Wellbeing 360

Innovative technology reducing loneliness in Islington

With the increase in hours spent on ipads and smart phones, technology tends to have a bad press when it comes to positive social contact.  However, Age UK Islington is using innovative technology to help reduce loneliness. 

The Wellbeing Calling Service was set up in September 2016.  It uses new technology to respond to the very real challenge of identifying people who need support.  The calls and how they are recorded help us detect problems early and prevent people reaching crisis point. Since September, we’ve found that 30% of people called were in need of additional support.  Volunteers are guided by the technology within the app to make the call and Age UK Islington organises the help that’s needed.

Wellbeing Volunteer Caller, Patrick Odai, says about the service, “So many of the calls that I make are to people who feel lonely.  One caller that I spoke to recently was really lonely and was starting to get very down about it.  Although he knew where to go, he felt nervous about doing anything about it, and was starting to turn to alcohol as an escape route.  As a result of the call, Age UK Islington was able to give him the support to start taking those first steps to make social contacts and help him to get his life back on track”.

Chief Executive, Andy Murphy, says, “Age UK Islington’s Wellbeing Service is a key service for Age UK Islington to keep in touch with our clients. In this way, we can identify issues, such as loneliness, that an individual might be struggling with.  It is widely recognised what a significant impact loneliness can have on people and we want to do as much as we can to help Islington residents develop their own social support network.”