service, Community Development Manager, Harrogate Town AFC Community Foundation said:
‘We work hard to make links and connections with our neighbours at Harrogate Town AFC. This work is extended throughout our community programmes that recognise the importance of reducing loneliness and improving resident’s quality of life. The ‘Looking out for our neighbours’ campaign is hugely important to Harrogate. We all have a duty to work together to create a better life for each other. We hope that by raising awareness we can contribute towards making a positive impact on neighbour’s wellbeing and record a marked increase in partners working together.’
Nigel Harrison, CEO for Yorkshire Sport Foundation said:
‘Physical activity undoubtedly has a major role to play in supporting the fight against loneliness. Sport and activity brings people together, not just in local teams, but even something as simple as going for a walk with a neighbour. We will continue to work with partners to use physical activity and sport to bring communities together, and are proud to be supporting this campaign’.
Rob Webster, CEO Lead for West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership and CEO for South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust said:
‘In August 2018, the Partnership allocated £1m to go toward supporting voluntary and community organisations. Further funding from the Partnership’s Urgent and Emergency Programme Board will support this campaign. People of all ages can feel alone for a variety of reasons, for example following bereavement, a change in relationship or becoming unemployed. This important campaign is a helpful reminder that it’s often the smallest acts of kindness that make the biggest difference to a person’s life. As neighbours, we could all look out for each other a bit more and local organisations can also help bring people together in shared activities.’
The campaign will run across West Yorkshire and Harrogate. It’s been created with the help of over 100 residents across the region. Households across West Yorkshire and Harrogate will have the opportunity to receive a hand-delivered ‘neighbour pack’ that will include a range of different resources to inspire and encourage residents to champion togetherness in their area and look out for those in need.
For those who don’t receive a hand-delivered pack, all resources are available to download from the campaign website, ourneighbours.org.uk.
Key to the success of the campaign will be local community organisations and groups working with and in their neighbourhoods.
Jo’s sister Kim Leadbeater, Ambassador for The Jo Cox Foundation, said:
‘I feel passionately about creating well-connected communities where everyone is happy and healthy and has a sense of identity and belonging, and it is heart-warming to see the work that Jo started on this important issue being continued in such a positive way in the county where we grew up. Much of my focus since Jo was killed has been on how we can build compassionate communities and bring people together. The national Great Get Together campaign which we run across the weekend of Jo's birthday in June is the centre piece of this, and it would be wonderful to think that some of the connections which will be made through the 'Looking out for your Neighbours' initiative can be continued and we see lots of Great Get Togethers happening in June as a result! I believe if we all work together to prevent loneliness and its associated health risks, we can reduce the demand on health and care services and have a positive impact on the wellbeing of everyone, which is why I am delighted to support this campaign’.