WILTSHIRE Council says that it has funded a variety of local community events and charities across the Westbury area in the past year to meet its objective of reducing social isolation and loneliness.
Some of the projects include teaching older residents how to improve their digital literacy so they can connect with family and friends more easily as well as funding a variety of public events designed to bring the community together.
Cllr Ashley O’Neill, cabinet member for communities, explained some of the action the council has taken in the past year, “Westbury Area Board has taken extensive action to meet its objective of reducing social isolation and loneliness. This has taken the form of grant funding provided to support charities and funding for social community events.
“To provide more support to people dealing with social isolation, the area board has funded Crosspoint, a well-established counselling service that runs sessions aimed at young people and adults who may be suffering depression, anxiety, domestic abuse, historical abuse, low self-esteem or difficulty in dealing with life’s challenges.
“The area board has also supported community events to tackle social isolation, including a pop-up health and wellbeing Sunday Brunch held in partnership with Westbury Town Council and Dogs for Health, Westbury Market Place Events tea dance and singalong event for older people and a jubilee event held at the White Horse Day Centre.
“The area board has also established a project to improve digital literacy within the community. The project has brought together groups of older people in a social setting to learn how to get online. The sessions include teaching the participants how to stay in touch with friends and relatives using video calling applications.
“During the colder months, the area board supported a project to provide local people in need with a warm parcel containing essential supplies and signposting information to local services.”
Local Wiltshire councillor Gordon King, who chairs the health and wellbeing group at the Westbury Area Board that was tasked with tackling these issues, added, “The Westbury community area has a mixed and diverse population that encompasses the entire social, economic and health spectrum. In that sense it is no different than any other community area in Wiltshire and probably in the entire west country.
“What it does have is a greater number of residents who are post the age of 65 and several areas such as Westbury Ham, Dilton Marsh, the Courts at Bratton or The Weir in Edington that contain within higher numbers of those who are socially and economically disadvantaged who have not necessarily fared well in the current economic climate. The good news is that we know about them and they have our attention.
“The activities of the health and wellbeing group are aimed primarily at the older adult who, because of their health and economic circumstance, have a limited ability to determine their own outcomes and because our budget is provided from the older adult social care budget at Wiltshire Council. Loneliness and social isolation is therefore at the forefront of our minds.
“Some of the action we have taken includes providing refurbished laptops and tablets with training and, where necessary, data packages for older adults that will enable them to establish or re-establish contact with family and friends, order goods and services online, book appointments or find suitable groups and hobbies.
“By getting people connected we hope they might become less reliant on their favourite chair and a little less dependent on daytime television. Good health and wellbeing is enhanced by regular and fruitful contact with others. As always because the budget is small, we can only deal with small groups at any one time.”
For more information on Crosspoint visit www. crosspoint-westbury.co.uk
